Football-adapted gameFun Games
Animal Moves and Dribble
Children move like the animal the coach calls — bear, frog, crab, flamingo — and dribble a ball when they hear “Balls!”. Mobility and coordination for the youngest.
- Age
- U6–U8
- Players
- 4–16
- Duration
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Intensity
- Low
- Area
- 15 × 15 m
- Type
- Physical
- Approach
- Analytical
- Format
- Football-adapted game
- Objectives
- Technical: Dribbling
- Physical: Coordination, Mobility
- Concepts worked on
- Technical:Running with the ball
- Physical:CoordinationBalanceMobility
Training diagram
Players move around the square like the animal the coach calls. On “Balls!” they collect a ball from the side and dribble.
Legend
- Attacker
- Neutral / support
- Run without ball
- Dribble
- Ball
- Cone
Four- to seven-year-olds need to crawl, jump, balance and roll before they can move well with a ball. This game mixes animal movements that build strength, mobility and balance with short dribbling spells, so the session starts with laughter and lots of movement. The rules fit in one sentence, which is exactly what U6–U8 groups need.
Objective
Develop basic movement skills (crawling, jumping, balancing) and alternate them with dribbling the ball with small touches.
Organisation
- Mark a 15 × 15 m square with four cones. Put six hoops in the middle.
- One ball per player, lined up along one side of the square.
- The coach stands outside the square where everyone can see the demonstrations.
How it works
- Players move freely inside the square without a ball. The coach calls an animal and demonstrates it.
- Bear: walk on hands and feet. Frog: jump with both feet from hoop to hoop. Crab: walk on hands and feet facing up. Flamingo: stand on one leg for five seconds. Kangaroo: two-footed jumps. Snake: crawl on the tummy.
- Each animal lasts 20–30 seconds.
- When the coach shouts “Balls!”, everyone collects a ball and dribbles around the square for 30–40 seconds. On “Stop!” they put the sole on the ball.
- Players return the balls to the side and the coach calls a new animal. Play for 8–10 minutes.
Coaching points
- Demonstrate every animal yourself and exaggerate the movement.
- Frog and kangaroo: land softly on both feet with bent knees.
- Dribbling: small touches, the ball close, look up to avoid other children.
- Keep instructions very short and praise effort, not perfection.
Progressions
- Animals with the ball: bear with the ball between the hands, flamingo with the sole on the ball.
- The coach shows a coloured cone instead of speaking: red means stop, green means dribble.
- Add a second instruction on the ball: “Change direction!” or “Other foot!”.
Regressions
- Only two or three animals per session, repeated so children remember them.
- Dribble spells of 20 seconds to keep attention.
Variations
- Children invent an animal and the rest of the group copies it.
Key principles
- Movement variety before specialisation.
- Short, clear instructions and lots of repetition.
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