Turn Your Child Into a Soccer Star

As parents, you always want the best for your children, so you encourage them and support them. But sometimes, by pushing them too hard in the direction you think is best for them, they may face problems.

Steps

  1. See if your child has the talents of a soccer player. You can tell this if he or she is able to dribble (kicking ball close to your feet) and can shoot with accuracy.
  2. See if your child has any interest in the sport. Ask them if they would enjoy playing soccer or anything related to that.
  3. Encourage their interest by modeling your own.(Watch soccer with them, play soccer with them.) Sometimes joining (or starting) a soccer league of your own will help your child enjoy the game more.
  4. Send them to a soccer school or camp and watch them the first couple of days to see if they enjoy it. If they don't, you shouldn't force them to play.
  5. Put them in a fall soccer league. In some areas there are both spring and fall leagues, but because fall is the soccer season, it is usually more competitive and has better coaching than the spring leagues.
  6. Support them and be with them, even if they fail. However, remind them that it is everything and it is not all about winning. As long as they do their best and have fun, you will always be proud of them.
  7. Coach an Athlete. Your child will understand that he can play with you more often, or play by him/herself when you are not around. It is inexpensive and takes only 3-4 hours to get trained to coach in a youth soccer league.

Tips

  • Praise your kid when they do something good, on and off the field, this will boost their confidence so they will try new things on and off the field.
  • Put them in a program that tries to develop skills, not win trophies.
  • Help your child to remember that soccer is a team sport, there shouldn't be one person doing all the work.
  • If they are good at the sport, encourage them and tell them that they are a very good player like a young Pele or Beckham.
  • Talk to your son/daughter if they mess up, and ask them what else they could have done.
  • Teach your child to respect referees, opponents and coaches by being respectful and friendly to them yourself. Watch how World Cup teams shake hands with, exchange shirts with and even hug their opponents.
  • Borrow or buy a book or two on soccer and read it, then share the info with your child. But don't push it on them constantly, if you do it could just wind up with your kid not wanting to play soccer anymore.
  • Don't yell at your kid for "not playing their position", the coach may tell them to play different than normally.
  • It is a good idea to try to have your kid join a more advanced soccer league when they are young, so they can develop their skills and learn to play at a higher level
  • Ask them if they want to play a certain position, and if they do,then work with them on it. For instance, if they want to play goalkeeper, then shoot (not too hard) while they are in a goal.
  • Don't be too hard on the kid, if they don't want to play the sport , pick a different activity.
  • It is always important to help your kid maintain a good level of self-confidence on and off the field so they have the best possible time while they get to play. Don't be to hard on them if they lose, and don't over celebrate when they win.

Warnings

  • If they are not interested, don't push them into the sport.
  • Let the coach do the coaching during games; your job is to cheer them on.
  • Don't chase them up and down the field yelling during the game. This will lead to embarrassment and resentment.
  • Don't point out every mistake, he/she will most likely know when they do something wrong.
  • Don't over-praise, it only embarrasses and/or annoys your child.

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