Reply to how best teach an 8-year old with decent skills to be more aggressive and energetic on the field?

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Reply to "how best teach an 8-year old with decent skills to be more aggressive and energetic on the field?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ugh...OP, I get what you are asking.  Unfortunately you can't ask a question without your parenting being criticized.  You have a child who has exhibited some technical skill with the ball and has not translated into more game situations because she is timid.  Very common at that age.  Wanting to help your child with something she is struggling with is fine.  Her strength is technical ability and her aggression/timidness is a weakness.  That's ok, we all have strengths and weaknesses and should work on both.

There are drills to help, but ultimately it will be up to her.  My caution would be, and it sounds like you are doing fine, is do not pressurize the timidness because then she will become anxious too, if not already.  At 8 it should be about having fun and trying to develop over time.  Have an open discussion with your child.  Why are they timid?  There are tons of reason that manifest into "not being aggressive"  Is it a confidence issue (don't think they are good/scared to mess up)? fear (afraid of getting hurt)? comfort in games (lack of game reps/experience/training)?  Once you know that you can address, but make sure they are open to addressing.  If not, then just let it play out as pushing will only make it worse.  She is 8 and no reason to push too hard right now, if ever.

You can start working on 50/50 balls by holding onto the ball with you foot on top and have her come take it away/win the ball.  Let her win the first few for confidence and then progressively get harder by keeping your foot on the ball with more force and moving around.  Then put the ball 3 feet in front of you and have her come get it while you go in as well.  Same thing.  Start off easy for confidence and then progress in difficulty.  Then move to 6 feet.  Obviously you are limited in how hard you can go, but it's a great drill with a peer/neighborhood friend.  Once she gets comfortable you can line up and roll a ball out between two people, first one to gain possession and pass back to starting spot wins.

Good luck![/quote]

Great drill and advice there. This is a simple very effective way to get started. Maybe eventually add in some shoulder contact drills just like the PP said start slow let her build confidence pushing you off the ball. [/quote]

Yep - if timidity is the problem (wasn't completely clear to me that it was) - then shoulder to shoulder drills are useful too.  Better with another kid of a similar size - but you can probably do it with your daugher yourself.  Start just standing next to each other and get her to just lean into you and try to push each other over - she should get the feel of getting her center of balance low and feeling the strong shoulder contact.  Then move to doing the same while walking and then running.  Then add a ball and have her dribble first while walking and then running while her partner walks and runs alongside her attempting to push her off the ball - and repeat with your daughter as the defender.  The child in possession should start a quarter of a pace ahead of the defender once you add the ball.

You could also try just havng her run full speed at you and hitting you with her shoulder and letting her knock you over - you could just do this in the back yard for fun without her even realizing it's got anything to do with soccer.[/quote]

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