Player Development League Practice Day
Our PDL practices implement a proven, age-appropriate curriculum that focuses on improving:
- Dribbling
- First touch and ball control
- Foot and eye coordination
- Ball manipulation
- 1v1 skills
- Turns and changes in direction moves
- Juggling
- Trickery
- Fitness, balance, and agility
Player Development League Match Day (Spring + Fall ONLY)
The playing environment is created with an emphasis on each player’s progression and enjoyment with the main focus is learning how to play the game and not the final score. Results from these matches are not posted and scores are not tracked.
The matches are against groups and teams from other local schools in the area. The teams are coordinated and organized by school, gender, and grade. Each team is guaranteed 6 games per season (Fall/Spring).
On Match Day, players will take what they learned in practice and apply those skills to real game-like situations through our age-appropriate playing formats:
- Advanced Pre-K Dribblers – Spring Only: 4 v 4
- K/1st Kickers: 4 v 4
- 2nd/3rd Grade Ballers: 6 v 6 (5 v 5 plus goalkeepers)
Brit-Am Coaches referee the match ups and use active in-game coaching to guide & teach the players the rules of the ‘real game’. Technical training (skills) will be taught during practices but not during the Match Day experience. Our goal is to create an environment that is fun, educational, and challenging while also preparing players for Classic or Travel League action as they grow.
Match Day Format: Our PDL Dribblers (Spring Only), Kickers & Ballers program offers soccer education at its best in a positive, fun environment where players improve their skill during continuous play. For the Dribblers and Kickers the 4 v 4 format (no goalies) accelerates the development of attacking and defending concepts by encouraging dribbling, turning, stealing the ball and scoring goals along with a basic introduction to goalkeeping. This format provides a simple picture for players to learn the game and allows for players to gain experience through realistic, game-like situations.
For the Ballers program, as they continue on their development pathway, with the 6 v 6 format they will get to experience a larger field size (40×30 yards) with goalies and larger goals to prepare them for an expanded format in the years to come. This natural progression will allow for an introduction to positions, team organization, and restart procedures (throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, free kicks), while still encouraging them to be creative, take risks, and build upon the ideas and fundamentals learned in the younger age groups.
Our professional staff takes the necessary steps to ensure each game fits the players’ needs, ultimately leading to better game intelligence and understanding.
