If you are a parent of a toddler who has just found their feet and loves nothing more than chasing a ball around, toddler football classes are an excellent next step. They will provide your child with an activity where they will have a lot of fun, make new friends and it will keep them active.
Before bringing them to a class, you can slowly begin to introduce them to football at home. In this guide, we will tell you fun and simple ways in which you can introduce your toddler to football and how you will be able to tell when they are ready to move on to attending a football class.
When can a toddler start playing football?
Most toddlers can start playing a form of football as soon as they start walking, which is usually around 12 to 18 months, though every child develops at their own pace.
At Socatots, our football classes start from as young as 6 months, with parents helping their child with the movements and games more when their child is still so young. But, all early football training is a lot of developing basic ball skills.
How does toddler football help development?
Toddler football will help your toddler to develop their basic motor skills, their coordination, balance and their dexterity. It is also an excellent way to get your child active which is very important. The NHS recommends that a toddler is active for 180 minutes (3 hours) every day.
Football training will help to develop their listening skills, numeracy, colours and hold a lot of social and emotional benefits. Your child will be engaging with children that are the same age as them. They will learn how to socialise with them, take turns and to empathise. Football training from a young age will help your child develop into a healthy, well-rounded person.
What football skills can toddlers learn at each age?
As a toddler grows older, their football skills will also naturally progress. In the table below, we look at what they can typically do at each age stage:
| Age: | What they can typically do: | Football-style play to try: |
| 12 to 18 months | Walk, push and roll a ball | Rolling a ball back and forth |
|
18 months to 2 years |
Walk into a ball, early kicks | Kicking a smaller football forwards |
| 2 to 3 years | Kick from standing, run after a ball | Kicking at a target, simple chasing games |
| 4 to 5 years | Kick with more aim, stop a ball | Dribbling short distances, stop-and-go games |
These are general developmental guides. Each child is different and will progress at the right rate for them.
How can I introduce football at home?
The best way to introduce football to your toddler is to make it fun. You could start with fun games in your garden or local park, using a soft ball and letting your toddler set the pace.
The table below offers more ideas and games for you to try at home:
| Game: | What you need: | How to play it: | Skill it builds: |
| Roll and return | Soft ball | Roll the ball to your toddler and ask them to stop it and roll it back | Tracking and early control |
| Knock down the tower | Ball, plastic blocks or boxes | Build a tower and then get your toddler to kick the ball at it | Aim and kicking |
| Traffic lights | Ball, colour cues | Have three colour cues – red, yellow, green. Red can mean stop, yellow could mean roll the ball and green could mean kick the ball. Just make it so the instructions are clear. | Listening and stopping |
| Follow the leader | Ball each | You do something with the ball – kick it, roll it, dribble etc. Your toddler has to copy what you did | Dribbling and copying movements |
| Score a goal | Ball, two cones or any type of marker | Set up a makeshift goal, using cones or anything you can find at home. Have your toddler kick the ball towards the goal | Kicking towards a target |
With all of these games, make sure to stay at your toddlers pace and, most importantly, keep it fun.
What should I avoid when introducing toddler football?
You should avoid turning into practice or anything too serious. Toddlers learn best when things feel like play and even at official toddler football classes, like Socatots, we keep it fun.
When you introduce them to any of the games above, it should be a fun, pressure-free environment where it doesn’t matter if your child makes a mistake.
When is my toddler ready for a structured class?
Once you have introduced your toddler to football at home, they will be ready for structured class when you feel they are enjoying playing with you. If you choose the right class, that is all they really need to be ready. They will be taught the skills and how to listen, share and much more during the class.
What happens in a toddler football session like Socatots?
The exact details on what happens will depend on the age of your toddler and which age group they are in. But, at all our Socatots sessions, the emphasis is on fun!
You and your toddler will be warmly welcomed when you arrive and then they will have 5 minutes of free play. Once the session starts properly, they will do a warm up and then begin the training, which is really more play as all our training is designed as games. This is all done to child-friendly music.
You will be involved throughout as an individual coach for your child but the Socatots coaches will be there every step of the way too.
How Do I Introduce A Toddler To Football?
Introducing your toddler to football at home is simple. You really just need to keep it fun and at a pace that suits them. You can play the games above or just let them start by racing after a ball in the garden or local park. If you follow their lead, you cannot go wrong.
Once they have been introduced, if they seem to be enjoying it, you can consider bringing them to a football class. At Socatots, we offer free taster sessions so you can see if we are the right fit for your little one.
We hope you have found this guide helpful and enjoy playing the games with your toddler.