How Do You Make Football Training Fun For Kids

Coaching a youth soccer team can be a lot of fun, but it can be challenging when some kids need more motivation to practice.

It’s frustrating for everyone involved when the coach has to constantly beg and plead with the kids to show some enthusiasm.

After 15 years of coaching kid’s football and working as a P.E. teacher, I have come across children who do not initially want to participate.

So if you want the kids to participate and learn, you must find ways to make training fun.

So let me pass on some of my experience to combat this issue.

Generally, it is essential to ensure that the kids are learning and having a good time. 

Here are five tips for making training fun for your youth soccer team. 

1. Ensure players are always active – no standing around waiting for their turn. 
2. Get players moving with games and exercises that are fun and challenging. 
3. Mix things up – keep it interesting by changing the drills, activities, and rules. 
4. Let players play – give them time to run around and have fun. 
5. Finally, reward them – positive reinforcement goes a long way towards keeping kids motivated.

Now let’s take a look at these five tips in more detail, and at the end of this article, I will share some helpful training drills you can use to engage the players.

Make sure they’re always active – no standing around waiting for their turn.

First, you want the kids constantly moving, so they do not have time to stand around, thinking of other things and getting bored.

We need to keep their mind’s occupied.

So avoid exercises where most players stand in a line, waiting their turn.

I have seen many teams train and noticed that 16 players are standing in a line, waiting for their turn to pass the ball to the coach (who plays the ball back) and then shoot.

You’ve all seen that one, I’m sure.

Instead of one player participating, make sure to include 3 or 4 players so that the kids are not waiting as long.

Here is an example of three players involved in a crossing and finishing exercise that not only involves more than one player but is quick and sharp.

Get them moving with games and exercises that are fun and challenging.

You don’t necessarily have to mean playing an entire game, but rather, activities that include elements of the game in a fun and challenging way.

The crab game is always a good fun game to begin with that focuses on dribbling.

Another fun game that young players enjoy is the three goals game, as seen and described below:

Mix things up – keep it interesting by changing the drills, exercises, and rules.

Even though you might start a training activity that the kids enjoy, if you play a particular game for too long, the players might lose interest and boredom sets in.

So it is vital to recognise the signs when the player’s enthusiasm for an activity dwindles.

Now, please do not mistake this advice for doing a different activity every 10 minutes – you’ll soon run out of training drills if you do.

But have a few alternative drills up your sleeve that you can quickly use.

Let them play – give them time to run around and have fun.

Although it is essential to teach the children drills and technical aspects of football, it is also important to let them express themselves freely.

Letting them play isn’t just crucial for a team to build unity; it is also essential for children to develop their skills in an environment without pressure.

Reward them – positive reinforcement goes a long way towards keeping kids motivated.

Rewarding them with positive reinforcement goes a long way towards keeping kids motivated.

No matter how good they are, there will always be days when the kids need more motivation to engage in training fully.

In such situations, it is essential to reward them for their effort.

Check out this article 6 Tips For How To Motivate Kids At Football Training

Other topics included in this article that might interest you include:

• What makes a good training session?
• Football training drills for kids

What makes a good football training session?

A good football training session should be well structured while having the ability to adapt a session when coaching young kids.

You should plan your session in a way similar to this:

• Arrival activities
• Warm-up
• Main part
• Cool down & stretch

Football training drills for kids

There are a lot of football training drills for kids that you can adapt for various age groups and ability levels.

Here are a few that you can use in your training sessions:

• Rob The Balls
• King of the Ring
• Triangle Tag

If this article has given you valuable tips on making training fun for kids, remember to subscribe to the monthly newsletter to receive more information and ideas.

Remember to check out other articles on the blog page and training drill ideas, which you can find on the menu bar.