I have to say something upfront. I don't feel even remotely qualified to write this post. In fact, I'd love to have any coaches or experienced soccer players add their suggestions in the comment box. However, I am a mom with two young boys that are developing a love of soccer. And this summer we have loved our soccer family fun nights! Here is my list of five fun soccer-related activities for young kids.
1. Location, location, location: For a soccer family fun night, the activity is pretty obvious. Play soccer, right? To change things up a bit and keep things interesting, try playing soccer in different locations. We play soccer in the front yard, the back yard, the side yard, the park, and of course on the soccer field. Changing locations keeps things exciting!
2. Change things up: To piggy-back on the idea of changing location, change your family soccer game in other ways too. Change the goal (we have a pair of portable soccer goals, but sometimes we use a couple of trees as the goal, or we have a target to practice ball accuracy). Change the speed (dribble fast, dribble slow). Change the name of soccer drills (I've seen some skilled soccer coaches give character names or animal names to different drills to garner the interest of little ones).
3. Mini-soccer camp: For your family fun night, have a mini-soccer camp. Family members can all try out soccer drills. Perhaps you might want to watch an instructional soccer video together. Or do what my eight-year old and my husband did—write strategies and tips on index cards.
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