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Practice games

Silent Sideline, Loud Pitch

Also called Silent Sideline

Coaches and parents only clap while the players organise themselves, with a short huddle every six minutes.

Game 22 min 8 to 12 players Half pitch Cage 2016 to 2018

Colts Street Football Lift each other Leading

At a glance

  • Two pitches, a goal at each end, four teams by random bib draw: 3v3 or 2v2. Odd number? A joker plays for the team with the ball.
  • Coaches and parents clap only: no instructions, no shouting. Brief them for 30 seconds first.
  • Players organise themselves: call names, decide restarts and settle arguments with rock, paper, scissors.
  • Every 6 minutes, a 60-second huddle: each child tells a teammate one thing they did well. Then play again.
  • Progress 1: Players call a teammate's name before every pass.
  • Progress 2: Keep the names, and no passing back to the player who just passed to you.

If it's not working: Allow the coach one helper word per game.

Silent Sideline, Loud Pitch: set-upCGG121 grown-ups clap only, 2 players call the names.20 m by 25 mCGG33 every 6 minutes, huddle: one thing you did well.
  • blue team
  • yellow team
  • Ccoach
  • Ggrown-up
  • pass
  • 1in this order

One of the two pitches, two moments. Top: the coach and parents stand on the sideline and only clap, while the players call names, decide restarts and sort things out themselves. Bottom: every six minutes play stops for a 60-second huddle, one for each team, where every child tells a teammate one thing they did well.

Full details: set up, how to play, tips and age tweaks

Set up

  • Mark two pitches side by side.
  • Brief the adults in 30 seconds: clap only, no instructions, no shouting.
  • Split children into 4 teams by random bib draw.

8 to 12 children. Two pitches of about 25 m by 20 m (or one 5v5 match on a festival day).

How to play

  • Play 3v3 on each pitch (2v2 with 8 children). With an odd number, one child is a joker who plays for whichever team has the ball.
  • Adults (coaches and parents) are silent and only clap.
  • Players must organise themselves: call names, decide restarts and sort out disputes (rock, paper, scissors).
  • Every 6 minutes, stop for a 60-second player huddle where each child tells a teammate one thing they did well.
  • Play again.

Keeping everyone moving

Two pitches at once, with a joker if the number is odd. Huddles are short and every child speaks.

Make it easier

  • Allow the coach one helper word per game.
  • Children in huddles say one word only.

Make it harder, step by step

  1. Players call a teammate's name before every pass.
  2. Keep the names, and no passing back to the player who just passed to you.
  3. Huddles include one idea for the next game.

Three things to say

  • Children talking and encouraging each other.
  • Children solving problems without adults.
  • Children staying positive when things go wrong.

Words that work: "Brave to speak up!", "Great work sorting that out yourselves!", "Love how you lifted your team in the huddle!"

Colts habit

Huddles are the lift-each-other habit.

Both feet

In huddles, children praise a teammate's other-foot touch.

Heads up

Players must call names, which forces them to look up.

For your birth year

Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.

2018 to 2019
Huddles every 5 minutes.
2016 to 2017
Full version, children also choose who restarts.

Safety: Adults can still stop play at once for safety or injury. Silence is only about coaching instructions. No heading.

Keeping score: Each child counts how many times they encouraged a teammate and tries to beat it next week.