We had another hectic practice as I tried to squeeze in a couple activities that I thought were important. One was designed to focus on good throw-in technique. The other was designed to focus on the idea of moving the ball forward by dribbling and passing, to get in scoring position. We also had a short scrimmage at the end, in which I stopped play now and then to point out what was happening and what should happen.
I've read repeatedly that one shouldn't try to teach the kids much about passing at this age, because their brain development and/or social skills just isn't quite ready (with most kids, but, of course, not all). So that activity in which they were passing the ball forward was more about kicking up-field rather than looking all around and finding a good passing angle. When I was playing soccer, passing was my favorite skill, but I'll admit I probably don't remember how I was thinking at the age of 7 or 8.
I'll try to keep the last practice more focused on fun. And, I'll probably keep it short and try not to squeeze too much into the time.
