Our Philosophy

Ensure enthusiasm through ball contact time, balanced success, knowledge and social interaction.
With enjoyment and belonging players have an increased enthusiasm to play - the more they play, the more touches and contact time they’ll gain. At different stages of that contact time we develop using various objectives, pressures and details, ensuring the right levels of intensity and encouraging them to constantly improve themselves and others around them.

We pride ourselves on delivering the importance of team, and teaching roles within the team dynamic.

The 8BY8 future player:

Composed, clever & Competitive!

Composed: The ability to receive a pass under pressure with the technique, awareness and confidence to stay on, or release the ball at the right time.
Clever: The ability to make successful decisions and be creative in varying scenarios.
Competitive: The technical, physical and mental strength to compete in individual duals for the team’s success.

Qualities we value:

• Has a desire to work hard for theirs and the team’s success.

• Plays with a high intensity and has the ability to receive and pass the ball with quality.

• Makes good decisions through game awareness and composure.

• Has a tactical understanding of space.

• Has a controlled aggression to win every battle.

• Will create and excite with every opportunity.

Stages of learning and how we develop

Age 2-4

This early years learning is all about the most imaginative introduction to football possible. Our main aim is to create an environment filled with fun, social interaction and play, to ensure the enthusiasm to return and get more touches of the ball, ideally with their feet.

Ages 4-5

At the 4-5 ages, enthusiasm, play and social interaction are still the main aims of every session, ensuring maximum touches of the ball and high success rates with every practice. Fundamental football based movement and evasion games without the ball are always used to start a session. It’s at these ages where we start to encourage players to manipulate the ball under control at speed, no real instruction as to how but to let them experiment and learn what does and doesn’t work through specifically structured play. We also start to introduce and teach elements of match play, pitch areas and terminology. Where possible we introduce 2 v 2s, 3 v 3s and small matches.

Age 5-6

Players are just starting to get a good understating of the game and rules. Always ensuring the enjoyment levels are at their optimum and continuing the evasion warm ups is essential. However, now we also start introducing more specific instructions and details into ‘how’ to do the various disciplines e.g. dribbling/dummies and feints, turning, passing and striking the ball. Harder challenges are added and success rates reduced, making achievement now something to work for. 1 v 1s, 2 v 2s, up to 4 v 4s, are all a major part of any session. At U6s we look to get the players their first matches in the best possible environment.