Coaching basic football soccer skills.
3rd February 2011

You must be able to walk before you can run, and in football, as in many other disciplines, you have to learn the basics before you can get onto the hard stuff. Football can be very complex but equally it can be very simple if you want it to be, and teaching very young children the basics, should be very easy.  

The most effective way to coach to coach young children is to give them clear and concise instructions, and explain in easy to understand terms, and don’t be afraid to demonstrate exactly what you want them to do several times over.

Start the session with dribbling, encouraging ball control, which is the key skill to learn at the youngest age. The most important aspect of football is being able to retain possession of the ball. If you have the ball the opposition cannot score and having possession enables your team to attack.

If you can teach young children how important it is to keep possession you will have set them up for a good footballing career.  

How do you keep possession? Ball control is the key. Controlling the football gives you time to consider your options and your next move. It also enables you the time to better position yourself for your next move.  

The best way to start to learn to control the ball is to have it at the player’s feet and using the inside of the foot, walk the ball around a square. Move this exercise onto walking quickly with the ball and then jogging with the ball.  

While dribbling around the square get the players to keep their heads up as much as possible. This is not easy because the players tend to look down at the ball all the time. Also to help to control the ball better, make sure the ball is close to the player at all times.  

Once the players have a gained good grasp of dribbling, start to get them to pass the ball. When passing, encourage the players to use their side foot as much as possible. The inside of the foot is used most in football and must be the part of the foot young players learn to use first.  

The important points to remember when teaching children to pass with their side foot are:  

• The non-kicking, (standing), foot should be planted beside the ball and pointing towards the intended target.  

• The ball should be positioned between the kicker and the receiver.  

• The kicking leg should have a short swing and be bent. 

• Hit the ball in the middle, keeping it on the ground, too low on the ball and it will go up in the air.  

When the children have  mastered both controlling the ball, enabling them to keep possession, and passing the ball to a team-mate, they will have learned the foundation skills for football, and with which all the other skills can be built upon.

The children can then go on to learn how to receive the ball effectively and trap it.    

 Further Reading:

• FA Young Player Development Recommendations

• FA The Future Game

• FA The Coaching Pathway