Attending a football academy for kids can host so many benefits for infants and older children. This blog aims to explore everything you need to know about football training for children and answer the burning questions that lots of parents have.
Watching Argentina lift the World Cup trophy this year has spurred more children on to get into football. Encouraging our England squad throughout the contest in Qatar brought a sense of togetherness to many families throughout the country. Not to mention the Lioness’ epic glory that we experienced earlier this year. Most, if not all of the footballer legends that we have watched throughout 2022 started football training as children.
Football training can offer kids so many more benefits other than just the opportunity of developing their skills and progress in the sport.
Football training for children, and being part of a football academy can offer so many advantages for a child’s physical, emotional and social development. Of course, there is the obvious benefit of the fitness aspect of football. Being a high-energy sport, children are introduced to and encouraged to live an active lifestyle. Developing strength, stamina and fitness are all ways in which football training can benefit a child physically.
Through sports, exercise becomes more enjoyable, then having a knock on effect on a child’s mental health and emotional wellness. Being part of a team, experiencing success and releasing those feel-good hormones are brilliant ways for children to experience emotional wellness when playing football.
Introducing your child to a football academy from a young age is a great way of encouraging them to make friends. This is especially important for those children who maybe have no siblings, or struggle to make friends at school. Being surrounded by like-minded children, who are enjoying the same thing is really encouraging for young people. Many parents find that their children make the most solid friendships through shared extracurricular activities.
Many football academies take children on from as young as 18 months old.
Although football training hosts benefits for so many children, despite their age, infancy is arguably the most important stage for children to develop.
Focusing on fun and fine-tuning those all-important motor skills are generally the route football academies follow with children so young. Encouraging an infant to engage in teamwork and build their confidence and communication skills are crucial lessons to learn in children so young.
That being said, encouraging children as old as 10 years old to get into football training is equally as important. For all the reasons we have shared above!
There are so many ways in which parents can get involved in their children’s football training outside of an academy. As in school, the learning doesn’t stop after class. Encouraging a child to further their progression in football is key to promoting further success and reaping the rewards that we have mentioned earlier in this blog.
But without the specialist equipment and a coach’s football knowledge, how can you encourage children to practice their football skills?
As long as they have a ball, it is easy to practice drills, dribbling and passes with your child. Playing a simple game of pass with a football or setting keepy-uppy challenges is a brilliant way to fine-tune those football skills that your child learns in classes.
Watching football games can also become quite an educational activity if your child is training in football at an academy. Football-loving parents – you’re in luck! Allowing older children to acknowledge tactics and play rules in a game of football will broaden their knowledge of the game and allow them to progress further in their chosen academy.
Football training can host so many benefits for children, especially football training at a specialist academy. Whether you’re the parent of a 1 year old or a 10 year old child, there is something for everybody!
Football academies across the country offer important lessons to children through their teachings of the sport and its techniques.