‘What can you do when you don’t have the ball?’

Kids spend more time without the ball than they do with it.

But they can still have a big impact on the game and their team with what they do off the ball, such as:

Tracking back to defend

Making runs into space for a pass

Man-marking an opponent

Running to create space for teammates

Ask questions like this to get them thinking about the whole game and not just the moment when they have the ball.

The key with the younger ages is noticing what they are doing when they don’t have the ball and praising it.

As a parent or coach you could reward their off-the-ball work as much as you do when they score a goal etc.

Let’s face it, it’s much more exciting for them when they have the ball but praising the other stuff will help build good habits and it should help their improvement as a player.

Plus, it means they’ll feel positive about their impact on a game/training session even if they haven’t had much of the ball.