Soccer is one of the most convenient sports for kids. Soccer improves your kid’s social skills, helps them become better decision makers, boosts their self-esteem and so much more.
For that reason, I have compiled a list of soccer moves for your kid that they can master with enough practice. The following moves will improve your kid’s soccer performance by a huge factor.
1- Dribbling to beat the opponents
A soccer game for kids is all about dribbling. If a kid can master the dribbling skills, then they will be one of the top players on the field.
It might sound that dribbling in soccer at a very young age is hard to do, but remember, kids will be playing against other kids and not against professional soccer adults.
With that said, it’s a great idea for kids to learn the dribbling moves from a very young age because it will come in handy in any match that they play throughout the rest of their soccer history.
But how can you help kids practice dribbling?
One simple exercise that you can use with them is to place a bunch of obstacles in a straight line in front of them. What they have to do is move in a zigzag motion between these obstacles. This will help them learn how to move the ball left and right on the spot.
Another exercise is possible if you get a group of kids to practice together. One of them will have to keep the ball with themselves for as long as they can while the others try to take it from them. This will force the kid with the ball to dribble past their friends in order to keep the ball.
The kid with the ball might lose the ball very quickly at the beginning, but the more they attempt the exercise, the more they learn to keep the ball by dribbling past the other kids who are trying to take the ball from him/her.
2- Instant change in the direction the kid is running towards
One of the best ways that you can trick your opponent when you are playing soccer is to instantly change your direction.
Most of the moves that allow you to change your direction immediately are easy to learn for kids.
For example, the drag back move is an excellent move for kids and is very easy to master. When a kid is running towards an opponent, they can put their foot on the top of the ball to stop it and then roll the ball back with their foot.
A kid can use this move in order to instantly change their movement direction from forward to backwards. This will trick the defenders who were trying to steal the ball from them.
Practicing the drag back doesn’t require anything but a ball. Just run forward with the ball and while running, stop immediately, put your foot on the top of the ball and roll it backwards to change your movement direction.
There are many other soccer moves that involve a sudden change in direction and these can come in handy in any soccer match.
3- The one-two soccer move.
The one-two soccer moves requires 2 players to be done. It is one of the simplest soccer moves that is used to surpass the opponent in front of you.
Here’s how it works:
If you are running forward and an opponent is standing in front of you in order to prevent you from advancing. Then you can check if there are any close teammates to your left or your right. If there are, then you can pass the ball to them, run forward to surpass the opponent, and then they’ll pass the ball to you.
If kids want to practice this move, then they can do it even without a friend. They can replace their teammate with a wall. Here’s how:
- Place an obstacle in front of you and pretend they are the opponent.
- Make sure that the obstacle is close to a wall
- Run forward towards the obstacle and once you are close, kick the ball to the wall and run forward
- If you kick the ball in the right direction, the ball will bounce off the wall and will return to you.
4- Nutmegging the opponent
Nutmegging an opponent is the act of passing the soccer ball between your opponent’s legs.
A nutmeg in soccer is a very celebrated move. The audience loves it, and it can be quite useful in some scenarios.
Whenever a kid finds themselves not able to surpass a defender by either going left or right, then they can try and pass the ball between the defender’s legs and run forward to surpass them.
A nutmeg isn’t easily achievable, however, if a kid manages to do it,then they’ll definitely get a lot of praise from their teammates and possibly the audience which can boost their confidence.
So make sure that your kids learn how to nutmeg their opponents.
5- Shielding the soccer ball
Shielding the soccer ball is usually done by defenders. So let’s pretend that your kid is a defender.
If the ball is very close to leaving the boundaries of the field, and one of your opponents is trying to run and grab the ball before it leaves the field, then you are allowed to shield the ball until it goes out by standing between the ball and the opponent and using your shoulder to prevent the opponent from reaching the ball.
While this might sound like a violent soccer move, it’s fairly simple and it doesn’t hurt in any way if both players involved play carefully.
Knowing how to shield a soccer ball is a great defense mechanism if your kid is a defender, and learning the move is quite simple. All they have to do is stand between the ball and the opponent until the ball goes out of the field so that they can win a goal kick or a throw-in.
6- Volley kick
The volley kick is one of the most prestigious ways to score goals in a soccer match. While it’s a little bit harder than the other moves that were mentioned in this article, it is still possible for a kid to master it.
There are 2 types of volley kicks. One should be avoided by kids, and the other should be attempted by them.
The first type of volley kick is when you put one foot on the ground and raise the other in the air in order to kick the ball while it’s coming towards you.
This volley kick can be achieved by kids and it can be a great way to score goals and impress teammates and the audience.
The other type of volley kicks is the one that requires that a player jumps in the air in a way that makes their body almost parallel to the ground while they attempt to kick the ball with one of their feet. This volley kick can sometimes be dangerous and it’s better if kids do not try it.
7- Juggling the soccer ball
It might take kids a while until they master the juggling moves, however it is totally worth it. Juggling the soccer ball can be of a great help for any soccer player no matter what their age is.
Juggling helps players in dribbling. It also helps them in keeping control over the ball and it’s a great workout for your kid’s body in general.
So if you have a kid who is interested in soccer, get them a soccer ball and let them learn as much juggling moves as they can.
If you have read this far, thank you. That’s the end of my list of the top soccer moves for kids. However, I am not done yet. I’d like to mention 2 more soccer moves that kids are better off without.
1- The bicycle kick.
The bicycle kick is a soccer kick that requires that the player jumps as if they are doing a backflip and then kick the ball during the middle of the backflip.
If your kids are still very young, it’s a good choice if they try not to attempt a bicycle kick as it can severely hurt them if anything goes wrong during their attempt.
2- Avoid headers for kids under 10 years old at all costs.
Headers in soccer are one of the fundamental skills that any person interested in soccer should master. However, if your kid is younger than 10 years old, then they should never attempt to hit the ball with their head for any reason.
The United States Soccer Federation has banned headers for kids under the age of 10. They have also put a limit on the number of headers a kid aged between 11 and 13 can perform.
The reason behind the bann is because soccer headers can severely hurt a kid if they are done wrong. With that said, it’s better off without them if your kid is under 10 years old.