Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and the very basic fundamental of the game is the pass.
While simply kicking the ball toward another player certainly qualifies in the simplest of terms in passing a soccer ball, to accurately and effectively pass a soccer ball requires a few prerequisites.
While it is important to teach kids the correct passing techniques, keep in mind that small kids, usually 2nd grade and below lack the physical ability or coordinate to properly execute on a consistent basis. For the little guys, work on some passing drills, usually push passes in practice, but in scrimmages and games, don’t worry about their correctly passing the ball.
However, by the time kids are 8 or 9, they should be able to make tremendous progress in passing soccer balls correctly on a more regular basis.
At this age spend more time in practice working on proper execution and technique. A few simple drills will help reinforce this skill in an effective and fun way.
The basic pass is an inside toe kick. As the name implies, rather than use the toes of the foot as is the most natural motion, the player starts to use the inside of the big toe to the arch of the foot as the primary sticking position.
The ball should be just outside the hips and slight forward of center. The kicking motion is made through the ball with the toes pointed outward so the inside toes strikes the ball. It is important to make sure the kids follow through with the weight transferring forward as the player kicks the ball. It is also helpful to maintain balance to have the arms slightly extended to the sides to maintain balance through the kicking motion.
A good starting drill to reinforce the proper technique for passing a soccer ball is to set up two rows of cones about ten yards apart. Each row consists of around 5 cones placed every ten yards. The kids split up into two lines, each outside the cones on opposite sides. The kids then slowly run down the outside of the cones in pairs and completing one pass of the soccer ball between each cone. This teaches the kids to pass as well as receive a ball. Since this is a drill, make sure the kids realize it is more important to execute a pass correctly, than to go fast.
You will be amazed how fast the kids pick up the correct technique for passing a soccer ball after starting a few practices with this simple drill.
