Guest Blog: 7 Best Coaching Drills for Youth Soccer Skill Development

Soccer is called the beautiful game because it is action-packed and unpredictable, meaning anything can happen at any moment during a match. Therefore, youth soccer players need to develop strong technical skills, tactical understanding, and fitness through real gameplay experience to adapt effortlessly to whatever is happening in a game. The best way to achieve this is by incorporating small-sided games, team training exercises, and match simulations into your youth soccer training sessions.

This is where the strategic use of technical soccer drills becomes important because they allow players to improve specific skills, practice drills outside of team training, and eventually transfer these skills into real game situations.

In this guide, we’ll cover the most important basic drills for youth soccer players that all coaches should implement to develop well-rounded athletes with strong technical foundations.

What are the best soccer drills for skill development for younger players?

The best skill development soccer drills for younger kids, regardless of their age and skill level, are those that help players improve the most important technical skills of the game, which include first touch, passing, dribbling, shooting, and turning. The mental skills of the game, such as soccer IQ, decision-making, and composure, are mainly developed through in-game experience, although strong technical abilities give players the confidence to make better decisions under pressure.

To run these coaching drills effectively during soccer practice, you’ll need soccer balls (the more the better to maximize touches and minimize downtime), cones or markers, goals, and access to a wall or soccer rebounder. If certain training gear and equipment aren’t available, encourage both coaches and players to improvise, adapt, and do the best with what is available.

One more optional but beneficial coaching tip is to occasionally have players practice barefoot on safe, natural surfaces like grass to improve their natural connection with the ball, strengthen intrinsic foot muscles, and get the many proven benefits of grounding therapy, which is the practice of connecting directly with the earth’s surface to reduce inflammation and improve overall well-being.

1. Warm-up Drills

Before starting any training session, players need to warm up properly to prevent injuries and prepare their bodies for the physical and mental demands of the game. Good warm-up drills include light jogging, dynamic stretching, and some light ball work.

Light ball work can include freestyle juggling, gentle passing against a wall, dribbling the ball around the field at a comfortable pace, or simple footwork and ball mastery exercises. As a coach, make sure that players spend at least 5-10 minutes warming up before moving into the main drills to ensure their bodies are loose, their touch is sharp, and their minds are focused.

2. Juggling

The simplest drill, and arguably the most important one, that youth soccer players should be practicing daily is juggling the soccer ball. Although you won’t usually see soccer players juggling the ball during a real game, getting better at juggling will help improve other important skills, such as first touch, passing, receiving, tracking the ball, and more.

As with the rest of the drills on this list, make sure players use both their dominant and non-dominant foot, and they are juggling at different heights with various-sized balls.

3. Ball Control From the Air

For this next drill, players will start with the ball in their hands and kicking it up high in the air (or hitting the ball high against a wall). As the ball drops back down to the ground, the goal is to control the ball while keeping it as close to their body as possible without letting it bounce out of their control.

To make this more challenging, make sure players alternate feet equally. You can also create a square or circle grid with pylons for an added challenge, in which they have to keep the ball under control without it leaving that grid.

4. Wall Passing

By far one of the best ways for any soccer player to improve their passing and receiving skills is by using a wall, or soccer rebounder, which acts as a training partner that never gets tired. Depending on the type of resources available, players can practice all types of different passes: such as one-touch passes, two-touch passes, ground passes, air passes, or driven passes.

The goal is for players to challenge themselves by practicing various types of passes with both feet, controlling the ball using different parts of the foot, and striking it at varying speeds. To maximize the benefits of this drill, players should perform it with full focus and intensity rather than simply going through the motions.

5. Wall Passing with Turns

This next drill can be used as a progression to the previous wall passing drill. Once players have practiced basic wall passing for a certain amount of time, they can progress to wall passing with turns.

For this drill, players pass the ball at the wall or to a training partner several times. After a few passes, players will work on turning with the ball and dribbling out to either a marker or gate that is 10-15 yards out.

Once they get around the gate or marker, they will return to the starting spot and repeat. The point of this drill is to work both feet and to work on different types of turns, such as a half turn, the outside of the foot turn, the inside of the foot turn, or any other variations.

If there is no wall or training partner available, players can work on kicking the ball in front of them, sprinting to the ball, turning, and dribbling past where they started.

6. Shadow Dribbling

This next drill is similar to when a boxer does “shadow boxing,” except it is designed for soccer players to improve their dribbling skills. To begin, players will need some open space, a soccer ball, and their imagination. To start this drill, have players dribble around an open space at game speed while imagining defenders coming towards them, trying to take the ball away.

The goal is for players to dribble at match intensity, visualize opponents approaching from different angles trying to take the ball away, and use different skill moves to evade defenders.

Remember, the more players practice at game speed and learn to trust their instincts, the more natural and instinctive their movements will become during real games under pressure.

7. Shadow Dribbling to Shooting

This final drill can also act as a progression to the last two drills and must also be done at game speed. No matter what position your players play, shooting is one of the most important soccer skills to develop.

For attacking players, such as strikers, wingers, or CAMs, shooting is a skill that must be practiced a lot, but even defenders like centerbacks or fullbacks need a strong shooting technique because improving that skill will also improve their passing and crossing abilities.

To set up this drill, have players position themselves 20-30 yards from the goal (or use two cones to create a goal if necessary). Players start by kicking the ball ahead in the air, then controlling it and dribbling toward the goal with maximum intensity.

As they approach the goal, they should perform a skill move to create shooting space, then finish by aiming for the corners as they would against a real goalkeeper. Once they take the shot, whether they miss or score, they go back for another ball, if they have multiple, and repeat the drill to maximize repetitions and touches.

About the Author

Daniel Pena, personal trainer and soccer coach, shares his tips for how coaches can help youth soccer players grow & develop during these important years. Daniel Pena. Personal trainer, soccer coach, and author of The Art of Football blog.