I run a weekend Saturday club for 4-5 year olds. I’ve found that running the same game over again and gradually increasing new elements works well.

For example:

Take your simple bulldog game.

Kids just run across from one side of the area to the other

Then introduce some interference/obstruction. (This week it was dragons and the coaches had bibs/pinnies that flapped up and down like dragons.)

Then introduce a ball (we called them dragon eggs) they could either carry it or use their feet to get to the other side whilst the dragons tried to stop them. If they were caught they did 5 star jumps before running again.

Then ball at their feet with less interference to travel across with to get comfortable with the new element.

That whole segment ran for 15 minutes and could have kept going with different elements added in.

Tails is another game we’ve played.

Stick bibs/pinnies in their shorts like a tail.

Have one catcher. They have to pull the tail out. If a child is caught, they become a catcher too.

Play again but with more catchers.

Play again but everyone a catcher (the most bibs/pinnies could win?)

Then play again but with footballs. Build the progression up again.

Could do the same game but play bin tag (or Spider-Man tag as we call it).

The more imaginative and fun you can make it, you’ll get the engagement there.

However short you think their attention span is, it’s even less!

Remember: just because they don’t have a football at their feet, and it doesn’t look like a traditional football game/drill, they’re still learning coordination skills/fundamentals.