Fitness exercises children can do to become better footballers

 

Physical activity and fitness exercises are important for the development of every child, not just budding footballers. Experts recommend that children aged between 3 and 5 years old need to be active throughout the day, whilst those 6 years old and over need at least one hour of physical activity.

This activity can take many forms, from running around in a playground or garden to their organised football training sessions with We Make Footballers. Many children will reach the target simply through playing at school or at home in the evenings. 

Another route to reaching the goal though can be a young player doing exercises at home specifically designed to help them become a better footballer. 

Think of it as killing two birds with one stone. Your child wants to improve their skill level. They need to do an hour of exercise per day to stay fit and healthy. And there are only so many football coaching hours available per week.

The following drills can help tick both boxes. Best of all, they can be done any time of day and almost anywhere. A young football player who works through these exercises a couple of times a week will become fitter, faster and stronger – and they will soon notice the difference on the pitch.

Push and pull for muscle strengthening

When people think about muscle strengthening for football, much of the focus is understandably on the legs. After all, legs generate power and speed. 

Core work is deemed important too. A strong upper body meanwhile can help shield the ball and avoid a player being knocked over by an opponent.

Less attention is paid to the actual foot. Strong foot muscles provide greater control of the football, which is particularly useful in the modern game where possession is king and quick passing prevalent. 

A stronger foot also offers greater prevention from injury, protecting the bones and ligaments with it. Football fans of a certain vintage will recall the anguish and despair caused by broken metatarsals for David Beckham and Wayne Rooney ahead of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups respectively.  

Push and pull is a fitness exercise children can easily do to become better footballers by strengthening all the muscles in their feet. All a football player needs is a couple of yards of space and a football.

The child sets their foot on the ball and moves it backwards and forwards between toe and heel, pulling and pushing as the name of the drill suggests. At the end of each move, they release the ball slightly before putting their foot back on and continuing.

It is a motion at first which takes some getting used to. Once they are accustomed to it, the goal is to move the ball as quickly as possible without losing control. Targets can then be set, such as 100 reps per minute.

The best aspect of push and pull is that it can easily be made more challenging. Try it on the weaker foot. Improve balance by hopping on the standing leg whilst pushing and pulling at the same time. 

Move the ball from left to right rather than backwards or forwards. And if a child has mastered it with a football, make them do it with a tennis ball or something even smaller. Sunderland infamously went viral for asking their players to do kick ups with a Creme Egg in 2015.

Toe taps for improving balance

Toe taps are similar to push and pull in that they require only a football and a minimal amount of space. Where they differ is that they work on balance rather than the strengthening of foot muscles.

The child starts with one foot on the ball and one on the ground. They then switch, taking their foot off the ball whilst raising their grounded one to replace it. What they are effectively doing is hopping from one foot to the other, tapping the ball with alternate toes.

Be too uncontrolled and the ball will move away. Go too fast without the required amount of balance and the child might find themselves taking a tumble. As their balance improves, the child can speed up. The more toe taps in a minute whilst remaining in total control of the football, the better.

Once they have mastered rapid toe taps on the spot, see if they can move the ball backwards and forwards slightly in the same motion as they tap. Think how quickly a player like Lionel Messi or Lauren Hemp can manipulate the ball with their feet for an idea of the benefits toe taps bring.

Going forwards, backwards or sideways will improve skill and agility as well as balance – skills which the best dribblers in the world all have. Not to mention providing a great cardio workout.

Cone dribbling for agility

As the title suggests, cone dribbling involves dribbling around cones. If you do not have any cones, then a suitable replacement is another type of flat disc or marker, such as a dinner plate. Just don’t use the Christmas chinaware!

The cones are set up in a line, triangle or diamond a couple of yards apart. The child moves the ball around the cones in specified patterns using all parts of their feet, improving their agility and close control.

There are no right or wrong patterns; they say variety is the spice of life and that is very much the case with cone dribbling. Different patterns benefit different parts of the foot. Agility when it comes to ball manipulation makes it easy to master skills such as Cruyff and Maradona turns.

The challenge in cone dribbling comes from carrying out repetitions and timing them. Practice makes permanent is one of the overriding principles of We Make Footballers and of all the fitness exercises children can do to become better football players, cone dribbling is the one which benefits most from repetition.

Keep a record of how quickly a child can do a certain pattern and then ask them to try and beat it. Use both left and right feet and if you want to make it really difficult, decrease the gap between the cones and task them not to touch with foot or ball… which is why we recommend not using your best plates.

Circuit training for cardio fitness

The three fitness exercises children can do to become better footballers already mentioned will all benefit cardio as well as their main area of improvement. But for a drill which focuses purely on cardio, you cannot go wrong with circuit training.

Children love the variety circuit training brings. There are literally hundreds of different drills you can incorporate ranging from sit ups or press ups for developing core strength in older children to balance exercises such as standing on one foot for a specified period of time for younger players.

For children already signed up to We Make Footballers, exercises can be included in at-home circuit training designed to benefit specific areas our coaches have highlighted for improvement through their feedback.

Jumping jacks for example will improve jumping ability. Burpees running between two set markers increase speed. Alternating foot hoops benefit agility in the same way toe taps do with a football. Balance can be improved via both high knees and butt kicks. Those exercises are just scratching the surface of what can be included in circuit training.

Set a timer and do a certain amount of each exercise on repeat. For younger children, 30 seconds will often suffice. Those older benefit more from 60 seconds per exercise.

Increasing reps and speed makes circuit training more challenging. Keeping a record of how a child is performing not only gives them a target to beat, but also provides conclusive evidence that their cardio fitness is improving.

Carrying out these four fitness exercises at home will ultimately transfer to improved performances for children at their We Make Footballers weekly football training sessions… and who knows where that may lead?

We Make Footballers offer weekly football training sessions in a fun and safe environment across England for children aged between 4 and 12. To find your nearest academy and sign up for a free first session, please visit the We Make Footballers website.