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RRSC Fun Fitness for Youth Resource Guide
Made possible by the generous support of The Sports Clubs of NM
This page contains several suggested activities that Youth Soccer players can do at home. Not only will these activities hone a player’s soccer skills, but also they will deliver several of the benefits sought in the Physical Activity Guidelines.
Juggling:
Juggling is probably the best “soccer at home” activity for players of all ages and skill levels. It develops ball familiarity and soccer related fitness. It, too, presents the player with the opportunity to challenge him/herself while instilling more passion for soccer. Here are some great juggling ideas at home:
- Use smaller size and/or different types of balls like balloons, balloons with a little rice, beach balls, hacky-sacks, tennis balls, volleyballs.
- Place a ball in single-ball mesh bag with a string attached to it and hold the sting in your hand. Practice kicking without any spin on the ball. Tip: strike the ball in the center. A clean strike will have no spin and the ball will come back easily. A strike with too much spin will get wrapped up in the string.
- The youth player should strive to better his/her juggling scores (all body parts, feet only). As a player masters juggling, he/she should work to use the feet (laces, instep, outside) more and the thighs less. Next, the player should work on staying within a confined grid while juggling (i.e. 3 feet by 3 feet).
- In her book, Brandi Chastain describes her “720” juggling challenge that she created and used growing up.
Dribbling, Fakes/Feints and Moves:
Dribbling with the ball, in the backyard or down the hallway, is another great way for the player to develop soccer skills and to engender creativity. There are numerous dribbling techniques that the player, indifferent of age and skill level the player can employ around the house or in the backyard:
- Dribble with weak/off foot
- Dribble with laces (toe pointed to ground)
- Figure 8 (several derivates here: left/right only or outsides/insides only. Tip: lower center of gravity to tighten the turning radius).
- Ball Taps (several derivates here: balls taps moving the ball forward/backward or around the world where the player does a 360 around the ball while doing taps).
- Rolling the Ball using different parts of the foot: inside, outside, sole. You, too, can do this while sitting down to watch TV, to study etc. or while riding in the car.
- Tennis Ball Dribble: Walk around the house with a tennis ball at your feet. You will have to use every part of your feet to control it.
- Integrate moves and fakes: As you do these dribbling activities, integrate different soccer moves (i.e. scissors, a Cruyff, step-over, cutback, inside/outside hooks, Mardona). Encourage the player to invent his/her own moves. Google/You Tube the above terms for more ideas.
Heading:
- Hang a ball from the ceiling to practice making headers. Work on both jumping form and point of contact with ball (bottom half of ball for defensive headers, or top half for attacking headers).
Wall Ball:
- This is another classic individual soccer game, especially in urban centers like Buenos Aires or London, where young aspiring players have limited field space. Wall Ball is a great way to improve passing and control techniques. As it sounds, a player passes to him/herself against a wall. The derivatives, iterations and self-challenges are endless: weak foot, inside, outside, laces, two-touch, one-touch, execute a move for the next pass et al.
Some Additional Activities without the soccer ball
Balance-Coordination Related
- When climbing the stairs, skip one stair with every step.
- Skip up the stairs on one foot when climbing the stairs.
- Walk around the house on your tip-toes and/or backwards.
- Shower on one foot.
- Tie your shoes on one foot.
- And if you are willing to do, allow your player to practice side-volleys and bicycle kicks on their bed.
Hand-Eye Coordination Related:
- Play Frisbee or Play Frisbee Golf at Vista Hills Park
- Play Ping-Pong Baseball with a Flip-Flop as the bat
Here is a Sampling of Articles about Soccer Self-Play:
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