In the drills-at-home category, or soccer homework vein, I am honestly interested in what "successful" parents! trainers, or coaches encourage their players to do at home, save for regular club practices, games, or street ball play. Ridiculous replies appreciated along with the serious.
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Learning to tune out overbearing parental pressure and advice is invaluable to most young players! Burn out in soccer is rampant at older ages due to too much at younger ages.... -
Frankly, my D1 recruit opted for a bag of Cheetos and Vampire Diaries over drills @ home. Just say'n.Comment
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A wall is a great training aid. Use it for passing and shooting. It's honest, it never gets tired and it never complains. Alternate foot juggling is also good do it alone practice.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
For two people, an easy drill to develop a first touch and touch is this one. Start 10-15 yards apart. One touch passes back and forth taking a step toward each other each time. The passes get faster and faster as you get closer. First person to mess up loses a point. Switch it up and start close and move back after each pass to work on hitting the ball with enough pace to get it there. Alternate feet or intentionally hit tough to control balls to make it harder. It's fun and you can do it in the back yard. It's also a drill you can do by yourself against a wall. The bad passes you get back from the wall are your own fault.Comment
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Most kids practice 2-3x/wk plus games and extra conditioning workouts. That should be enough. Extra time could perhaps be better spent on studies and social activities. Kids are probably better off overall playing with friends versus playing with a wall. If you must, at least try to do drills with a friend/friends. One of my kids is playing D2 and opted for ice-cream and dance parties over drills at home. Who knows, maybe would've made D1 if drilled at home all the time but maybe not. Anyway, she was happy that way but your kid might be different. Just don't forget that life is about more than the beautiful game.Comment
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jugglingComment
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You sounds like someone who has no clue what they are talking about.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Sure do what this person says if your kid isn't capable or wanting to put the time in on their own or isn't committed to the game.
Pretty much sums up why majority of top players in nw do not come from this persons realm, team or club.Comment
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First, it HAS to be the player themself who is independently motivated to do skill work. If you as a parent are "reminding" them to do this, then it becomes just another chore and they will likely burn out and lose interest in soccer altogether.
Think of the kid who goes outside in the driveway to shoot a basketball around, or throw a baseball against a rebound net and can do this all alone for extended periods of time. If you have one of these kids, then go for it. If you don't, this may be a miserable experience for you and them.
Assuming that it is the player who has this motivation, than just about anything that is related to using the ball will work. The options mentioned above are good as are any number of items you can find with a simple search on the Internet.Comment
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Agreed...
If a kid sincerely WANTS soccer to be the center of their life...I don't see a single thing wrong with providing everything a parent is able to in order to develop him / her to their utmost. Extra time juggling is great, but the support of a parent to provide encouragement in December, to go outside and juggle, etc., when the weather is foul, and the sun on vacation, is a must have. No one at the earlier ages can muster that much energy and tenacity unassisted...Comment
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Some ideas
As people have said, don't force it if the kid does not want to work on drills at home. If the kids really wants some ideas, then the more fun the better. As mentioned, juggling is perfect. I also recommend encouraging the kid to watch Coerver videos on youtube like this one and attempt to replicate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JKCjyNx-FU
There are other Coerver videos that break down each of the steps.
Finally, and perhaps most fun, is simply to watch soccer games on tv. Ask the kid what he/she worked on at practice and encourage the kid to find examples in the game on tv. Make it fun by having a family soccer tv night. Record games ahead of time. Make some popcorn or bring other treats.Comment
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IF the motivation is truly coming from the kid, the kid is probably already playing around with the ball at home in a way the kid finds fun. We all know those few kids who simply live & breathe soccer. If the parent is the one wanting more structure and specific drills, then I think it will backfire in the long run. Truth is there are way more of "those" parents than there are "those" kids.Comment
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Probably and I am guessing you are one of "those" parents since you are on this website?Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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