My son, who is about to turn 6, has shown interest in soccer. Obviously, at this point I’m keeping things fun and letting him dictate what he wants to do, with no pressure.
While I ended up playing tennis throughout my youth, I did grow up in a country that has a strong focus on soccer. There, even starting at 5, kids that want to play soccer join local clubs and are trained by coaches (typically not parents). In other words, kids are getting the technical fundamentals from an experienced source starting a young age. It’s not just tossing the ball and having them play scrimmages couple times a week. By the time the kids are around 10 years old (if they decided to stick with it), they have a relatively strong fundamental and technical understanding of the game.
I realize that the model here in the US, especially in Florida, is very different and starts off with recreational soccer led by parent-coaches (without much or any involvement by the professional staff), which has its minuses and benefits.
My question is, how did you manage this process and get your kids the proper exposure/training between the ages of 5-10? Was it recreational soccer only, and if so, was it supplemented by anything else? Did you just train with your kids on your own? I don’t mean hardcore training, but taking the time to teach them the proper way to play, not just scrimmages or red/green light. There doesn’t seem to be much available other than recreational soccer at these young ages.
Just looking for some guidance and suggestions on how to navigate these next few years, if my son continues to show an interest (which he may not).
Thanks!
While I ended up playing tennis throughout my youth, I did grow up in a country that has a strong focus on soccer. There, even starting at 5, kids that want to play soccer join local clubs and are trained by coaches (typically not parents). In other words, kids are getting the technical fundamentals from an experienced source starting a young age. It’s not just tossing the ball and having them play scrimmages couple times a week. By the time the kids are around 10 years old (if they decided to stick with it), they have a relatively strong fundamental and technical understanding of the game.
I realize that the model here in the US, especially in Florida, is very different and starts off with recreational soccer led by parent-coaches (without much or any involvement by the professional staff), which has its minuses and benefits.
My question is, how did you manage this process and get your kids the proper exposure/training between the ages of 5-10? Was it recreational soccer only, and if so, was it supplemented by anything else? Did you just train with your kids on your own? I don’t mean hardcore training, but taking the time to teach them the proper way to play, not just scrimmages or red/green light. There doesn’t seem to be much available other than recreational soccer at these young ages.
Just looking for some guidance and suggestions on how to navigate these next few years, if my son continues to show an interest (which he may not).
Thanks!
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