Best Youth Soccer Drills; Learning Skills and Having Fun

youth soccer drills
While these soccer drill games may be listed as ‘just for fun’, they are indeed enhancing skills, awareness and dexterity. In some cases, the games are focused on individual performance, and in other cases there is a team effort. In all situations, there is a learning process that help the kids in their performance.

P-I-G; Ages 10-14; one of the most fun
Variations for challenges may include a start off where the ball may hit the ground once. For advanced players, require a head ball or full volley.

Get all of your players to form a circle. Players will half volley/juggle the ball back and forth to each other. If a player makes a bad volley or serve, he gets a letter ‘P’. Start the game again. If the player makes another error, he receives the letter ‘I’, and now has “PI”. Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Learning Skills and Having Fun”

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Attacking/Defending

soccer drills
There are variations in these soccer drill games to enable players to perform from both a defense and offense position.

Corner Kick Game; Ages 8-14

This game can be played with 6 v 6 or 8 v 8; with just a bunch of soccer balls places at the opposite corners.

When a team kicks a ball out of bounds relating to any line, the other team is given a corner kick.
This creates a situation where the players simply run and run.
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Best Youth Soccer Drills; Shooting

youth soccer drills shootingShooting drill practice is an excellent way to broaden dexterity and awareness skills. Since the games are designed to be fun and work in a team environment, they also bring a heightened attitude towards team comradery. Coaches can adjust the speed, field length and other levels to make this more challenging for the older kids, thereby making a shooting drill game more fun.

Breakaway shooting game; Ages 6-14

Using a series of cones, each player has to dribble the soccer ball to a cone and shoot before he gets to the next cone. If the next player saves the ball, he keeps the ball and runs to the end of his team’s line. If the 1st players shot is wide, the 2nd player gets the ball and goes to the end of the line for his team. After the 1st player shoots, he becomes the goalie.
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Best Youth Soccer Drills; Dribbling – Part 2

Youth Soccer Drills-11 v 1 Dribbling Through the Gate; Ages 6-14
Use a large field and set up a lot of ‘cone gates’ which are about one yard apart. Pair up the players with one of the two possessing the soccer ball.

When the coach blows the whistle, player will try to dribble the soccer ball through as many of the ‘gates’ as possible and the other player will at the same time, be trying to steal the ball. Time= 30-60 seconds. The player with the ball cannot go through the same gate two times in a row. One point is given for each gate. If the other player steals the ball, he gives it back to attacker. When the time is up, each player will switch positions. The one with the most points wins. This is a great dribbling drill that is a lot of fun.
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Best Youth Soccer Drills; Dribbling – Part 1

Youth Soccer Drills DribblingMusical Chairs; dribbling drill and fitness; Ages 8-12
Variations on this dribbling drill can include adding different moves and varying the size of the circles. These changes will enhance their fitness levels.

Create one small circular grid and one large circular grid.

Players will have their own soccer ball and will dribble around the small large grid at a decent pace, avoiding each other and maintaining a heads up position. After they have been dribbling for a specified amount of time, call out the word ‘Switch’. When the word is called out, each player must stop their ball, leave it where it is located and run around a cone in the outer circle, then run back into the small circle to a new/different soccer ball. It’s important that this is done quickly and that they go to a completely different soccer ball. The players will then continue dribbling.
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Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 3

Youth Soccer DrillsPassing through the gates: Technique development; ages 6-12
Variations on this passing drill can include adjusting the size of the gates; larger or smaller as well as the distance between the two players.

Using cones, create gates about three yards apart from each other. Split the group into pairs.
Each of the players will take a turn trying to pass the soccer ball in between the gates. Points are scored each time the ball actually goes through the gates without touching any of the cones. Each play should be from three to four minutes.
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Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 2

Youth-Soccer-Drills-2Soccer passing drills and exercises are a great way to develop agility, movement, decision making and team attitudes. When coaching and working with kids of all ages, there are methodologies of combing skill development with fun while getting their passing down to a science.

