The best advice in this thread is playing tag and other playground games. Basically anything that incorporates running with dynamic movement and agility. And at 8 years old only the fun stuff will stick anyways.

Anonymous wrote:How do you help an 8-year-old increase speed and stamina? DS is tall and brawny, more of a football build. Proportionate weight for height but 4'10" and 80 lbs. Watching his game over the weekend I saw that he is a slower runner than some of the smaller slighter kids. He's great at defense and shaking the ball loose from a pack but not so good as a striker running ahead of defense to shoot the ball.

Is his lack of speed due to his greater height and bulk or is there something I can do to help him? He rrally wants to play striker.

You could:
- work on soccer specific stamina by running 5 minutes slow 1 minute fast build up to 20 minutes total and 2 min slow 1 min fast intervals
- work on speed by doing sprints w/o and w ball no more than 15 yards (either you create separation from defender or dont)

You could:

- create agility with the ball, work on change of pace change of direction feint deception shielding (putting himself into path of defender so he cant be caught w/o foul)
- work on transitions - recognize the transition, anticipate it, and act on it
- work on the first touch as a striker, work on both feet so he can shoot either side while shielding defender

Dont worry if your kid lacks speed to dribble on his own breakaway for 30 yards and shoot - that is not going to happen anyway as he moves up and faces a backline of 3 or 4 - a lot of those 'stars' will be unable to score later

You should:
- let him be who he is, an 8 year old

My opinion it is too young to train for speed. If he is athletic already his build might just not to be a fast pace runner. At that age, you compensate for speed with foot skills. He will need to want to do it on his own, once you make it a job you suck the fun out of it. If you can be effective with the ball pass quickly (combination passes) he should be good. At that age our coach used to tell the kids..pass beats fast all day.

Anonymous wrote:He's 8. His mechanics aren't fully developed. His balance, coordination, stability, strength, etc have a long way to go. If you really want to help him, take him to the play ground more where the kids play tag. Did you ever see a kid NOT sprint when being chased? Have him play tag, and dodge ball, and all the things PE teachers don't allow them to do. These things build all the things that he will need to generate speed and acceleration. I recommend that before each soccer practice, he can use 15 minutes to work on basics like skipping and butt kicks and other dynamic stretching that will help his speed in the future. Have him jump rope. Have him do a few sprints with and without the ball as well. I would say 10-20 yards no need for 40 yards at this age.

Yes, 20 yard is plenty. I forgot he’s only 8 when I suggested 30-40 yard.

He needs to work on individual skill in an age appropriate program(ie fun, short sessions, proper technique, lots of touches and small games). He will either have speed or not and you will not know till after puberty(13-15).

A fast as sh@t 8 year old is slow on a field of 11 year olds. The only thing that is controllable is proper technical instruction. It’s a waste of time to do speed drills at his age.

He's 8. His mechanics aren't fully developed. His balance, coordination, stability, strength, etc have a long way to go. If you really want to help him, take him to the play ground more where the kids play tag. Did you ever see a kid NOT sprint when being chased? Have him play tag, and dodge ball, and all the things PE teachers don't allow them to do. These things build all the things that he will need to generate speed and acceleration. I recommend that before each soccer practice, he can use 15 minutes to work on basics like skipping and butt kicks and other dynamic stretching that will help his speed in the future. Have him jump rope. Have him do a few sprints with and without the ball as well. I would say 10-20 yards no need for 40 yards at this age.

Anonymous wrote:At this age it is simple. Keep them active and away from garbage like fortnite. Too much "training" will burn them out so change it up with other activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, etc. I understand the previous poster's comment about running with the ball, it's good in theory but when soccer becomes a job, the child will loose the passion.

I just wrote the previous post but this poster makes a good point as well

I agree with prior poster on working on speed with the ball as well as speed off the ball. Realize that 8 year olds play soccer on small fields for short periods of time because none of them have the stamina to play for 90 minutes on a full soccer field.

The best predictor of ultimate success in athletics of a young child is how athletic were the parents when they were fully grown (eg high school?)

If he is a good center defender that the coach may not want to move him to striker.

At this age it is simple. Keep them active and away from garbage like fortnite. Too much "training" will burn them out so change it up with other activities such as hiking, biking, swimming, etc. I understand the previous poster's comment about running with the ball, it's good in theory but when soccer becomes a job, the child will loose the passion.

Anonymous wrote:How do you help an 8-year-old increase speed and stamina? DS is tall and brawny, more of a football build. Proportionate weight for height but 4'10" and 80 lbs. Watching his game over the weekend I saw that he is a slower runner than some of the smaller slighter kids. He's great at defense and shaking the ball loose from a pack but not so good as a striker running ahead of defense to shoot the ball.

Is his lack of speed due to his greater height and bulk or is there something I can do to help him? He rrally wants to play striker.

Most of the work you did for this was genetics. If you want him to be better at soccer, have him play more soccer. Let him rest and repeat. Strikers don't have to be fast. Also, he's 8....

To add to these suggestions..... consistency is key. Daily activity, not necessarily drills and sprints, but general conditioning, will help significantly. He won't improve with just one 'speed' session per week.

Anonymous wrote:swimming has improved my kids stamina and speed.

Interesting. Do you have them do fast swim laps or do regular laps?

I will have my DD do more swimming this summer.

There are lots of YouTube videos on how to improve speed & stamina.

But the best workout in my opinion is for him to do sprints while dribbling the ball for about 30-40 yards then jog with the ball for another 30-40 yards. Keep alternating between these two drills. This way, he can improve this speed/stamina while improving his ball control skills.

swimming has improved my kids stamina and speed.

How do you help an 8-year-old increase speed and stamina? DS is tall and brawny, more of a football build. Proportionate weight for height but 4'10" and 80 lbs. Watching his game over the weekend I saw that he is a slower runner than some of the smaller slighter kids. He's great at defense and shaking the ball loose from a pack but not so good as a striker running ahead of defense to shoot the ball.

Is his lack of speed due to his greater height and bulk or is there something I can do to help him? He rrally wants to play striker.