Under 9/10s

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRAINING PHASE (INITIATION STAGE)

We can say that the most outstanding characteristics of the players of this stage are: 

• Very high level of motivation, which usually implies a high level of involvement and discipline in relation to the indications given by the coach. In this sense we distinguish: 
  • The slogans of the coach are not questioned, even on the part of the parents (for example the importance of arriving on time to the game). 
  • They strive to do what is asked of them with haste, and with the intention of doing it well and in a hurry. 
  • They present a level of maturity manifestly different from the previous stage, both from the coordinative and physical point of view (players with "looks" of footballers), and from the psychological point of view (to understand and reason the indications of the coach). 

These characteristics allow this to be the first phase / stage in which specific learning objectives can be set in the different areas of training. 

Each area, therefore, will already develop specific objectives established according to the different levels of training, although in the third parts of each session, the corrections of each area will be established in relation to the established global structure (we propose P.2.3.1 as a base system in groups of a medium level – considering the structure that will allow the player to adapt more appropriately to football 11-) so that the objective of the session (technical, tactical, of collective actions) experienced by the player from a collective perspective in real play, in that case the variants to be established for this phase would be:

• Each player will work in different positions/demarcations.
• Give "freedom" in the realization of the type of execution that the player performs.

It is the essential age to develop the habits of "order" and "attention", taking advantage of the effectiveness of "positive reinforcements".

Characteristics of the structure and activity of this stage: 

• Avoid approaching the competition from a performance perspective. 
• Adequate level of opposition (quality - quantity). 
• Adaptation: colleagues, coaches, specialists, didactic forms... 
• Favorable attitude in relation to collective tasks. 
• Mastery of the Previous and Basic Universal Fundamentals adapted to the F-7 and the game actions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASON IN RELATION TO THE AGE OF THE PLAYERS

• It continues to manifest, with the logical progression, what was proposed in the previous cycle (9 years). 
• Golden age of motor acquisitions. 
• Priority of the game, pleasure, learning to have fun. 
• Variability in exercises. 
• Affective dependence. 
• Age of discovery, importance of the "model". 
• Uncertain motivation, fluctuation of interest. 
• It represents the stage of greatest evolutionary equilibrium. It is the culmination of a decade of childhood life and opens the way to adolescent life. It represents a year of transition in which the child assimilates and consolidates all the aspects that have been developed during the previous years and, therefore, the tensions of adolescence are not yet felt. 
• In general, the child usually causes little difficulty for the coach. 
• Attention spans are short and intermittent, so sessions should continue to include a variety of activities. 
• We can therefore include that, at the affective level, there is an integration of the other factors: physical, social and cognitive. Therefore, it will be important to adapt the approach of training and competitions to the physical, cognitive and social level based on the characteristics of the team members to avoid negative effects on an emotional level. 
• A practical recommendation is to try to get the children to finish the training session always with pleasant feelings. Thus, incorporating a type of rewarding activity at the end of the session can be a measure that has a positive impact on the degree of motivation of the group. 
• At this age the child is already prepared to participate in team sports, there is a progressive loss of the egocentric tendency to be transformed into an increasingly social being, open to participation in groups and collaboration and cooperation with other children. (*) 

(*) "Training in grassroots football" – Isabel Gázquez Pérez – ED. Paidotribo. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASON IN RELATION TO PROGRAMMING

• We insist on the need for the coach, after making an exhaustive assessment of his players, must establish if the program to be followed, fits more to a higher age, or on the contrary must incorporate in his work, aspects developed in the previous chapter, so that the aspects proposed at that stage are consolidated and consequently the activity adjusts to the needs of his players and can be of this how to carry out a logical and coherent process. 
• In relation to physical preparation: We will not distinguish variants between the 3 cycles/seasons of the process. In any case, the coach must adapt in each cycle the variables (progression, specificity, etc.), in relation to the characteristics of the players and their evolution. 
• In the field of Psychology: To deepen the aspects described in the planning, the coach can consult in what is described in Volume 2.2. "The areas of specialization" in the chapters of Psychology and Team Management. Also in this volume (3.2.) specific contents for each phase/stage are manifested in chapter -1- section D.  
• In the field of technique and tactics, we expose for this season / cycle the following Levels of training (that allow the coach to consult and deepen for the design of the session):  
  • Technique: -4- and -6b-. 
  • Tactics: -4- and -6-. 
• It is still important that the player manifests a good level of the coordinating aspects. If not, we must alternate this "subject" in training so that the minimum necessary for the learning of the skill to be adequate (for example, including it as part of the warm-ups) is acquired. 
• We understand that in the ages of fry, the football 7 that is practiced in some federations is not the most appropriate: 
  • Due to its structural simplicity, the move to football 11 will be complicated and there will be a setback in the progression of learning,  
  • By the space-time factors that do not conform to the characteristics and perceptions of the player, which causes a mismatch in the proper assimilation of the collective game. 
• In this sense we believe that the most appropriate structure for age, due to its characteristics and for the logical manifestation of progression, would be the football-9 competition, at least during the 2 years of Alevín.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE SEASON/CYCLE

