The 5U-8U Recreational League provides a fun, safe, and developmentally appropriate soccer environment for 4- to 8-year-olds. The 5U-8U Recreational program is designed to help players continue to grow in the sport of soccer by introducing them to formalized games. The specialized curriculum helps players grow in their technical skills and learn the rules of soccer at a developmentally appropriate level for their age. Players will receive a solid foundation of coaching needed to continue into the 9U-10U level and onward.

• Teams play small-sided games (4 v 4) with no goalkeepers, as we focus on improving each player’s technical ability with the ball.
• Teams are coached by parent volunteer coaches with the guidance and help of the club’s director, Clint Shade.  Teams generally consist of 6-8 players.
• 5U practices once a week.
• 6U – 8U practice twice a week.
• Games are played at a centralized location.
• 5U Teams play 8 games each season.
• 6U-8U Teams play 14 games each season (Weeknight and Saturday’s)

Our curriculum is constantly evolving in order to provide the best for our players and provide connections from our recreational programming through our top competitive teams. At this age, we focus primarily on building player’s technical foundations as they are not developmentally ready for the tactical decision making of the larger game. You can see an example session of the provided curriculum above. For more ideas on what to work on with your player at home check out this blog.

The Whole-Part-Whole (WPW) philosophy is a learning model used by the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club to train age-appropriate curriculum aimed at the long-term development of a soccer player. The WPW philosophy was first outlined by Malcolm Knowles in 1973 and is used in many learning situations, both practical and theory based. When added to a well-planned and well-thought out pedagogy, the WPW philosophy will put players in realistic situations, that should always includes decision-
making elements.

When coaching soccer, this can be used in a variety of ways to break down a technique, skill, or tactic. Most commonly the players are taken from a practice with high game context to a low one, before returning back to the original practice. When possible it is best to practice the game, or elements of the game, in their entirety. An example of this could occur in a topic such as ‘Defending in the Direct Game Channel’. What do you do if the individuals or units in your squad don’t understand how to defend 1v1 or 2v2? You break it down.

‘Whole’ doesn’t necessarily mean a game. Actually in this theory, a ‘whole’ practice could be a series of complex skills that can be broken down into more discrete skills. The ‘whole’ element should be as realistic to the game as possible, then the coach looks to pull actions or components of the game and break them down into chunks so the players can understand and digest the information. The coach will then pull those elements back together into the game situation.

References: Swanson, R.A. & Law, B. (1993). Whole-part-whole learning model. Performance Improvement Quarterly. 6(1), pp 43-53.

@coachdanwright. Coachdanwright.blogspot.co.uk

What is The Rapids Way? The Rapids Way embodies everything we are and stand for as a soccer club. The Rapids Way is much more than just what we do and how we do it. It encompasses who we are as a Club, from how we handle our administrative details to how coaches instruct players in training to how our players and families conduct themselves on and off the field. The Club’s mission and vision shape a philosophy, methodology, and culture that provide a framework for us to work in these key areas.

The Rapids Way is defined by the experience each individual player has from the time they enter the Club to the time they graduate. From a technical perspective, we focus on establishing an individual foundation prior to teaching group actions and tactics. Using the Whole-Part-Whole teaching model we are able to build a Long-Term Development Plan that drives each player’s experiences in the four key pillars of the game: technical, tactical, physical and psycho-social. These individual pieces come together in the form of a distinct style of play that develops in our teams that is consistent from our most inexperienced levels to our elite levels in the Club.

The culture we create provides a system of support for all of our young players. We take pride in the professionalism exhibited by our coaching staff, from the way they teach to their demeanor and appearance at sessions and games. Our parents are well informed and respectful on the sidelines, during both games and practices, which in turn creates a fun, safe and enjoyable atmosphere for our players to develop. This is captured in our free-flowing and positive thinking style of play.

We have a saying in the Club, “Prepare your child for the path, not the path for your child.” This is the Rapids Way.

Clint Shade
Recreational Director
[email protected]
303.399.5858 ext. 242