by Rashmi Sharma | May 16, 2020 | Fitness Activity
This move enables players to quickly change direction to avoid a defender.
- Each player dribbles a ball in the forward direction.
- The player then steps on the ball with the sole of their foot and drags or pulls it backwards or sideways and turns their body to then face the ball.
- The player can then continue to dribble the ball in the new direction.
Soccer truly is a fun, accessible, and popular sport. As with all sports, the more the focus is kept on age-appropriate, fun, skill-developing games, the more engaged your child will be with the sport and the more they will want to get out and play.
by Rashmi Sharma | May 16, 2020 | Fitness Activity
- Give each player a ball.
- Players pass the ball from the inside of their right foot to the inside of their left foot while maintaining control of the ball and their body. Have them pass the ball back and forth between their feet a number of times in order to increase their level of control with the ball. For younger players, saying “ding dong” while passing the ball from one foot to the other is fun.
by Rashmi Sharma | May 16, 2020 | Fitness Activity
- Starting at a slow pace, have a player place one foot on top of the soccer ball, then place that foot back on the ground.
- The player should then place their other foot on the ball and then place that back on the ground. (The player may be a little off balance but this will improve as they get used to the activity).
- Slowly start to increase the speed at which the player moves their feet and see how long and how fast the player can go.
by Rashmi Sharma | May 16, 2020 | Fitness Activity
- Spread all players out across the field and give half the players balls.
- At the coach’s “go” call, all players start to jog around the field (those with the balls must dribble the balls as they jog).
- Players without a ball must start to call for passes from those with balls and those with balls must pass to open players while continuing to jog.
- Coaches can require players to use different passing techniques for a certain number of minutes and then change the technique. (Passes can be with the inside of the foot, the outside of the foot, or kids can do a one touch pass (when the player receives the ball and passes it immediately without stopping it).
A variation of this game is passing one ball amongst a team of 5 or 6 players, all numbered, and passing the ball in order (ie. #1 passes to #2, #2 passes to #3, and so on). The next player in succession must move in front of the passer to appear “open.”
by Rashmi Sharma | May 16, 2020 | Fitness Activity
Practice keeping the ball in the air with any ‘playable’ part of the body… feet, legs, shoulders, head, etc. For an extra challenge: ‘Around The World.’ Keep the ball up in this order: right foot > right thigh > right shoulder > head > left shoulder > left thigh > left foot
In general: The more a child plays with the ball, the more comfortable and creative they’ll be!
