2 to 10 – an age range where children have far too much energy and far too little opportunity to burn it. It is also in this range that their little minds are trained and guided to help them reach their best versions as they grow up to be fine individuals.

Sports, namely football, is one of the best ways to achieve both. However, rainy days might ruin the opportunities for outdoor training. Thankfully, Junior football coaching in Chippenham by First Steps Soccer comes with drills and warm-ups that your little ones can practise indoors, even on rainy days.

Football is a sport that requires kids to keep the energy flowing through their entire body. Warm-ups and proper exercises are a must to make sure your children don’t suffer from an unwitting muscle cramp or other similar uncomfortable injuries.

Basic Warm-up Exercises

Starting with warm-ups is always the best way to go. Your child can start with high knees, touching their toes, and other stretches.

There are also frog jumps, bear crawls, and other such exercises. These kinds of exercises make the kids move on the ground with both their hands and feet firmly planted. It helps them gain upper body strength, as well as strengthen their core muscles.

Another plus point of this exercise is that it improves their coordination as well. To make it more fun, you can always add little obstacles that they must avoid to reach the finish line. Or maybe animal sounds; that ought to make the young ones laugh and enjoy their practice time.

Read our latest post on Why Football is the Best Sport for 7-Year-Olds and How to Get Started

A Makeshift Target Goal

It can be anything. You can make the legs of chairs or tables as goal posts and ask the children to send the footballs into the goal. It helps with concentration, as well as aim practice. You can also avoid the hassle of moving any furniture or risking head bumps by using one of the doors in your house as a makeshift goal.

Play with them

Sometimes, the child might not be in the mood for training at all. If they still have too much energy but don’t want to train, you can take a little time to play with them. Nothing makes children happier than having their parents spend time playing with them. So take up a ball and start dribbling. If the child loves football, they will automatically come up to play with you.

Make fun games out of it. You can start a fun game of whoever dribbles the ball and keeps possession of the ball longer, while the other one tries to take it away, wins. You can also use this time to teach your kids new cool tricks that they’d want to show off to their friends at training the next time. Be it spinning the ball on their fingers or simple toe taps. It’ll teach them balance and quick footwork, as well as keeping control of the ball. These are just a few of the fun ways to help improve their concentration and skills while allowing them to have a good time.

Play with the wall

If you are too busy, maybe with small tasks around the house or actual office work, involving the wall is a great idea. They can kick the ball to the wall and practise receiving or passing the football. It will help them keep their focus on the ball. Sometimes, inevitably, the kids will miss-hit the ball, making it spin while it hits the wall. It will teach them to anticipate the movements of the ball and be prepared in case it changes course.

Make sure to finish their training time with cooldown stretches in order to prevent injuries.

Also, read Creative Warm-Up Routines for Young Football Players

Conclusion

Consistency is important in any sport. It is also an important thing to learn while growing up. Consistency makes their performance better and also gives them more confidence in their own abilities, thus making them happy little athletes. Also, child soccer coaching in Swindon does not only focus on perfection but also on keeping their little athletes happy by keeping the teaching process fun and simultaneously still sowing the seeds of discipline.