This section of the website offers aspiring young footballers the chance to master some new skills as well as develop some of their existing skills. Many of the skills challenges will be aimed at complementing the skills that some boys and girls between the ages 7-11 are currently learning in schools within their lessons taken by Primary School Coaches nationwide.

Once a month a new skills challenge will be added to this section, within each skill there will be variations to make the individual challenge a little bit harder to keep testing the young players.

It is hoped that not only will the skills challenges improve the football abilities of young players but also provide a fun environment in which to test them. It is also hoped that the skills learned from this section of the website will aid young players in leading to a life-time participation not just in football but in sport and physical activity.

Bodyball

Becoming familiar and comfortable with a football is very important to any footballer. This skill challenge looks at testing young footballers to practice different ways of manipulating a football and moving it around their bodies in different ways to increase both comfortableness and familiarity with a football.

The first part of the challenge is to move the ball around your head.
• Starting with the ball in one hand pass the ball around your head making a circle shape around your head.
• As the ball passes around the front of your face move between hands,
• As the ball passed behind the back of your head move the ball between your hands
• Keep your head still and eyes looking forward
• Start with different hand each time.
• To challenge yourself how many circles can you make in 10 seconds?

The second part of this skill challenge is to move the ball around your body.
• Starting with the ball in one hand pass the ball around your body making a circle shape around your body.
• As the ball passes around the front of your stomach move between hands.
• As the ball passed behind your back again move the ball between your hands.
• Keep your body still and eyes looking forward
• Start with different hand each time.
• To challenge yourself how many circles can you make in 10 seconds?

The third part of this skill challenge is to make a figure of 8 by moving the ball between your legs.
• Starting with the ball in one hand pass the ball from one hand to the other.
• Bring the ball around your leg to make a circle around that one leg.
• As the ball makes the circle pass it back to your other hand and now make a circle around your other leg.
• When you make the second circle you make the figure of the number 8 and come back to your starting position
• Bend your knees.
• Start with different hand each time.
• To challenge yourself how many figure 8s can you make in 10 seconds

The final part of the challenge is to put all three of the skill challenges together.
• Start by making a circle around your head
• Next make a circle around your body
• Finish off by making the figure of the number 8 around your legs before returning to the start.
• Practice starting with the ball in both hands so the ball will move in different directions around all of your body
• To challenge yourself how many times can you move the ball around your body in 20 seconds?

Bodyball

Bounce, Kick Catch

1.Begin the skill by placing your two hands at the side of the ball before letting the ball drop down to the ground.

2. Let the ball drop out of your hands and bounce off the ground.

3. As the ball comes back up from the ground, using the laces part of your foot and kick the bottom of the ball so that it comes up towards your hands. Remember to practice using both your right foot and your left foot.

4. When the ball comes back up to your hands, using both your hands, catch the ball before trying to do the skill again. How many times can you do the skill, with each foot, in one minute?

bounce kick catch

Ball Juggling Part 1

The second skill challenge in the series is entitled ‘Ball Juggling Part 1’. Following on from our first skill challenge we are increasing the level of familiarisation that young players have with the football. For now the first part of this skill challenge will concentrate on using hands and feet in order to help improve young players comfortableness with a football and also increase their ability to manipulate the ball.

The first part of the skill sees us throw the ball up in the air and clapping before catching the ball. This helps to build a good hand-eye co-ordination

• When the ball is in the air keep eyes on the ball
• Hands in the ‘ready’ (close together) position.
• Up on the ‘balls’ of the feet
• Don’t throw the ball higher than your head
• Clap your hands once
• Clap once the ball is away from hands
• To challenge yourself how many times can you throw-clap-catch in 10 seconds?

The next part of this skill looks at using the feet to manipulate the ball, using the rhythm of bounce-kick-catch
• Place hands at the side of the ball before letting the ball drop down to the ground.
• Let the ball drop out of your hands and bounce off the ground.
• As the ball comes back up from the ground, using the laces part of your foot
• Kick the bottom of the ball so that it comes up towards your hands.
• Hands in the ‘ready’ (close together) position.
• Practise using both the right foot and the left foot.
• To challenge yourself how many times can you bounce-kick-catch in 10 seconds?

The final part of the skill introduces a clap so that the process now becomes bounce-kick-clap-catch

• Place hands at the side of the ball before letting the ball drop down to the ground.
• Let the ball drop out of your hands and bounce off the ground.
• As the ball comes back up from the ground, using the laces part of your foot
• Kick the bottom of the ball so that it comes up towards your hands.
• Hands in the ‘ready’ (close together) position.
• When the ball comes back up to above the hands try to clap before catching the ball.
• Practise using both the right foot and the left foot.
• To challenge yourself how many times can you bounce-kick-catch in 10 seconds?

part 1

Ball Juggling Part 2

The third skill challenge in the series is entitled ‘Ball Juggling Part 2’. It begins where the first part of the skill challenge, ‘Ball Juggling Part 1’, left off. The second half of this skill challenge looks at young players manipulating the ball with body parts which are more associated with football (head and thigh)

The first part of the skill sees us throw the ball up in the air and kneeing it before catching.
• When the ball is in the air keep eyes on the ball
• Use the middle of the thigh
• Hit the bottom of the ball to hit it upwards
• Hands in the ‘ready’ (close together) position.
• Practice on both the right and left thigh
• To challenge yourself how many times can you ‘throw-knee-catch’ in 10 seconds?

The next part of this skill looks at introducing a clap before catching the ball to make the skill a little bit harder.
• When the ball is in the air keep eyes on the ball
• Use the middle of the thigh
• Hit the bottom of the ball to hit it upwards
• Clap once and clap quickly
• Hands in the ‘ready’ (close together) position.
• Practice on both the right and left thigh
• To challenge yourself how many times can you ‘throw-knee-clap-catch’ in 10 seconds?

The final part of the skill introduces young players to using their head to manipulate the ball.

• When the ball is in the air keep eyes on the ball
• Use the forehead to head the ball
• Don’t throw ball off fore head
• Move head in to cushion the ball
• Hands in the ‘ready’ (close together) position.
• To challenge yourself how many times can you head-catch in 10 seconds?