Planning a soccer practice for kids can be a difficult task, but essentially the best practices have one thing in common: balance. It is important that kids have the opportunity to develop their skills and their knowledge of soccer techniques, but it is just as crucial that kids come away from a soccer practice with a sense of enjoyment.
Warm Up
It is always important to warm up before taking part in any sport. Kids can, however, easily get a soccer overload if the warm-up is soccer related, too, so prior to practices a good idea might be to use an energetic game like Bulldogs instead. To play Bulldogs, one or two children are nominated as bulldogs and stand between the sidelines of half a soccer field. The rest of the players have to try to cross to the opposite sides of the field without being touched. If they are touched, they become a bulldog, and this continues until everyone has been caught. Bulldogs warms all the muscles up without being soccer focused, and the interest levels of the kids tends to rise in anticipation of the actual soccer practice.
Stretching
Although kids don't need to stretch as much as adults do, getting them into good routines from an early age is beneficial for the rest of their sporting lives. Focus should be placed on making stretching fun and easy to commit to memory. Use a simple top-to-bottom pattern that focuses on key areas such as the neck, arms, legs and ankles, which are soccer specific. Use fun exercises such as star jumps or hula-hoop movements. Encourage the children to make some noise when they shake off each stretch to make stretching more fun and memorable.
Drills
Drills for children should be focused on providing short, sharp ways to improve their skills. Avoid becoming too technical, especially with younger kids, as they are likely to lose interest. Instead, use activities such as dribbling balls through a series of cones, and add elements of competition such as a relay between two or three teams, as competition tends to focus kids' interest. For passing and heading drills, get kids to work in pairs or threes, as working with friends increases kids' enjoyment levels.
Mini Games
Traditionally, coaches tend to end training sessions with one large game. This tends to be a reasonable idea, but another option is to divide kids into three or four small teams and play a mini tournament. Kids love competition, and the chance to win promotes enjoyment and excitement. There are practical reasons, too: smaller teams mean that individuals get more possession and involvement in the game, and this improves skill levels and is ultimately more fun for the individual child.
Timings
Care should be taken to avoid letting each individual activity last too long. Drills should either be repeated two or three times or kept to a maximum of five minutes per technique, and the same goes for the warm-up, stretching and individual game times. Changing activities regularly encourages kids' focus and participation.
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