5 Fun Soccer Drills to do With Your Child at Home

Enjoying soccer at home is crucial for youngsters to hone in on their skills during soccer class. 

Approaching them with, “let's play some soccer!” or “want to go kick the ball around” sometimes won’t appeal to them. Instead, empower them by asking them to teach you the moves they’ve learned during soccer classes or at practice.

Another tactic to getting kids to enjoy soccer at home is by creating a fun game for them. This can be one of the best ways to get their attention and build their skills at home. Here are five of our favorite soccer games to practice soccer with children.

Fun Soccer Drill #1: Target Practice

Set up a line of your child’s favorite toys or anything that stands up straight and can be knocked over. Challenge them to see how long it will take them to kick a ball or throw-in a ball at the targets and knock them all over.

Start by marking a designated spot where they must throw-in or kick the ball from (10-15 feet from targets to start). Make them use their feet to dribble the ball back to the spot each time they kick or throw it.

If they’re doing throw-ins, be sure they start with the ball back behind their necks, with their feet planted on the ground, and they throw the ball straight over their heads. If they chose to kick it, have them direct their plant foot (the foot next to the ball) at the targets before using the inside of their other foot to make contact with the ball. They’re practicing controlled dribbling, passing, and throw-ins without even knowing it!

Fun Soccer Drill #2: Obstacle Course

Using chalk or whatever you can find to mark the ground, create an obstacle course that they can dribble through. Half of the fun is making the course so  encourage them to insert the moves they’ve learned at different points in the course and help their ideas come to life. Always ask them, “what’s that move called again?” or “which moves do we use to turn our bodies/change direction (pull back, chop, step over)”. The more interested you seem, the more excited/engaged they will be. 

Fun Soccer Drill #3: Juggling Practice

Juggling is difficult for children under 10 years old, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try! Rather than trying to keep the ball in the air after every touch, see if they can keep the ball bouncing and count every contact they get before the ball settles on the ground. Frequently ask them what their record is and challenge them to beat it each day. Try using a plastic inflatable volleyball or balloon to build confidence if they get frustrated trying with a soccer ball. Play with them and help them keep the ball up!

Fun Soccer Drill #4: Kickball

If you have space, kickball is a great way to teach proper shooting techniques. Encourage them to point their kicking toe to the ground, strike the ball with their laces, and land on their shooting foot. They often like to kick the ball with their toes as they feel that it generates more power, but it’s a bad habit as they’ll have less control over where the ball goes. If you’re limited with space you can play with 1 or 2 bases instead of 3. Try and get the whole family involved! The kids love to play kickball at school, so it should be a hit at home.

Fun Soccer Drill #5: Kick-backs:

Stand a yard away from your child with a soccer ball, throw the ball at their feet and have them kick the ball directly out of the air back into your hands. Compliment them on their accuracy when they get it right back to you, and be patient if you have to fetch the ball. Have them use the insides of their feet and laces.

Kick-backs improves their control and technique. It also ingrains muscle memory, so they feel comfortable knocking the ball with the insides of their feet and laces rather than their toes. See how many times they can get the ball back into your hands out of 10 tries. See if they can improve on their score the next time they try.

Final Thoughts

Coaching youth soccer is all about a balance of skill learning and fun games. If you ever put too much emphasis on skill learning, they may lose some of the fun and joy from playing, but if it’s all fun games they won’t develop the technical skills and muscle memory to improve their game.

When you insert the skill learning into interactive games they begin to develop more skill while having fun at the same time. That’s my goal as a coach and I’m happy to share this with all of our Tiny Kicks families so the kids can enjoy playing at home as much as they enjoy our sessions.