Five-year-olds are adept runners but not quite ready for the emotional rigors of competition, according to the National Network for Child Care. They also might lack a long enough attention span to participate in a full soccer game or spend a full practice session working on drills. Keep soccer practice for kindergartners fun and light and stress the importance of teamwork and enjoying the game over winning or losing.
Warming Up
As with any physical activity, it is important to warm up before engaging in soccer practice. Not only will a fun warm-up stretch and prime little muscles, but it also will teach the kids good habits for the future. KindergartenSoccer.org suggests having kids stretch their bodies into letter shapes, perhaps starting with the letters in their names. After basic stretching, play music and let them dance or allow them to play tag for a few minutes to boost their heart rates and enthusiasm.
Kicking
Young children still are developing the skills necessary to properly control and kick the soccer ball. While you should have short drill sessions in which the children practice shooting the ball toward the goal, adding fun elements to the drills will keep your students interested. Have them shoot at you while you run around on the field. If they hit you, do something unexpected, such as making an animal noise or doing a few pushups.
Dribbling Practice
Dribbling, or running while keeping the ball under close control, is another skill that kindergartners can work on. Try playing a game that they are familiar with, such as "Mother, May I?" or "Red Light, Green Light." Whenever the children are moving, they must keep their soccer ball with them by dribbling. Another idea is to have a relay race, having each child dribble the ball to and around a cone, then back to his line, where the next child takes her turn.
Following Directions
One important aspect of good sportsmanship is following the coach's directions during practice and games. Help your kindergartners practice this skill by playing games that focus more on listening and following directions than on technique. "Simon Says" is one game that requires children to listen carefully. Use the ball as a prop during the game and give commands such as "put the ball on your head" or "hold the ball still with your foot." Another idea is to assign each child a color, and during the course of practice call out a command combined with a color. The child or children assigned that color should be the only ones to respond to the command.
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