Weather will occasionally deal us a practice or game day rain-out.
If the girls don’t like the idea of drinking root beer and watching wrestling, here are some soccer-related activities to keep them involved.
Fast footwork challenges:
The fast footwork challenges fit in smaller indoor spaces like basements or garages. They’re all about close ball control. There’s no kicking involved, so your family’s heirloom china should be safe.
Toe touches, level 1 challenge (good for newer Junior Academy Girls players):
Toe touches, level 2 challenge (good for 2nd-year players):
Happy feet, level 1 challenge (good for newer Junior Academy Girls players):
Happy feet, level 2 challenge (good for 2nd-year players):
Other rainy day activities:
Do you have a partner? If so, try the partner toe taps challenge or play the games we call Texas Draw and shintago. Or check this link: other play at home activities
V-pull challenges:
Can you combine V-pull moves, or combine a V-pull with another move? The first challenge isn’t too hard, but the others may be really challenging!
- V-pull combo #1: front and reverse V-pulls
- V-pull combo #2: an 8-move V-pull cycle (advanced)
- V-pull combo #3: 2-foot V-pull with an in-out move (advanced)
- V-pull combo #4: V-pull with a step-over (advanced)
The “tornado” challenge:
Can you learn to do the “tornado” turn? It’s tricky, but fun — you get to combine quick feet while spinning in the air!
For dedicated “ball artists” only:
If you enjoy learning new moves and want to take it to a new level, check out the moves from the YouTube channel of The Soccer Legion: www.youtube.com/user/TheSoccerLegion/videos. Here’s a video of a move that’s similar to the “yo yo” stop and go move:
Most of these moves are challenging; they require multiple foot movements, good balance and excellent ball control. But they are fun! Watch some of the videos, see which move you like best, and start practicing!
Quizzes:
Soccer skills quizzes:
- Link: soccer skills quizzes (major update March 17, 2021)
Weekly quizzes:
We often post weekly quizzes on our game day pages. Links to some past seasons’ quizzes:
Soccer sense quizzes:
We’ve put together several soccer sense quizzes over the years. This started with a detailed soccer sense quiz for our U10 girls a few years back. It may be over the head of Junior Academy players early on, but they’ll start to get things as the season progresses. We’ve since added smaller soccer sense quizzes that are good fits for many Junior Academy aged players.
The soccer sense quizzes are good parent-daughter activities! The detailed quiz takes 30-60 minutes. You can use coasters or drinking glasses or board game pieces (checkers or backgammon pieces are perfect) to setup the situations in the quiz. Kids should do the thinking and provide the answers, but parents can help as guides.
Watch soccer on TV:
Check out a game on TV. Current pro and college game listings are posted at www.livesoccertv.com.