What do I say to a group?
One sentence per go, dropped into the gap after the ball stops.
Read about what to say during playCoaching Your Child's First Football Team: A Plan for Session One
Parent Play Style
You don't need to have played properly to coach a first team of small children.
This page gives you a first-session plan, a limit on what to teach and a simple way to keep being a parent while you're also the coach.
Coaching your child's first football team takes less football than you fear. Keep session one to five short blocks, teach one thing, let every child have a ball at their feet most of the time and put your coach hat on and off on purpose. England Football's free beginner course asks for no experience, and England Football's guidance on 5v5 games tells coaches to be positive and not to shout instructions all the time. Ask your club's welfare officer what safeguarding checks and training the club needs from you before you start, and work alongside another checked coach (England Football's Play Safe page).
For a long time I assumed a team needed someone who had played properly, and I only found out how little that mattered when I stood on a cold pitch with a bag of cones and nobody to ask.
Before you say yes
Parent Volunteer Football Coach: What You're Signing Up For
Being a first time football coach parent mostly means turning up, staying calm and keeping the children moving. Three things are worth sorting out before the first session.
Ask your child first. Tell them you've been asked and ask how they feel about it. If they'd rather you stood on the touchline, that is a fair answer, and it's better to hear it now than halfway through a season.
Find the free training. England Football runs England Football's free beginner course, the EE Playmaker. As of 14 October 2026 it is online, it asks for no experience and you need an FA Number to log in. It covers planning fun activities, communication and safeguarding children.
Put safeguarding first. England Football's Play Safe page says a coach or manager is "in a position of trust and responsibility" and tells coaches to work with another DBS-checked coach. The FA's safeguarding page for parents and carers tells parents to ask whether a coach is DBS checked and safeguarding trained, and to keep the club welfare officer's details to hand.
The club sets what you need, and this page can't. Ask your club's welfare officer what check and training the club needs from you before you coach. Never run a session alone with one child.
Ask your league about the format too. England Football's guide to game formats lists 3v3 for under 7s and 5v5 for under 8s and under 9s from the 2026-27 season, but leagues differ.
It also helps to know what a child sees at their first session, because your players will be living it. No governing body's page says how many things a new coach should teach, so that part of this page is my own judgement and it's labelled as such.
Five blocks, no clipboard
Coaching Under 7s With No Experience: Your First-Session Plan
This is a plan for roughly 45 minutes, in five short blocks. It is this page's own plan, and a club may run its sessions differently.
- 1
Arrival and free play (5 minutes). Every child gets a ball as they arrive. No instructions, just touching it, and you learn names while you wait for stragglers.
- 2
One warm-up game (5 minutes). Try "tag with a ball": everyone dribbles their own ball, and a tag is a light touch on someone else's ball with the sole of your foot, not on the child. It's a game, not laps.
- 3
One skill game (10 minutes). This is the one thing for today, for example "stop it still". Give each child a ball, show it in under a minute, then let them play.
- 4
Small-sided games (20 minutes). Run several short games on a small pitch with small goals, in the format your league uses. Rotate the teams so everybody plays, and use rolling substitutes so every child gets a good share of the game (England Football's guidance on 5v5 games).
- 5
Gather and go (5 minutes). Hand out water, say one thing you saw that you liked and tell them the date of the next session. Then hand each child back to a named adult.
For the skill game, an opening line that works is: "Shall we see who can stop the ball dead the most times before I count to twenty?" It sets a challenge, it needs no explanation and nobody is out.
Keep every game going with rules that keep any game fun, such as no elimination and instant restarts.
One thing, said once
How Few Things to Teach at a First Football Session
My rule is one thing a session, and three across a half-term. As an example, you could teach stop it, move it with your head up, then pass it to a friend. That sequence is this page's own idea.
Say the teaching message in about a minute, then let them play. Small children learn by doing, and a long talk loses them before they've kicked anything.
England Football's guidance gives a reason to say less. Its 5v5 page says "Shouting instructions and telling them what to do all the time won't help them become great problem-solvers" and "Be positive. Give your players freedom to express themselves and offer plenty of encouragement" (England Football's guidance on 5v5 games).
On match days, let every child have the ball. The same page says to give each player at least half of the game, and it describes that as something to aim for.
The same one-skill rule works at home, and one skill focus, never several at once shows how. For what to say once play starts, try one sentence per go.
If you still fear not knowing the game, the three things actually worth knowing will cover you. The "one thing a session" rule is my judgement, and no source tests it.
Two roles, one cap
Dad Hat, Coach Hat: Coaching Your Own Child
When you're the coach, your child is one of the squad. They get the same turns, the same praise and the same corrections as everyone else. When you're the parent, they are the most important person in your day.
Make it physical. Wear a plain cap that goes on at the gate and comes off when the last child has left. On the pitch you can be "coach" if your child likes that.
Say it to your child beforehand: "Cap on, I'm coach. Cap off, I'm just me." Then keep to three rules.
- No coaching in the car. The ride home belongs to the parent.
- No extra drills at home unless they ask. Coaching-creep at home is easy to slip into.
- Never give your child the biggest job or the hardest corrections.
I once spent a whole car ride explaining one touch to my own child, in the coach voice, and the silence from the back seat was the only feedback I needed.
The other parents matter too. Ask them to cheer, not coach, and read about the other parents on the sideline if it gets loud. If your child begins to dislike having you as coach, look at if your child starts to dislike it.
The cap is a plain practical suggestion. No source tests it with young children.
What is known and what is not
What England Football Says, and Where It Stops
The free beginner course exists, is online, needs no prior experience and needs an FA Number. It covers safeguarding and planning fun activities. That is England Football's free beginner course, as of 14 October 2026.
Be positive, don't shout instructions all the time and aim for each player to have at least half the game. That is England Football's guidance on 5v5 games.
England Football's guide to game formats lists 3v3 for under 7s and 5v5 for under 8s and 9s from 2026-27. Leagues differ, so check yours.
Coaches are in a position of trust and should work with another DBS-checked coach, and parents may ask whether a coach is DBS checked and safeguarding trained. Those come from England Football's Play Safe page and The FA's safeguarding page for parents and carers.
These are England Football and FA pages written for clubs and parents. None tests a first session, none says how many things a beginner should teach and none says what a parent coach should do about their own child. The plan, the one-thing rule and the cap are this page's own suggestions.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Coaching Your Child's First Football Team
Do I need a qualification to coach my child's first football team?
England Football offers a free online beginner course that needs no experience (England Football). What your club needs from you is the club's call, so ask the welfare officer.
How long should a first session be?
This page's plan runs about 45 minutes in five blocks. Check your league's rules on match length (England Football).
How many things should I teach?
One a session. That's this page's own rule, backed by England Football's advice not to shout instructions all the time (England Football).
What if my own child plays up when I'm coach?
Treat them as you'd treat any player on the pitch. Deal with feelings in the car or at home with your parent hat on.
Do I need a DBS check?
Ask the club welfare officer. England Football says to work with another DBS-checked coach and The FA tells parents to ask (England Football)(The FA).
What format should my team play?
England Football's format guide lists 3v3 for under 7s and 5v5 for under 8s and 9s from 2026-27 (England Football). Check your own league.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next, depending on what you need for your first session.
Rules that keep any game fun?
Five small rule tweaks that work on top of whatever you're already playing.
Read about simple rulesWhat happens at a first session?
The shape of a first club session from the child's side.
Read about a first club sessionTonight's five minutes
Pick one thing, write five blocks, find a cap.
Choose the one thing session one will teach, write the five blocks on the back of your hand and ask your club welfare officer what you need before you start.