Preschool Soccer Drills

There are a variety of simple drills and games for introducing preschoolers to the game of soccer. The games focus on dribbling and ball-control skills, allowing kids to focus on the basics as they start growing and learning to use their legs.

  1. Warmup

    • Tell the kids to dribble the ball around with their feet and then stop the ball on command with whatever part of the body you call out, such as "foot," "back" or "tummy," according to Footy4Kids.

    Red Light, Green Light

    • Give each player a ball and a line to reach about 20 or 30 yards away. Call out "green light" to give them permission to dribble toward the line, and "red light" to have them stop the ball and freeze. If you catch a player not freezing in time, make the player move five steps back. The first player to cross the line is the winner.

    Sharks and Minnows

    • Create a grid on a field with enough room for about eight to 10 players. Assign two of them to be "sharks" and give the rest of the players soccer balls and assign them as "minnows." Instruct the sharks to try to take the ball away from the minnows, who must stay within the grid. A minnow that loses a ball can run around the grid once and then come back into the game. After losing the ball three times, the minnow is out. The last two minnows remaining become sharks for the next round.

    Hit the Coach

    • Give each player a ball and have them stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing you from a distance of about five steps. Yell "go" and run slowly away, allowing the players to dribble after you and try to hit you by shooting the ball. Players get one point per hit.

    Freeze Tag

    • Create a large rectangle with cones and allow the players to dribble within it. Every now and then, take the ball away from a player, who is "tagged" and is now "it." When the player who is "it" touches another player's ball, that player becomes frozen and has to stop dribbling, pick up the ball and spread his or her legs apart until another player dribbles a ball between the frozen player's legs.

    Down and Back

    • Create a grid with enough room for about 10 players, and split a team of players into two groups. Give each player ball. Tell them to line up outside the grid facing inward, with one group on one side and another group on an adjacent side. Have them dribble from one end of the grid to the other, avoiding the other group coming from the side at the same time. The first player back in each group earns one point, and the first player to five wins the game.