How to Get Better at Soccer: A Parent Plan

To get better at soccer, connect focused soccer training with the decisions your child encounters during games. To help your child get better at soccer at home, choose one manageable task with their coach, then practise it and discuss the outcome together. This plan gives you practical home activities and questions to help you discuss your child's attempts with their coach. I recommend The Giro X's Curl Master One alongside coaching because its immediate striking feedback gives your daughter or son a clear focus for contact practice.

Which Soccer Skills Should Beginners Practise First?

I would start beginners with receiving and passing because a parent can observe where the ball finishes without explaining every movement. Try gently rolling the ball towards your child and inviting them to guide it towards an open space before returning it. Ask their coach what a receiving touch should accomplish, then use the answer to shape the home activity. Your role can be arranging the space and listening while your child explains what they are trying to do.

For receiving practice, I suggest a generous target and a pass your child feels comfortable receiving. For a more experienced player, ask the coach whether choosing between different receiving spaces would suit the current coaching task. Girls and boys deserve the same attention to their individual starting points, with room to explain what they understand. I would include comfortable weaker foot attempts, while letting the coach guide when to make receiving or passing practice more demanding.

How Can Your Child Get Better at Soccer at Home?

Help your child practise at home by choosing a clear task with a visible outcome, such as receiving towards a gap between markers. Ask where the receiving touch finished and whether the ball reached the space your child intended. If you have permission to use a suitable wall, ask the coach how to adapt receiving practice for a returning ball. I would keep the setup consistent while your child explores the receiving task, then discuss any changes together.

For dribbling practice, invite your child to move through an agreed space towards an exit marked before they begin. Once the dribbling route feels familiar, offer a choice of exits and let your player explain their decision. I prefer asking about the chosen route because the answer gives you a specific decision to discuss. Ask the coach which dribbling challenge fits the current team work, then agree with your child on the home setup before beginning.

What Should Shooting Practice Include?

Shooting practice should have an intended destination and a contact task your child understands. Ask the coach which striking detail to revisit, then invite your player to name the target before striking. Afterwards, ask where the ball went and what they noticed about contact. I would let your child describe the attempt before adding an observation, because their answer tells you what they understood. Use the coach's wording where possible so the striking explanation stays familiar between team sessions and home practice.

Product Pick: Curl Master One

Curl Master One spins a standard ball at controlled speeds and provides immediate feedback through striking contact. It trains contact and spin control relevant to free kicks, penalties and crosses, with no app or subscription required. I recommend getting it alongside coaching so your child can connect the coach's explanation with what they feel during a strike. Ask which contact task to carry into practice, then let your player describe the feedback before deciding what to try next.

How Does Practice Connect With Matches?

Connect home practice with matches by asking the coach which game situation a receiving or passing task is meant to serve. Receiving towards open space gives you a specific action to discuss before revisiting the movement at home. In a partner activity, invite your child to move to another receiving position after passing, then consider how the new position changes the next pass. Ask the coach how receiving and passing tasks develop when opponents become part of team practice.

After a game, invite your daughter or son to describe a moment when the practised skill felt useful. Your child might also identify a receiving or passing situation they want help understanding at the next session. I prefer descriptive practice notes because a comment about where a touch finished gives the coach something specific to discuss. Keep the match conversation open enough for your child to choose a different moment from the one you noticed from the sideline.

What Should a Canadian Family's Practice Plan Include?

In Canada, I would build your family's soccer practice plan around the team calendar and the space available that week. Families in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta should confirm their own outdoor schedules and winter facility arrangements. Before arranging practice in a gym or dome, check which ball activities the venue permits. Ask the coach how to adapt the receiving or dribbling task to the available space, then explain the agreed setup to your daughter or son.

When discussing coaching, ask the program which Canada Soccer or provincial association training applies to your child's age group. Request a written explanation of fees and session arrangements, then agree on a home task your child can explain. I would give your player a say in choosing a realistic practice slot around school commitments. Get Curl Master One alongside coaching and put the agreed striking task into your family calendar, guided by what your daughter or son wants to revisit with their coach.

Practise With Curl Master One

Add Curl Master One to your soccer striking practice alongside coaching.

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