Foot on a soccer ball.Skill Development: Targeting a Specific Skill

Children of all ages love to play ball games. We will be playing some kicking games for today’s “target a skill” Tuesday. These fun kicking games will help children practice eye-foot coordination and develop gross motor skills. Kicking is also a fundamental skill to many other sports and activities such as soccer, rugby, karate and others. Let’s put on those sneakers and let the games begin!

Games Ideas to Develop Kicking Skills

  1. Soccer Bowling
    • Find a space outside, or where you can kick a ball safely. Set up 10 cones or objects to knock down. Put a line at a distance that is reasonable for your child’s age. Place a ball on the line and have your child kick the ball, trying to knock down as many “pins” as possible. If you are playing with a partner, each person gets three kicks on their turn. If you want to keep score, give a point for every pin knocked down. Play with a partner and see who can knock down the most pins in 5 turns, or reach a target number.
  2. Red Light, Green Light
    • You will need to do some light kicking or dribbling. This game is more fun if there are 3 or more people. One person is the “caller”. Two people start at a designated starting spot, a distance away from the caller. The caller turns their back and yells, “Green Light”, and the children start dribbling the ball. When the caller yells, “Red Light”, everyone must stop dribbling. The caller turns around and anyone caught moving must go back to the starting line. The game continues with the caller yelling “Red Light” or “Green LIght” and the first person to reach the caller, then becomes the caller for the next game.
  3. Gates
    • Set up random pairs of cones, or objects at least one metre apart to act as gates, much like a skiing slalom course. Grab a timer, and when you say, “Go”, your child tries to dribble through as many “gates” as possible in a set time. Players can dribble through the gates in either direction but cannot go through the same gate twice in a row. Challenge your family to a game of “gates”.

Source: (sportsrec.com) Kicking Games for Kids, Fun Soccer Games for 9 to 11-Year-Olds