Finding the right football exercises for 7 year olds can be tricky as you want to make them as much fun as they are educational so to speak. What I mean by this is, putting on exercises that will help them learn the game better whilst improving on their skills. Therefore, we have put together a variety of exercises, some being more learning/ improvement based with the others being more focused on having fun.
This is because it is important for the younger children to enjoy playing otherwise they will lose focus and attention during the sessions and potentially put them off from playing the sport. Therefore, it is the responsibility of either the parent or the coaches to ensure that everyone is participating and having fun whilst also helping them to improve their skills as football players.
Football exercises for 7 year olds will mainly be focusing on the basics of football which includes passing, dribbling and usually shooting. We have also added a couple of exercises that can be completed with just friends on weekends as they are basic exercises that are great fun and help improve their basic skills.
The main equipment that is required for these exercises is listed below:
- Football
- Cones
- Football Goal
- Friends/ Partners or Other players
Table of Contents
Passing Drills
All passing drills are usually better to perform with a friend or family member to give you a true reflection on the pitch. Essentially you want to be aiming for something so in this case, it will be your partner.
Step One – Set Up The Cones
Place the flat cones out like the video displays above.
The distance between each cone will be about 1m roughly (3 big child steps).
Don’t worry too much about the distance as you can always progress with this drill by passing at further distances or making the target smaller.
Step Two – Passing The Ball
Each player must be behind the cones to start the drill and it will begin with the player with the ball, passing to your teammate. The aim is to get the ball between the cones to your partner.
Step Three – Returning The Ball
Once you or your partner have received the ball through the cones, take one touch and return the pass between the cones to your partner. It is that simple, as you get to grips with this you can then move on to one-touch passing.
Alternatively, this can be done with just one person, all you will need instead is a wall. So set up the drill as above but put the cones just in front of the wall. If you use the wall, remember that the ball will be returned immediately so be prepared to take a touch.
British Bulldog
Everyone knows what bulldog is or at least they definitely used to as it is a game played usually on the school playground before it got banned. However, this is a different and more positive adaptation of the game.
The objective of the game – Be the last person to have the ball at your feet without the people in the middle tackling you.
Step One
Mark out the different areas of the pitch by providing two safe zones and a danger zone in the middle.
Step Two
Identify who goes in the middle but it is important to switch up the person after every game, once the person has been selected to go in the middle they will do so. Everyone else will grab a ball and all stand in the same safe zone.
Step Three
On go, you must dribble the ball to the opposite safe zone without losing control of the ball or without the person(s) in the middle kicking your ball out of the zone. If you lose control of your football you must join the middle with everyone else that lost control of their football.
Step Four
This repeats itself until there is either one person standing, or no one makes it to the safe zone.
What Does This Exercise Achieve?
Bulldog is a fun football exercise for the kids as it improves their dribbling and defending skills all at the same time. They also get used to dribbling around defenders whilst keeping close control of the ball. Whilst the defenders in the middle learn to stay on their feet and perform standing tackles safely and also learn about awareness. So although it is great fun for the kids, it is also a great learning tool for them. This is a great football exercises for 7 year olds as it teaches them to maintain control of the ball whilst under pressure.
Dribbling
Arguably one of the most important skills to learn in football is the ability to dribble the football at different speeds. Being able to dribble allows you to get up and down the pitch and also to take on players.
Therefore, within this drill, we work on the very basics of dribbling to get you started. This is a drill that you may have already seen before as it is used worldwide due to its benefits.
Step One – Set Up The Cones
Set up between 5-10 cones in a straight line with about 1.5m gaps in between each cone (distance can be down to personal preference). The amount of cones is also down to yourself and how much you want to test yourself. Usually, it is good to start off with a smaller amount of cones then work your way up.
Step Two – Dribble The Ball
Start with the ball at your feet and begin dribbling the football with the inside of your feet, in and out of the cones until you get to the final one.
Once you have reached the final cone, turn around and repeat the drill. When you are confident dribbling the ball with the inside of your feet you can then move on practice with different areas of your feet.
Therefore, progress by using the outside of your feet until you are fully confident with dribbling the ball with all areas of your feet.
This drill is also great if you are looking to merge it into another one. What I mean by this is, when you get to the end of the cones you can take a shot at the goal. Improving both your dribbling and shooting all at the same time.
S.P.O.T
This was known as a different name when I was growing up but it has the same principles as the famous game also known as “wallsy” or “wallball”. Whether that was the official name at the time when I was growing up or my friends and I made it up. However, it stuck with us and now it seems the name for it is S.P.O.T. Equally, this game is up there with one of the best exercises for kids to do. The reason this makes one of our top picks for best football exercises for 7 year olds is it teaches them to react to the ball faster, helping improve on their touch.
The objective of the game – Be the last person to spell S.P.O.T
Step One
You will need to find a football and a flat wall such as the side of your house, garage, or anything similar. It basically needs to be something that the football will rebound off.
Step Two
In a group or pairs, you will need to establish an order of who hits the ball next as this is an important step.
Step Three
Once the order has been formed, the first player in the order will kick the ball at the wall so it rebounds. The next person in the order will need to also hit the wall using one touch and then it continues down the order. Once the last person has hit the wall it will continue to go round until someone misses the wall. For example, once the last person in the order hits the wall it will revert back to player 1.
Step Four
Once someone misses the wall or designated space, they will begin spelling out the word S.P.O.T so you, in other words, you get 4 lives. The last person to spell S.P.O.T wins, it is that simple.
What Does This Exercise Achieve?
This is a great exercise to do on the playground or at home and it helps to improve your first touch, striking the ball at different angles, balance and reactions. All of which play a vital part in the current footballing world and will continue to be important for the foreseeable future. It is also a great way to have fun with your friends as you don’t see it as exercise and more of a way of having a great time with friends. My friends and I were constantly playing this game on and off the playground as it is easy to play and can be played anywhere which makes it so popular around the world.
Shooting Drills
Step One – Put The Ball On The Penalty Spot
This one is a nice simple drill for all ages, it helps to improve penalties and overall shooting. Mark out a penalty spot about 10m away from the centre of the goal.
Step Two – Pick Where You Want To Aim
When stepping up for a penalty or taking a shot it is always important to know where you want to aim the ball. This is the basic level of shooting and without it, you will struggle. Therefore, when you have placed the ball, think of where you want to ball to go. Once you have decided, take the shot.
Keep repeating this step in different areas of the goal until you are confident and happy enough with your progress and being able to strike the ball where you want it to go.
To progress this further you can go further back and begin striking the ball whilst on the move. Therefore, knock the ball forward and then strike the ball. Again, remember to pick where you want to aim the football.
Alternatively, you can add a goalkeeper to put your shooting ability to the ultimate test with the aim of scoring.
There is also accuracy nets that you can add to your goal as seen below, this will help you perform more accurate shots.
What Does This Exercise Achieve?
This is one of the most important football exercises for 7 year olds as it teaches them how to strike the ball towards the goal accurately. This helps them within the match which allows them to score more goals against their opponents. The more they practise the better they will become at scoring goals. It also teaches them how to strike the ball with both feet, improving their ability to use their left and right foot, regardless of if they are striking the ball or not. It is important for all football players that wish to improve on their game to be able to use both their feet for dribbling, passing and shooting.