• Master the Fundamentals, actions, situations and aspects that make up the basic principles of the game from an individual perspective of learning, initiate the player in learning and experimentation of the variants that in each action / situation can be applied for a correct resolution of the game situation. 
• Show a favorable attitude towards tasks that involve effort, and towards group ones, abandoning egocentric positions both in aspects related to attitude and in relation to play. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASON IN RELATION TO THE AGE OF THE PLAYERS

• From the age of 11, the door to adolescence opens. Probably, it is a pubertal stage since, fundamentally, physical changes occur and behavioral changes have their origin in the transformations of the organism rather than in cultural patterns. 
• The boy becomes rebellious since he wants to affirm his personality. He prefers to contradict than to respond. It shows extreme emotional changes, being able to easily go from a fit of laughter to an angry outburst suddenly. In this sense, football can represent an escape valve since it implies the passage from a moment of extreme tension and struggle, to a moment of extreme joy and satisfaction (it facilitates with it, the release of the extreme feelings of the boy). 
• That is why the coach who works with boys of this age will get a better response, if he proposes that if he imposes. *"Entrenamiento en el fútbol base" – Isabel Gázquez Pérez – ED. Paidotribo. 
• A growth in harmony begins at this stage. The vestiges of obesity and accelerated growth disappear. The relatively low position of the body's center of gravity benefits stable balance. 
• The motor learning capacity reaches a very high level. The movements are learned in broad strokes at first after their demonstration, explanation and few corrections. 
• It is possible to place greater demands on the ability to concentrate. (*)  Jürgen BrauBbe and others – "grassroots football training programs" – Ed. Paidotribo.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEASON IN RELATION TO PROGRAMMING

• We insist on the need that the coach, after making an exhaustive assessment of his players, must establish if the program to be followed, is more adjusted to a higher age, or on the contrary must incorporate in his work, aspects developed in the previous chapter, so that the aspects proposed at that stage are consolidated, and consequently the activity is adjusted to the needs of its players and can thus carry out a logical and coherent process. 
• We understand that in the ages of fry, the football 7 that is practiced in some federations is not the most appropriate: 
  • Due to its structural simplicity, the move to football 11 will be complicated and there will be a setback in the progression of learning, 
  • By the space-time factors that do not conform to the characteristics and perceptions of the player, which causes a mismatch in the proper assimilation of the collective game. 
• In this sense we believe that the most appropriate structure for age, due to its characteristics and for the logical manifestation of progression, would be the football-9 competition, at least during the two years of Alevín. 
• In the sessions of technique and tactics, it is usual for the player to develop his work in a certain demarcation. In the different sessions, we will change this position / demarcation of the players, so that they experience the execution of the different technical and tactical actions from different orientations and situations, these changes will allow the player to use the different manifestations of each execution. 
• If it has not been developed in the previous cycle, we must apply in this season the learning of the "basic movements of the system", so that the player already reviews the aspects of technique, tactics and collective actions from the perspective of this structure. 
• In the field of Collective Actions, in the last 2 meso-cycles we included 2 slogans belonging to the technification stage (Universal foundations by demarcation), it was about "squaring" the planning of this area, an aspect that the coach can modify if he deems it appropriate. 
• In relation to Physical Preparation: We will not distinguish variants between the 3 cycles/seasons of the process. In any case, the coach must adapt in each cycle the variables (progression, specificity, etc.), in relation to the characteristics of the players and their evolution. 
• In the field of Psychology: at this stage we will carry out the same objectives set in the previous stage (fry of 1st. year), in coach must adjust each aspect to adapt them to the differences that could manifest themselves in the group (age, characteristics of the players / families, levels of manifestation of each objective, etc.). 
• To delve into the aspects described in the planning, the coach can consult in what is described in Volume 2.2. "the areas of specialization" in the chapters of Psychology and Team Management. Also in this volume (3.2.) specific contents for each phase/stage are manifested in chapter -1- section D. 
• In the field of technique and tactics, we expose for this season / cycle the following Levels of training (that allow the coach to consult and deepen for the design of the session): 
  • Technique: -5- and -6c-. 
  • Tactics: -5- and -7-. 
• It will be very important that the player manifests a good level of the coordination and balance aspects. If not, we must alternate this "subject" in the training, so that it acquires the minimum necessary for the learning of the skill to be adequate (for example including it in the warm-ups). 

GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE SEASON/CYCLE

• Master the Fundamentals, actions, situations and aspects that make up the basic principles of the game from an individual perspective of learning, applying the variants that in each action / situation can be manifested for a correct resolution of the game situation and developing them within the collective structure of the game (context). 
• Assume the importance and consequences that derive on the organism itself.