SOCCER TRAINING DRILLS AND STRATEGIES FOR KIDS 10+ AND 12-

LOFTED KICKS SOCCER(10 YEARS AND ABOVE)

Kids like soccer drills that are fun, enjoyable and has a lot of activity thrown in. They should be constantly on the move where they are dribbling, passing or shooting goals. Soccer drills should be like practice routines and coaches should be aware on how to use communication with the kids to their maximum benefit. This is a relative easy game where the kids can practice lofted kicks or passes with effective backspin. This is particularly useful for those kids who are 10 and above. Lofted kicks, being one of the fundamental soccer skills requires a set-up and a planned tactic or format. In soccer, one must be aware on how to use the lofted kick or a pass to his or her benefit. One of the best ways to practice lofted kicks is by kicking a dead ball against a wall or a flat surface

The objective of the game is to identify the team that can complete the best passes, lofts, the swerver, the laces kick, chips and drives in the shortest time. When they have completed the prescribed number of passes, they are supposed to yell "done', so that the other team can try and out beat them. After both the teams have completed their shots, monitor the progress by assessing the time taken for either team to complete this process. After this, try and reduce the number of shots to 12 and repeat the routine. Some of the kids have a natural talent for passes & drives. Thus, the coaches should try & groom this talent.

STEALING THE BALL(12 YEARS AND BELOW)

Soccer is a team game, and kids should be taught the importance of this at a very early age itself. The victory or a loss is to be shared among all players and individual egos should not be allowed to creep in. if the team does not have good passing skills or are not able to absorb simple directions, it would end up as one child trying to dribble down the field all by himself.

This is a simple game that can encourage passing and emphasize team-work. This is good for children who are 12 years and above. The game mainly emphasizes ball-passing and listening to directions. The team is asked to lineup at one side of the field, with one member of the team standing atleast 10 feet away from the rest of the team with the ball.

When the coach says "go", the player standing behind the first player is supposed to try and take the ball away from the first person. When the coach blows his whistle and says "stop", the child must stop and pass the ball to the person standing first in line. This also teaches the child to listen to the coaches' instructions and when to pass the ball to the other person.