Soccer drills for U8 can be real fun and they are a kind of an introduction of soccer for children. These have to be interesting and hold the attention of the children so that they learn the game.
Most guys reading this definitely must have nurtured the dream of becoming a soccer player, a la Santiago in the movie 'Goal'. If you have, I am sure you know what soccer drills are all about. For excelling in soccer, if you sense the spark, you have to train the kids young. They should be encouraged to start training from the age of 7. Thus, if you know a soccer prodigy, I am sure you would like to read what is coming up.
Listen and Draw
This is a fun soccer drill which enhances the listening skills and the ball control of the children while passing. Make players stand in 2 lines facing each other. The distance between the two lines should be approximately 15 - 20 feet. Hand them a ball and ask the players to pass the ball back and forth, amongst them and all the while narrating a story. This is one of the interesting passing drills. Once the players master the art of passing, you can have lots of variations.
Going Green
Again, this helps the players with their ball control skills. Spread the players out evenly, side by side, and give each one of them a ball. One of the players is positioned to face the others, around 30 yards away. Now, the game commences when the player designated turns away and shouts 'green light'. This is an indication for the others to dribble the ball towards him. That player will turn back and say red light, which means that the players have to stop dribbling and freeze instantly. The fun part is that if the player says red light and if anyone is caught moving, the player moving has to retreat 5 steps. The one who reaches the light first, then takes over and the game resumes.
Dribble All the Way
This drill mainly focuses on dribbling and helps in initiating quick responses. To do this drill, mark a 10-yard square. Ask each player to begin dribbling the ball in the square. The coach will then call out a name of any body part while the players are dribbling. The catch is that as soon as the players a body part being called out, they should try and immediately get the ball in contact with that body part. Following the contact of the ball and the body part, they carry on with dribbling. After the children get used to this drill, the coach may go on to advanced drills of the same nature.
Shark'ed
To do this drill, mark a small rectangle and give 2 of the players red jerseys and the rest, yellow ones. The ones with red shirts are the minnows and the yellow ones are the sharks. Now, each of the minnows will have a ball at his or her feet. When the coach yells 'go', the minnows should start dribbling in the playing grid, using both their feet. At the same time, the sharks would be standing besides the minnows, but outside the grid. The next time the coach says 'go', the sharks will enter the grid and attempt to steal the ball away from the minnows. The trick here is that the sharks only get 15 seconds to do this. Minnow is knocked out of the game if the shark is able to steal the ball from him. The last minnow to remain is declared the winner. This drill greatly contributes to the skills of the players to dribble and steal the ball from the other player.
So that was all about soccer drills children can try out. All the best to all you future Michael Owens and Zinedine Zidanes!
