30-Second Version
- When ten-year-olds switched from 7v7 to 4v4 in one study, the players who'd been least involved gained the most: a 143% jump in actions, against 72% for the most involved players.
- Across studies with players aged roughly 6 to 10, smaller formats consistently produce more passes, dribbles, shots and receptions per player.
- Small games don't give you everything. Some decisions, like switching play or supporting at distance, need more players and more space to exist at all.
- A practical default: go small for touches, and add players when the decision you want needs them. Several small games running at once usually beats one big one.
Most coaches would guess that smaller teams mean more touches. The more interesting question is whose touches.
One study filmed ten-year-olds playing both 7v7 and 4v4 and split them by how involved they were in the 7v7 games. In 4v4, the most involved third of players increased their actions by 72%. The least involved third increased theirs by 143% (Hintermann et al., PLOS ONE, 2021). Overall, 4v4 doubled the number of actions per player per minute, and both groups got more successful at what they did. The players who gained most from the smaller game were the ones the bigger game had been leaving out.
Actions per player per minute
In 4v4, the least involved players made more actions per minute than the most involved players had in 7v7.
103 ten-year-olds in Switzerland, grouped by how involved they were in 7v7 (middle third not shown). One study: Hintermann et al., PLOS ONE, 2021.
What the research shows
The Hintermann study isn't a one-off. The same pattern shows up across different ages and formats:
- Under-7 and under-9 players, filmed in competitive matches, performed more technical actions in 3v3 (under-7) and 5v5 (under-9) than in 7v7, with no difference in effective playing time between formats (Bergmann, Braksiek & Meier, International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2022).
- Sixteen ten-year-olds in Portugal playing 3v3 against 6v6 saw very large drops in the bigger game: per minute, about two-thirds fewer balls received and nearly 90% fewer shots each (Clemente et al., Journal of Human Kinetics, 2019).
- Under-14 players had significantly more ball contacts, successful passes and involvement in 3v3 than in 5v5 (Alcântara et al., Sport Sciences for Health, 2021).
U.S. Soccer's format standards follow the same logic: 4v4 without goalkeepers up to under-8, 7v7 at under-9 and under-10, 9v9 at under-11 and under-12, and 11v11 from under-13 (U.S. Soccer, Small-Sided Standards). That's a policy rather than a study, but it's built on the same idea.
What small games can't give you
Smaller isn't automatically better for everything, and it's worth being clear about what you give up.
- Some decisions need numbers. Switching play needs width and a far side to switch to. Supporting at distance needs players at distance. A 2v2 on a small pitch has less of both. That's reasoning rather than a study, but it's why the example game in Why Your Soccer Practice Feels Like Chaos is 3v3 with two goals at each end to switch between, rather than 2v2.
- The same game won't produce the same numbers twice. The Portuguese study found technical actions in small-sided games varied a lot from one session to the next. Don't read too much into one session's worth of touches.
- Intensity goes up. Smaller games are more physically demanding per player. With young players that's usually fine and often the point, but it's a reason to watch rest.
- More touches isn't the same as more learning. Every study above counts actions. None follows players over a season to see whether they improved more. It's a strong inference that more touches and more involvement help young players develop, but it's still an inference.
Choosing a format
A practical way to use this, rather than a rule:
- Start small for touches. If the point of the activity is getting the ball to every player often, 3v3 or 4v4 is hard to beat at U6–U10.
- Add players when the decision needs them. If you want switching, width or support at distance, give the game enough players and space for those decisions to exist. Those are the Players and Space levers of STEP.
- Use an overload rather than a bigger game. A neutral player or a 4v3 gives the team in possession more options without taking the ball away from everyone else.
- Run more games, not bigger ones. Sixteen players in two 4v4 games get far more of the ball than sixteen in one 8v8. When a session feels slow, this is usually the fastest fix, as the STEP piece covers.
Enter how many players turned up. The arithmetic is the easy part: which split fits depends on what the activity is for.
Start here is the most games that keeps every game between 3v3 and 4v4. If the decision you want needs more players, like switching play, move up a row.
Next session
Pick the player who touches the ball least in your usual game. Put them in a 3v3 or 4v4 and count their touches for five minutes, then do the same in your usual format. The difference is the case for going small, in your own group.
Common questions about small-sided games
What is the best small-sided game for young players? There's no single best one. For touches and involvement, 3v3 and 4v4 consistently produce more actions per player than 7v7 in studies with players aged around 6 to 10. For decisions that need width or support at distance, you need more players and more space.
Is 4v4 better than 7v7 for U8 and U10 players? For individual involvement, the studies so far say yes: in one study of ten-year-olds, 4v4 doubled the actions per player per minute compared to 7v7. U.S. Soccer's own standards use 4v4 up to under-8 and 7v7 at under-9 and under-10, so older players in that range still play the bigger format in matches.
Why do the quietest players benefit most from small-sided games? In a bigger game, a few confident players can dominate the ball. With fewer teammates to hide behind or defer to, everyone has to get involved. In that study of ten-year-olds, the least involved players increased their actions by 143%, twice the gain of the most involved.
How many players should be in a small-sided game? Enough for the decision you're trying to teach, and no more. For touches, 3v3 or 4v4. For switching play or wider support, add players or use a neutral.
This is part of Session & Curriculum Design. See How to Plan a Soccer Training Session for where formats fit in a whole session, and Coaching U6–U10 for how formats change with age.
For 7v7 shapes, see 7v7 Formations: 2-3-1 or 3-2-1, and How to Choose, and try them on the free 7v7 formation builder.