Soccer skills could be intimidating, especially for kids and beginners! However, there are many easy skills and techniques that, pretty much, anyone can learn easily and quickly …
… In this article, I tackle 10 Easy to learn soccer skills for kids and beginners!
Let’s dive in.
5 Easy to learn soccer skills for kids with Drills
Kids that have started the sport at an early age have a Huge opportunity to master some great skills that would serve as the foundation of their game in the future …
… Below 5 of my favourite with the drills to practice each one of them:
Important Tip: To make the most out of these drills, I strongly recommend to use soccer shoes with decent Quality and reliable Grip to perform at the best of your abilities. You can have a quick look at these quality soccer cleats to get an idea!
1. Dribbling
One of the most basic skills to practice is dribbling and the beauty of it is that it can be practiced either in groups or individually!
All it needs is a ball and objects to dribble around – whilst training cones are recommended, if they are not to hand, large stones or even bits of clothing can be used as an alternative.
Place the objects on the ground at least three feet apart in a straight line or triangle, and then use quick touches, move the ball around the obstacle without touching it.
Use every part of the feet and try to avoid having too many touches, whilst, at the same time, try to stop the ball running too wide.
Once you have mastered this with your stronger foot, switch to your weaker one.
You can learn more about dribbling the ball properly!
2. Juggling
Although juggling is rarely seen in a game, the ability to juggle is important because it helps to improve control touch and reaction times.
Again, this exercise can be done individually or in groups.
If you are practising on your own, hold the ball with both hands, drop the ball on the ground and then use one foot to tap it up so that you can catch it again …
… Gradually increase the number of taps before caching the ball again, and also do not just use your feet but other parts of your body as well – knee, thigh, chest and head.
Try to alternate your feet so you can learn to develop your weaker foot!
For those practicing in a group, pass the ball amongst them with the aim of preventing the ball from bouncing, again by using any part of the anatomy.
You can also check some of these helpful juggling tips!
3. Passing
There is no more valued skill in soccer than the ability to pass a ball to a teammate accurately and with the right speed.
And, to practice this, there is a drill that even the pros use in their warm-up sessions.
Place three players about ten yards apart in a triangle and pass it from one player to the other, alternating so that you are always passing to a different colleague each time, and with a different foot.
Then gradually make the distance between you a yard greater each time.
Check my favourite tips to improve passing!
4. Receiving and control
Being able to receive the ball with either foot is an important skill in football and one that can make all the difference during a game situation.
Again, this is a skill that can be practiced both by yourself or with other players.
If you have nobody else to train with, find a wall and practice kicking the ball against the wall with one foot and receive it with the other.
Initially you may have to trap the ball first before passing it again but, in time, you should develop your skills enough so that you can make the next pass first time,
After ten repetitions switch feet.
If you have somebody to practice with, he can take the part of the wall so you can pass the ball to each other.
5. Shooting
Of course, shooting is one of the most important skills in football – most goals come through that!
One of the simplest ways to practice this is with a friend or teammate …
… Each person takes turn to play as a goalie and the other try to score past them. If you have another player available though, you can make the drill slightly more complicated by having one player stand outside the penalty areas, and the other to the side of the goal.
The player standing to the side should pass the ball into the path of the shooter who should try and shoot first time. This helps improve both the power and the accuracy of their shooting.
And, even if you are by yourself, you can still work on your shooting. Place an object in the back of the goal in one corner and see how many times you can hit it whilst shooting.
5 Easy to learn soccer skills for beginners with drills
If you’ve started soccer at a late age, you can still learn the skills above mentioned for kids that you should learn following the same drills that I’ve described …
… However, there are other skills (below) that are also simple that you can master in few months!
1. Heading
Although much of the game is played with the feet. The ability to head the ball accurately is also important.
It is easy to practice this with a friend or teammate.
Begin sitting opposite the person you will be sharing the drill with, touching toe to toe. Throw the ball in the air and head it to the opposite player trying to make sure that they can catch it without having to stretch.
They should do this in turn to you. When you have completed this routine successfully ten times each, then move back two or three feet further apart and repeat.
Once you can no longer reach each other with the header, vary the exercise by first kneeling opposite each other and then standing.
Check these tips & drills to improve your heading!
2. Crossing
The ability to cross a ball accurately is highly valued because so many goals are created from the flanks. Therefore, this skill should be practiced like any other.
Whilst it is ideal to have a partner for this exercise, you can use a cone or some object to represent them if no one is available.
The partner should stand on the practice field roughly on the edge of the six-yard box, in the centre of the goal.
The player crossing the ball should position themselves 15 yards from the edge of the penalty box with the ball at their feet on the flank that favours their stronger foot.
The task then is to take two touches with the ball and then try to swing in the ball so that it finds the man in the middle. The aim is that the man in the middle should be able to catch or control the ball without having to move.
This drill needs to be repeated many times because this is not an easy skill to master but will help any beginner stand out.
3. Fitness
It is undoubtedly true that the fitter you are, the better you will be at soccer. It is a physical game and playing 90 minutes takes a lot out of you both physically and mentally.
If you have access to a soccer field then use the width of the field for this exercise, otherwise any piece of waste ground or a park will do.
Stand with the ball at your feet and run towards the opposite touchline dribbling.
Once you are halfway across leave the ball and sprint for the opposite touchdown. Bend down to touch the line and print back, collecting the ball on the way.
Repeat this two or three times.
4. Long Passing
Long passing is really important in case you are dealing with a tight defensive line that you can’t break individually!
To master this important still, you need some power, accuracy, timing and awareness.
To practice that, you will need at least 2 partners:
- One player will be the one who should receive the ball.
- The other will be a defender, whose job is to prevent the other player from receiving the ball.
The defender should be far from the striker with couple yards before you long pass to the latter!
Once the striker raise his hand asking for the ball, the defender should go right to the striker and you should long pass to him as quickly & accurately as possible. Preferably, in front of him and right on his stronger foot.
If you feel good at this drill, then you can make it a bit more complicated and fun by adding one more striker and one more defender.
This time it would be also complicated for all the players involves since they won’t know to which player you are going to long pass. Your job is to pass to the striker that seems to be in the better position.
Lear more on how to enhance long passing in soccer!
5. Practising 1 v 1
Practising one player against another helps teach both attacking and defending, and the need to play with aggression without fouling an opponent.
Star with the attacker standing with the ball on the centre circle and his opponent 20 yards away, midway back to the penalty area.
The aim of the exercise is for the attacker to try and beat the defender either by dribbling past them, outsprinting them or by some other means without resorting to foul play.
The defender’s job is to win the ball back either by tackling the attacker or forcing them into an error.
Once this has been mastered, an additional degree of difficulty can be added by having an extra attacker and defender into the mix, making the ability to pass accurately important.
Final Thoughts …
Hope these skills I’ve listed above are not too intimidating for you! Indeed, I highly invite you to start practicing them following the described drills …
… These are much easier to learn than what you might think and will represent the foundation of the advanced skills that you should learn afterwards!