Four Corners; Ages 10-14

Make four grids of approximately 5 ft x 5 ft each and about 40 yds apart from each other. There is no ‘out of bounds’ section allocated. There will be two teams, each of from 4-8 players. Variations on this passing drill can include the pass must be a give and go to a team mate player. Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 2”

Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 1

youth soccer drillsThe Bank Bank: Passing drill with Pressure; Ages 10-14

Set the game up with two teams, each with 4 to 5 players on an approximate 40×40 grid. You can change the variations on this by sending more than 1 defender in, making the grid smaller or, to have an easier game make the grid a larger size and add an offensive player

Coach projects the soccer balls in team X’s grid. The opposing team will send 1 player to play as a defender. Team X will try to connect four passes in a row without the defender kicking the ball out of bounds or stealing. Continue reading “Best Youth Soccer Drills; Passing – Part 1”

Top Most Popular Soccer Jerseys: More than Just a Pretty Logo

soccer-jersey

Designing a soccer jersey is a tricky business and one that has changed from a plain necessity to an outright fine art. A well crafted look can turn a team into both popular and iconic or make everyone do a double-take, asking “what were they thinking”. Some of the best soccer jerseys that stand out are memorable and recognizable, and, after all, in marketing, that’s the name of the game; especially when you see the team colors on the electronic scoreboard.
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Audi Creates the Largest World Cup Scoreboard with 28 Cars

audi scoreboardsAudi made an executive decision that is destined to put them in the hall of fame for genius advertising. The method to their madness involved the understanding that Americans love cars. So their marketing people got together to create a plan to bring together the love of soccer, World Cup broadcasting, the biggest electronic scoreboard ever created and….cars.
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Marketing and Money in an Advertising Presence at the World Cup

advertising-World-Cup

I don’t think any of us have a real grasp on the amount of money that is invested and spent in the marketing, advertising and promotions for the World Cup. Each year, FIFA, has a list of partners and corporate sponsors that are some the major big bucks behind the scenes. But the rest of the marketing dollars total into the billions.

In 1984, a World Cup sponsorship jumped from $2,000 to $16,000 in 1996. The major sponsors for that game were Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Adidas. The sponsors count on the millions of viewers, but the hosting cities also count on the huge influx of fans that will show up to attend and spend. An example is the 1994 World Cup, held in the U.S. This generated $623 million in economic profit for the area. Compare that to 182 million for the Super Bowl.
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The Soccer World Cup Winners Throughout History

world-cup-winners

FIFA established their international competition for soccer in 193, with the games being played every four years. There were two exceptions: due to World War II, the 1942 and 1946 games were not held. Whether you all it soccer or football, the World Cup games have been a frenzy of international excitement, comparable only to the Olympics.

There have been nineteen tournaments held and of these, seventy six nations have participated in the games at least one time, with twelve making it to the final match and eight announced as winners. Over the years, the World Cup has made some major transitions from a more subdued game to a complete world championship competition. Different countries vie for the honor of being the host country for the World Cup and it is considered an important national treasure to be selected as host.
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USA Fans Jump on the Bandwagon to Support the Teams

usa-Bandwagon-world-cup

If anyone was following the World Cup games (and who wasn’t), you may have noticed a drastic change in everyday life. Social media feeds were a blaze with updates, images and favorite team members and business was not quite operating in the same way. USA fans made a quantum leap in the support of their teams and life will never quite be the same.

If you work in an office and that office has a video screen, it might as well be the electronic scoreboard at the World Cup games. IT specialists were busy rigging up the best view for the most staff members and conference rooms quickly became sports bars. Snacks, food and drinks were added to former display tables and even the CEO’s were spending way more time viewing the games than doing work.
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The 12 host Stadiums in Brazil for the World Cup

World Cup sao pauloThis year’s World Cup has brought about some of the most spectacular venues in FIFA’s history. Brazil has pulled out the red carpet in creating twelve host stadiums that can only be described as over-the-top. With a main focus on ecology and renewable/sustainable energy, these stadiums have demonstrated that Brazil knows how to throw a party, while still respecting nature.

