Soccer: Race for the Goal Game Teaches Dribbling Skills
Here's a fun game that will teach your students to dribble the ball while running at high speed.
How to Play
Divide your group into two teams. Give each team a name and each player a ball.
The game starts with all players inside the center circle, randomly dribbling their ball.
Yell out the name of a team and those players must immediately dribble their ball as fast as they can towards the goal. The other players leave their ball and play defense.
Once they enter the penalty area, offensive players can score a point by kicking their ball into the goal (there's no goalie). Defensive players can score a goal by gaining possession of a ball and dribbling it back into the center circle.
Suggestions
- This is a tiring game, so give your students some recovery time between games—it's a good time for them to practice individual ball-handling skills.
- If you don't have a marked soccer field, use cones to delineate the center circle and goals.
- You could play with fewer balls and have your students pass them to teammates in the center circle before you shout out the offensive team.
References:
1. Deborah Crisfield, The Everything Kids' Soccer Book: Rules, techniques, and more about your favorite sport! (Everything Kids Series), Adams Media, 2009.
2. Colin Schmidt, Practice in a Box, Coaching Cards for Soccer, Coaching Cards, 1995.
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