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A girl kicks a ball into a mini-goal.
Session

Play Phase session: goal golf

Looking for an activity for 4–6-year-olds? Try goal golf. It's easy to set up and requires a small amount of equipment.

This session will help players:  

  • improve a variety of movement skills
  • begin to develop balance and body positioning related to football
  • work on their coordination.

If you like this idea, download the session plan and give it a go. And don’t forget to share your experience on the England Football Community. We’d love to know how you got on. 

 

Goal golf is an 'individual game'. This means each child has an object, such as a ball or bean bag, with which they move and interact in different ways. The freedom of these games gives children the chance to explore and try new things.

Setting up goal golf is easy. All you'll need is a group of players, cones, some balls and bean bags.


Set out a course with cones as the markers. Each 'hole' on the course has a start point and a 'goal' to score into.

To start, allow each child to choose an object they are comfortable throwing or kicking. The children then work through the golf course at their own speed.

They complete a task that gets them to the next hole, just like in a real golf game. The challenge is to throw or kick the object into the goal in as few turns as possible.

You can encourage the children to be goalkeepers and throw the object. You could also make it more game-specific by asking them to play with a ball and their feet. If in doubt, give them the choice.

Set out a course with cones as the markers. Each 'hole' on the course has a start point and a 'goal' to score into. Allow each child to choose an object they are comfortable throwing or kicking. The challenge is to throw or kick the object into the goal in as few turns as possible.
Set out a course with cones as the markers. Each 'hole' on the course has a start point and a 'goal' to score into. Allow each child to choose an object they are comfortable throwing or kicking. The challenge is to throw or kick the object into the goal in as few turns as possible.

Coaching activity

Watch this video to see the activity in action. 

Imaginative play – add a little imagination

Ask the children to create a story while playing – maybe the course is a magical kingdom they have to explore.


Object play – introduce equipment

Introduce different objects to throw and kick. This could be a balloon, ball, beanbag or even their favourite teddy!

Social play – bring everyone together

Ask the children to play in pairs. Can they work together and take it in turns to throw or kick the object towards the goal?

Remember to give it a football focus. Can the players pretend to be their favourite goalkeeper while throwing? Or could they be their favourite outfield player when kicking?

Want to get more from the game? Use our idea generator to increase the returns for your players.