Sao Paulo’s Arena De Sao Paulo: Seating capacity is set at 65,807, however, 20,000 of these are temporary seats that were added solely for the World Cup games. 269 miles from Rio, this stadium is nestled on a plateau in the southeast on the Atlantic Coast, it is the home of the Corinthians.
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World Cup Footwear: the Billion Dollar Battle in Brazil

soccer footwearSports footwear is big business, and pretty much dominated by the two behemoths, Adidas and Nike. The two giants are in the midst of a battle to have their names and logos on everything that relates to the World Cup. The winner will appear on uniforms/kits, all the way to electronic scoreboard ads. The quest to be the top brand is an ongoing marketing war between the historic name of Adidas and the newcomer, Nike.
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Brazil Takes Soccer to a Whole New Level: The Art of the Sport

Brazil SoccerIf you watch any news or view it on the internet, it is hard to miss all of the fanfare about the FIFA World Cup in 2014, in Brazil. The country is considered to be one of the top nations in the world for soccer expertise and no wonder; at any given time Brazil has over 10,000 players, on a professional level; complete with playing fields and electronic scoreboards.

Soccer is to Brazil as baseball is the America. There is not just a love for the sport, but a true passion. Soccer was brought to the country by a Scotsman in the 1800’s. Already a popular sport in Britain, he introduced Brazilians to a game with very little in the way of equipment or professional guidance. As more British began living in Brazil, they brought equipment and the kind of experience that helps team and player development.
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Why does Brazil have so Many Good Soccer Players?

brazil soccerBrazil seems to have a unique knack for generating an incredible line of players of excellence when it comes to soccer. There is never a surprise when a new player is chosen for a team and he ends up becoming a star from Brazil. One might wonder what is it about this country, that they can produce so many good soccer players? Well, this isn’t something new, Brazil has actually had a long history in soccer.
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A Bit of History on Those Soccer Jersey Numbers that will Surprise You

Soccer Jersey

Numbering soccer jerseys goes back to an original concept of just knowing who the players were on a specific team. Those were the days of simplicity, with easy team colors and recognizing your favorite player with a single large number on the jersey.

Soccer wasn’t the first sport to put numbers on jerseys; the tradition was used baseball. In that game, the numbering sequence was based on the batting order. Numbers one through nine were initially started, as we might recognize Number 3 for Babe Ruth and Number 4 for Lou Gehrig, of Yankee fame. As new players and substitutes were added, the numbering sequence increased, beginning with number 12. In the days before electronic scoreboards, fans would look out on the field for these players.
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The Top Soccer Jersey Sponsorships: a Lot of Cash for a Name

jersey-soccer

There is no denying that corporate sports sponsorships have evolved into big business on a global scale. A winning team name that is associated with a hot corporate sponsorship logo equates to a win-win in more ways than one. This means that the team jersey that dons both titles becomes some of the highest price, per square inch, real estate in the world.

Almost every hot team is now seeking (or being sought out) by a corporate sponsor, and these are some of the biggest and most recognized names. There are some teams, such as Barcelona, that went against the tide and avoided sponsorship for over 113 years; but last year, they caved in to the pressure with a jersey deal with Quatar Airlines. We know that sponsor will be on the electronic scoreboard display!
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Electro-Mech offers: Easy Soccer Team Countdown Widget for Your Website

soccer-usa

Looking for the best soccer countdown widget for your favorite team? Electro-Mech brings you an easy to use and incredible way to make sure everyone gets the latest countdown info, and it can be easily placed and found on your website. No need to spend hours trying to design your own or download an intricate software that gives you what they say is an easy way to create a widget. In less than five minutes, you can create your own soccer countdown widget design for your favorite team and look like a pro (without all of the time and effort).

Electro-Mech has designed a very easy click and add widget, available right on our website. This is not to be confused with a ‘gadget’ which can only be added to specific and proprietary websites. Our soccerl countdown widget allows you the ability to decide which type of view you want, add your favorite soccer team and get a code to add to your website.
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