When you're working with children or teens you may want to incorporate games into your soccer practices to keep the players engaged while honing their skills. Adjust the difficulty of the game based on the age and ability level of the players you're working with. Use games focusing only on one or two skills with the younger players, and add more skills with older players.
Hit The Coach
"Hit the Coach" teaches young children, usually in the 3 to 6 age-range, to dribble and pass with accuracy, according to Soccerhelp.com. Line the players up shoulder-to-shoulder, making sure that each player has a ball. Stand approximately 5 to 10 feet away, and on your "go," instruct the players to dribble the ball and try to hit you with a pass when they have a good shot. Start running slowly away from the group, as they dribble in your direction, taking shots as you as they can. When you've been hit by a ball five or six times, stop the game, regroup and play again.
Shoot for Shoes
For players 8 years old and younger, you may want to use the game "Shoot for the Shoes" to teach your players how to throw in a ball correctly. Split your team up into three equal groups. Set up four cones in a 15- by 20-yard grid, then separate the grid into three equal sections lengthwise. Have two of the groups stand outside the grid on opposite sides of the rectangle. Have the third group stand inside the center section of the grid. All of the players on the outside of the grid should have balls. The players in the center of the grid act as targets and can move anywhere within their section. On your "go" the teams outside the grid try to hit the moving targets in the feet with a legal throw-in, remaining outside the grid at all times. Players can retrieve thrown balls that missed the targets. The first team to hit the targets 10 times using a legal throw wins the game.
Keep Away
Play keep away with your 10 and under team or with older players who need to work on their fundamental skills. Mark a 45- by 45-yard grid with cones and divide players into teams of three or four. Start two teams within the grid, giving one team pennies to wear and the other team a soccer ball. The team with the ball tries to complete three passes successfully while the team wearing pennies tries to prevent the five passes from being completed. If the defensive team breaks up the passes, they take over offensively and try to complete five passes. The first team to complete five passes successfully on three separate attempts wins the series and a new team rotates onto the field to take over for the losing team.
Dribble Across Square
You can use the "Dribble Across a Square" drill suggested by Soccerhelp.com for soccer players of all ages who need to work on dribbling control, speed and turns. Set up a grid with cones, varying the size of the grid based on the age and ability level of the players. Have the players each line up outside the grid, every player with a ball. Instruct the players to dribble directly across the grid to the opposite side when you say "go." When they reach the opposite side, they should give themselves a single point as they turn and race back to the side they started on. Each time they turn, they accumulate another point, racing back and forth across the grid. The first player to accumulate a given number of points, wins the game.
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