This morning was another first for the Youth Section of Downpatrick FC when we were able to field four teams at the Downpatrick Youth League Mini Soccer at the 3G Pitch in the Red High.

This Mini Soccer Section is Small Sided Games for under 8’s and 10’s, each team has seven players on the pitch at anyone time and each match lasts no longer than 10 minutes. The idea behind these Small Sided Games is to give the players more game time and give each child more opportunities to have touches on the ball.

This morning we had nearly fifty boys and girls divided into four teams at the two age groups with some of the players playing a football match for the first time. All four teams tasted defeat and success which is part of their development but more importantly they enjoyed playing in different positions and getting more touches of the ball.

We would like to thank all those parents who were up this morning to offer support and encouragement to all the children, to the coaches who gave up their Sunday morning to coach the kids for the two hours.

Training continues on Monday night from 6.00pm – 7.00pm in the Red High.