Eighty nine and still playing or five and already started playing? We have often heard people say, “A human being will eventually be what his/her childhood has been like”. Every boy and girl who loves to play football starts to develop their passion and feel the excitement with every passing year as they observe. Either they have an elder sibling who plays or have seen it on television and are ecstatic about it.

Doyou ever wonder when should your kids start playing football so they are able to grow the necessary skills and play at the highest level?

Well, the best age for a child to start playing football is between 3 and 5 years old. These initial few years of a child’s development are very important as they determine his movement and develop his ability to observe, create and enjoy things. Sense of balance and movement are elementary in the first three years of life as the child grows his coordination skills. It’s important that their focus stays on entertainment. There should be an element of free play to knowledge and lessons, so the kids are able to run and roam around in different ways and enhance their stability with balance. As they’re all new to this, parents must ensure they give enough time to their child to interact with the ball and to understand its moves.

Obviously your five year old doesn’t draw portraits, does he? So why would you expect him to play like a grown up? The kind of training a 5-year-old must receive is to start playing with a football that’s appropriate for his size. An adult sized field and football would seem twice as big as what they’re able to handle which would more likely make him quit the game. At this point, it’s important you make sure to get the right size of football which they can handle, control and kick with their small feet.

After a plenty of free play, once your kids are aged between 6 and 8, they can start focusing on actual skills that are both fun and educational to them. Kids at this age enjoy playing with friends, while improving their individual skills. They are able to grasp the skills like controlling the ball with their feet, passing it to their teammate, and dribbling. Parents must focus that their kids learn the correct kicking techniques which will ultimately help in reducing the risk of injury.

Once they are aged between 8 and 12, and have ingrained those techniques within their muscle memory, they are more likely to spend less time thinking about how to kick the ball, which allows them to keep up with the fast-paced nature of the game. Additionally, they tend to work on the abilities like recognizing patterns, getting tactically smart, and becoming a little more enthusiastic about their talent and improving their teamwork. Parents must take it step-by-step, and make this learning fun for them, so their kids are able to engage themselves completely and inculcate the spirit of sportsmanship.

At this point, it’s especially necessary to instil the discipline in your child, which typically comes by having a trainer or coach around to further their skills. Football Academies go beyond the field practice and prepare them to discover their strengths and work on their shortcomings. They mentally and physically nurture their innate talent and give the appropriate advice. These academies make the progress measurable by drawing a clear vision before these young lads. Additionally, they provide the right guidance to hone their skills and assist them build a career in this field.

As a parent, you must be there to provide your child with a supportive environment so he can enjoy the sport. Let him play in the backyard with his friends so he gets more chances to practise withthem and sticks to the sport without any boredom and discouragement. Make it a habit to be physically present and watch them follow their dream. The ultimate goal is to keep your child’s dream alive and make it a fun loving and learning experience for him