Help your child get better at football, in the garden

One ball and a few cones or jumpers will do. Pick one thing to work on, like their weaker foot, and play a short game that practises it, with you feeding, in goal or defending at walking pace. Keep goes short, stop for drinks, and let them pick the last game.

Plan a garden session

Free gives you a free session every week for your first two weeks, then 1 new session and 3 drills a month. It works for one child, or brothers and sisters up to three.

A 24-minute session in the garden

For one U9 child working on changing direction: use a ball, six cones and a clear 10 metre square. Four cones mark the corners; two make a two metre gate. Leave clear space beyond the gate. Treat these times as a starting point and pause or shorten the session when the child needs it.

  1. Minutes 0 to 4: explore with the ball. You are a feeder and partner, offering simple passes and asking the child to turn into space.
  2. Minutes 4 to 10: beat you at the gate. Defend at walking pace and let the child try a change of direction. Walk back together with the ball between attempts; this is the breather.
  3. Minutes 10 to 12: stop for a drink and talk about which turn helped.
  4. Minutes 12 to 20: repeat the gate game. Move to half pace only if the child is ready; change the gate width if they need more room. Keep the walk back between attempts.
  5. Minutes 20 to 24: let the child choose a favourite challenge, then finish with what they noticed. Playing properly against them is your call at home. In England, the FA's Grassroots Code asks adults not to play in training with children, their own included.

Set up

One child and the adult use a 10 metre square with a two metre cone gate. The adult defends at walking pace. Take a breather while retrieving the ball.

One go at the gate. P1 is your child; You is you, defending at walking pace.

What helps most

  • Let them choose some of it. Finish with a game they pick, then ask what they noticed.
  • Praise the try, not the goal. Say what they did well on the way, not what went wrong afterwards.
  • One tip at a time. Give them one thing to think about, not a list.
  • Stop while they still want more. A short session they enjoyed beats a long one they didn't.

Get a session made for your child

Say how old they are, what you want to work on and what space and kit you have. Every activity in the plan says what your job is.

Plan a garden session

Questions parents ask

How long should we practise football at home?

Bibs On fills in 45 minutes from U9 and 30 minutes for younger children, and you can change it. Keep goes short and have a drink every ten minutes.

Should I play against my child properly?

That's your call at home. In England, the FA's Grassroots Code asks adults not to play in training with children, their own included. When you plan, Bibs On asks how much you'll play in. If you don't pick, you join in with no contact, and only a parent is offered "Play properly, in my own garden". Either way, your first go against them is never at full pace, and your effort only goes up from there. If you play properly, the plan asks you to let them win it back when they do the right thing.

Do I need to know about football?

No. Each activity says how to set it up, how it's played and what your job is in it.

Is it free?

Yes. Free gives you a free session every week for your first two weeks, then 1 new session and 3 drills a month. You sign up with an email address and no payment details.

Can brothers and sisters join in?

Yes, up to three in one plan. With two, let them play against each other for part of it while you feed. With three, try two against one and swap after each go.

Does your child's coach use Bibs On?

The team sheet link they send opens on any phone without the app, shows who plays when, and changes when the coach changes the sheet.