First Touches

A first night with the ball — carrying, rolling and catching, hidden inside games they already know from the yard.

Gaelic football
U6
45 min
10–20 kids + parent helpers
3 coaches
Effort 2/5
20x20m grid
ball-familiarity
first-touch
movement
nursery

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: A first-size football per child, 20 flat markers, 6 hoops (or bibs laid flat as nests)

Warm-up7 min

Follow the Leader

Setup: 20×20m marker square. Pairs, one ball each — share one between two if you're short. Helpers spread around the edges, not bunched at one side.

How it works: The leader travels anywhere in the square — walking, hopping, side-stepping, tip-toes — hugging the ball, and the partner copies everything. Swap leader on the whistle. Every third whistle call FREEZE: everyone stops dead, holds the ball still and finds the coach's eyes. That freeze is your control switch for the whole night — practise it early and often.

What to say

“Hug the ball with two arms, like carrying the messages.”
“Eyes where you're going, not down at your boots.”
“On FREEZE, statue still — first pair frozen picks the next move.”

Easier

Walking only, no swaps — coach leads the whole group from the middle.

Harder

Leader adds a floor touch (put it down, pick it up) mid-move; partners must copy that too.

Activity12 min

Squirrels and Acorns

Setup: All the balls piled in a centre circle of markers — the acorn store. A hoop nest in each corner, teams of 3–4 squirrels per nest, one helper per nest to keep order.

How it works: One squirrel per nest runs at a time, takes ONE acorn from the store in two hands and carries it home, then the next squirrel goes. When the store is empty, squirrels may raid other nests — still one acorn at a time, and nobody is allowed to guard a nest. Stop after two minutes, count acorns together out loud, tip them all back in and go again. Second round: two squirrels from each nest run at once.

What to say

“One acorn, two hands wrapped around it.”
“Run around other squirrels, never through them.”
“Place it in the nest gently — a dropped acorn rolls away.”

Easier

Walk and roll the acorn home along the grass instead of carrying.

Harder

Carry one acorn under each arm, or hop the last three steps into the nest.

Activity8 min

Body Ball

Setup: Same square, ball each, plenty of space between children. Coach in the middle where everyone can see you.

How it works: Call a body part and the ball goes there: HEAD means balance it on top with two hands helping, KNEE means hold it against a knee standing tall, TUMMY means hug it in tight. Then the big one — SKY: throw it just above your head and catch it, or let it bounce once first. Mix the calls faster as they warm up, and sneak SKY in more and more, because that catch is tonight's real work.

What to say

“Soft hands — let the ball land in them like an egg.”
“Watch the ball all the way into your fingers.”
“Dropped it? Chase it, scoop it, back in the game — no fuss.”

Easier

Every SKY gets one bounce before the catch.

Harder

Clap once before you catch, or do the holds standing on one leg.

The rest of this session is free — along with 3 more this week.

PitchPlans coaching team

Free on PitchPlans — new sessions weekly.