When Should Your Kid Begin Playing Soccer?

Your two-year-old is an active child who relishes playing soccer and racing around. Is there an ideal age for her to begin playing soccer? This post can be used to determine the optimal moment to enroll your infant in organized soccer.

The following ideas are based on nearly 30 years of experience coaching junior soccer, including franchise ownership. This article will help you determine at what age your infant should begin playing organized soccer.

 

ARE TODDLERS TOO YOUNG TO PLAY SOCCER

No, most kids who are 2 are old enough to play soccer. Read on to find the answer to the more important question.

You should think about whether you want to sign them up and pay for a soccer season with a team. Children who haven’t yet turned two can’t play soccer. When your son can stand on his own without falling, he can kick the ball. If he is having fun, tell him to keep going.

Developing gross motor skills leads to developing fine motor skills. He is also getting better at keeping his balance and coordinating his feet and eyes. He is also learning to judge speed and plan ahead. You can move quickly if you make a makeshift goal or use a net that pops up.

The question you need to answer is whether or not you want them to join a soccer league. Why should you sign your child up for a youth soccer league?

When he was only two years old, my youngest child liked to dribble around and was pretty good at it. But, having older siblings who could watch him play was a big help. Because of this, it was only natural for him to want to play like his older siblings did.

Early in the 1990s, there were no organized programs for toddlers and preschoolers in towns and counties, and there were no businesses that taught kids how to play soccer. Also, soccer was just starting to become more popular among kids. So, here’s the good news: you can start your child out in soccer in a number of different ways.

Youth soccer has grown a lot in your area, and there are many places to play. However, determining whether your child will benefit from playing organized soccer with other children and following coach instructions is challenging.

 

THE 5 DETERMINING FACTORS

These are the five considerations your child should consider, in detail, before enrolling in an organized soccer program or kicking it in the backyard with dad.

1. Maturity and interest of your young player

Your child is special in many ways. Some kids are “ready” to start school early, but others aren’t. As children grow, their skills, interests, abilities, and goals change. Giving them new experiences is usually a good idea as long as you make sure they are mostly good.

It’s not a good idea to use threats to get people to do something. Motivate people in a good way. Telling a child they will have a great time is the best thing you can do for them. You can calm your child down by telling them what might happen.

People have different ideas about giving “prizes” for participation. With this choice, you should stick to your ideas about how to raise kids. Some parents think it’s a good idea to give their kids rewards for playing soccer every day.

2. YOUR SOCCER GOALS

How you choose a soccer program based on age should depend on what you want to achieve. This doesn’t have to be a formal written plan if you’re the parent of a young soccer player.

When our kids were preteens, we sent them to a high-end, well-known soccer camp. A little too much time and effort was put into soccer by them. The good news is that it didn’t stop them from playing, and they kept doing it all through high school. But they weren’t trying to get to the top level because they liked playing soccer.

Soccer is a great sport to choose if you want your child to have fun and get some exercise at the same time. In addition to traditional sports, many of them require better control over small movements. For example, your child can learn how to dribble in soccer as soon as he or she can walk.

3. CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOCCER PROGRAM

 

Your child should start playing soccer when they are old enough, and you should find the right place and program for them. There are many soccer programs for kids all over the country. Depending on the age of your child, the following may have a soccer program for kids:

SuperBestFriends, i9 Sports, Happy Feet, LilKickers, and Mighty Kicks are all franchised shows.
Set up a league for fun activities in your city.
Soccer games are planned by playgroups.
They are designed to develop elite players, a private club.

After two or three weeks, if your child still doesn’t like it, you can ask for a refund. If a parent didn’t think their child would go, I told them to sign up without paying tuition. This might not be allowed by most youth soccer companies, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. So, I could get my tuition money a few weeks into the school year without making my parents feel like they had to pay right away.

4. SCHEDULE FOR SOCCER PLAY

I made a mistake when I scheduled one of my soccer programs for kids ages 3 to 5. A few of the parents I talked to at the end of the year said that our soccer class was held at the same time as their kids’ naps.

On the way to soccer practice, the kids would fall asleep in the car. Many parents find it hard to change their child’s mood when they wake them up for soccer practice.

You should know when and how long your child needs to nap, and you shouldn’t let soccer practice wake them up. Remembering your schedule is also important. If you’re in too much of a hurry to get your toddler to soccer on time, it could also mess with your mind.

Your young soccer player might get “bad vibes” from mom or dad if they are stressed out by their busy schedule. Unfortunately, that can change what it’s like to play youth soccer as a whole.

5. TRAINER

Coaching quality is probably the most critical factor for your young child to get the most out of their soccer experience. A soccer coach must possess 5 qualities to coach your preschooler or toddler.

 

• ENERGETIC AND ENTHUSIASTIC

The attention span of kids (and some adults) is short. So when kids are just starting with soccer, coaches need to maintain a high energy level.

• PATIENCE

The truth is out there. You can’t always expect your children to behave perfectly. For example, new soccer players typically hold the ball when traveling off the field or continue to dribble it. 

• EXPERIENCE
  Coaches new to the profession have little experience dealing with new situations. Coaches with more experience can handle toddlers and preschoolers, unique age groups. 
• SILLINESS

Testing a coach’s ability to act silly is one of the things we’d do before hiring them. Yes, really. The coaches who worked weird, gestured funny and made silly animal sounds were the ones who captivated the kids’ attention.

Can high-level soccer players be good coaches for young children? Young children should be introduced to soccer as soon as possible. A child’s character traits are essential.

Despite some soccer coaches’ impressive credentials and accomplishments, this does not necessarily translate into being a great coach for very young children. Soccer coaches, I hired with little or no experience came to work for me.

Conclusion:

Please let me know if this article about when to start playing soccer was helpful. Of course, your child’s soccer age depends on the things we talked about above. But kids as young as two can have fun playing soccer if they follow a few simple rules.