

Players who are already more skilled are either the natural ones (very few) and the ones who put in the work with the ball. This way they don’t get the attitude of ‘O I already know this’. Teaching kids why we work on certain things is important. He knows that when we train, much of what we do is the same as the week before.

His mindset is on another level, as he also watches soccer on TV and plays with the ball at home. He is good, but we’ve worked together for 6 years. Video below you’ll see a good 1st touch drill with an 11 year old player. Be careful with that crap! On game day you won’t see a single cone. If you search for soccer drills on YouTube, you’ll see tons of cone drills. These soccer skills training methods need to be worked on a lot to become smooth. There are certain drills and methods that are best for all ages. Certain soccer drills work way better than others Middle and high school kids who learn these things younger tend to respond better when reminded of the key character traits. Ages 12-13 kids start to think they know everything and lose some of that “child like” faith in the values of training. Mentally it’s important to learn younger because players believe and trust parents/coaches so much. They are old enough to almost do anything you show them and their attitude is so positive. These are the 3 optimal years to begin soccer skills training. Developmentally speaking, getting good soccer skills training at ages 9-11 is so helpful.
