Fun Soccer Drills for Kids

Fun soccer drills are a great way to maintain a high level of interest and enthusiasm in learning new skills for the game.

Training is such an important part of soccer, and while running normal drills such as target practice can get a little monotonous, introducing some fun drills should see young players in particular, flourish with a smile.

Such is the variety of skills needed to be an accomplished soccer player, that variety and fun is often key to rapid progression.

Heading the ball is an important skill which often falls by the wayside during training, but here is a way to make it fun.

Stand in the center of a circle of players and get one of the circle to call out the name of another player while tossing the ball into the middle. The player in the center has to then head the ball to the named player, and if they fail, they swap places with the player who threw the ball.

This helps team building, communication and just as importantly, the skill of controlling headers to where you want them to go. This is a great way to have some fun and challenge young players.

Another great team and skill building exercise is to play “tag” with the ball as a fun soccer drill. Dribbling is such a big factor of the beautiful game, that the more comfortable a young player is with the ball at their feet, they better able they will be to find time and space during a match.

Nominate one player who is “it” and let them chase around the rest of the players who are all dribbling balls at their feet. If the “it” player manages to get the ball away from one of the others, then the caught player can now be “it”. This is a great way to enhance dribbling co-ordination, as well as getting used to ball control at speed.

There are other great fun soccer drills to introduce to help with basic, essential passing skills. The sharper and more accurate passing skills are, the better a team player the child will be.

You can play Piggy in the Middle with a center player trying to get the ball from two others who are trying to pass the ball around them.

A variation on the headed game mentioned above is to pass the ball on the ground in a circle, but everything must be one touch only. These are all great fun skill sets to introduce to young players from an early age, which will definitely benefit enthusiasm!