The Fun Football Programme run by Island Bay United is part of NZ Football's Whole of Football Framework.

Fun Football is designed to assist players aged 7-8 years to develop basic soccer skills through direct coaching, fun, practice and games.

Fun Football mainly runs on the Wakefield Park artificial turf on Saturday mornings starting at 8am sharp. On every third weekend a Fun Football Festival day sends teams to play games against other clubs, using the same format.

U7 Fun Football is for players turning 7 in the current playing year.

U8 Fun Football is for players turning 8 in the current playing year.

Players are taken through 2 training drills called Station Rotation then play 4 short games of 5 v 5 on small fields, with no goalkeepers and modified rules (see below). Once players reach 8th grade in Fun Football, players also attend a training session during the week.

Early engagement into the game should be encouraged as it is necessary to reach excellence. This initiation phase is to allow the children to discover the game, provide for learning basic fundamental movement skills and create positive football experiences.

Gear

Players are provided with a yellow IBU club shirt. They need their own yellow socks, black shorts, shin pads and a size 3 ball.

Fun Football Guidelines

• No competitive games

• Adults and children work together informally to meet the personal/emotional needs of the youngsters

• Lots of chances to score goals and enjoy mini challenges

• Encourage participation in a variety of additional activities to develop physical literacy (e.g. running, jumping, throwing, etc)

• Parents and game leaders bring out the fun of football through guiding and supporting their children to understand the basic rules of Fun Football

Coaches and Managers

Like all club activities we are reliant on parents to run the Saturday morning programme. Coaches will be provided with training and coaching plans but will require parents to help with organising activities and assisting with games. Like everything with children this age, the more parents contribute in the sessions by encouraging and supporting the coach and players, the more the children will benefit. Please give consideration to whether you can take on one of these roles.

Pitch Allocation

The pitch that your team is allocated will be displayed in the clubrooms on Saturday mornings.

Fun Football rules

1.  8-10 minute games (can be 15mins in U8)

2.  hooter signals change of drill or new game

3.  No goal keepers

4.  No offside

5.  Goal kick - attacking players return to half way

6.  No corners

7.  Kick-ins instead of throw-ins

Expected behaviour from children:

• To respect adults and equipment

• Do your best and have fun

• To display good sportsmanship at all times

Expected behaviour from adults:

• Please respect your child’s coach and teammates by being on time, which means arriving sufficiently early to be with the team, kitted up and boots on by 8 am, rather than arriving at 8am

• If you are unable to play please respect your child’s coach and teammates by giving the manager as much warning as possible

• Applaud good play and encourage fair play from both teams!!!

• Avoid criticizing your team or the opposition

Cancellations

In the unlikely event a Southerly blows through and the games are cancelled you should expect a WhatsApp message from your coach or manager advising you of the situation.

If you have any questions please contact our U7 coordinator or U8 coordinator as appropriate