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Soccer for 4, 5 and 6 year olds: fun games to play at home

At 4, 5 and 6, soccer is play. US Soccer’s own guides for these ages ask for a ball for every child, games instead of drills, short instructions, lots of breaks, lots of goals, no set positions and no heading. These games are written for a parent to read out loud from a phone: one line to say, a picture, and praise for trying.

What a young beginner can train at home

  • Dribbling games with a size 3 ball (red light, green light; treasure hunt)
  • Stopping the ball and passing it to a grown-up
  • Kicking at a little goal, with lots of chances to score
  • Running, jumping, balancing, throwing and catching
  • No positions, no heading, no diving, no scores against other children

Beginner training at home, ages 4 to 6

How much: about 10 to 15 minutes of games with a grown-up, with breaks, on days your child wants to play.

A sample session (15 minutes)

  1. Warm-up: 🎵 March, wiggle and reach for the sky · 3 min
    Say: “March like a soldier! Now wiggle like jelly! Reach up to the sky, then touch your toes!” Do it with them.
  2. 🚦 Red Light, Green Light Dribble · 3 min
    Say: “Green light, dribble! Red light, foot on top of the ball and freeze!” Praise the stop: “You stopped it right under your foot!”
  3. 🐸 Frog Jump the River · 3 min
    Say: “Jump over the river with two feet. Land quiet like a frog!” Praise the landing: “Such a soft frog landing!”
  4. 🥅 Score in the Little Goal · 3 min
    Say: “Dribble, dribble, then kick it in the little goal!” Praise the try: “Goal! You looked at the goal before you kicked.”
  5. Cool-down: 🐱 Slow stretch like a sleepy cat, then a high five · 3 min
    Say: “What was your favourite game today?” Praise the trying, not the score.

Red Light, Green Light Dribble

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Dribble on “green”, stop the ball with the sole of the foot on “red”. A favourite first game: it teaches keeping the ball close and stopping it.

  1. Your child starts at one end of the yard with the ball at their feet.
  2. Call “green light”: they dribble toward you with little touches.
  3. Call “red light”: they stop the ball with the bottom of their foot and freeze.
  4. Add “yellow light” for a slow walk with the ball. Play until they reach you, then swap who calls.

Coach's cue: Praise the stop: “You stopped it right under your foot!”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Frog Jump the River

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Two lines make a “river”. Jump across with two feet and land quietly like a frog; make the river a little wider when it feels easy.

  1. Lay two ropes or towels on the ground a small step apart: that is the river.
  2. Your child jumps across with two feet together.
  3. Land quietly with bent knees, like a frog.
  4. After a few jumps, move the ropes a little further apart.

Coach's cue: Praise the landing: “Such a soft frog landing!”

Bring: 2 ropes, towels or chalk lines

Safety: Land on two feet with bent knees on grass or a soft surface. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Score in the Little Goal

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Lots of chances to score: dribble up and kick the ball into a little goal from close by. No goalkeeper; every kick is a chance to score.

  1. Make a little goal with 2 cones or shoes, or use a box on its side.
  2. Your child starts 4 or 5 big steps away with the ball.
  3. They dribble closer, then kick it into the goal.
  4. Cheer every goal, fetch the ball together and go again from a new spot.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Goal! You looked at the goal before you kicked.”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball, small goal, box or 2 cones

Safety: Kick toward the target only when nobody is standing in front of it. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Squish the Bug

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

The grown-up rolls the ball gently and the child stops it with the bottom of the foot, as if squishing a bug. The first step of receiving a pass.

  1. Sit or crouch 3 big steps from your child.
  2. Roll the ball slowly along the ground to them.
  3. They stop it with the bottom of their foot: “squish the bug”.
  4. They pass it back with the inside of the foot. Swap feet every few rolls.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Squished! You stopped it dead.”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Treasure Hunt Dribble

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Spread “treasure” around the yard. The child dribbles to a treasure, picks it up, and dribbles it home to the treasure chest.

  1. Spread 5 small toys or cones around the yard: that is the treasure.
  2. Put a box or towel at the start: that is the treasure chest.
  3. Your child dribbles to one treasure, picks it up, and dribbles back to the chest.
  4. Keep going until all the treasure is home. Count the treasure together.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “You kept the ball so close on the way home!”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball, 5 small toys or cones as treasure

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Big Ball Catch

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

A grown-up tosses a big soft ball gently from close by, and the child catches it with hands and arms. Catching is a skill for every ball sport.

  1. Stand 2 big steps apart with a big soft ball.
  2. Show “ready hands”: arms out, fingers spread.
  3. Toss the ball gently, underhand, to their chest.
  4. They catch and toss it back. Step back a little after 5 good catches.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “You watched it all the way!”

Bring: big soft ball or beach ball

Safety: A big soft ball only, tossed gently and underhand from close by.

Knock Down the Bottles

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Stand up empty plastic bottles like pins and kick the ball to knock them down. Aiming at a target builds kicking and passing.

  1. Stand 3 to 6 empty plastic bottles in a row against a fence or wall.
  2. Your child stands 3 big steps away with the ball.
  3. They kick with the inside of the foot to knock the bottles down.
  4. Stand them back up together. Count how many fell, and try to beat their own count.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Good aim! You used the inside of your foot.”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball, 3 to 6 empty plastic bottles

Safety: Empty plastic bottles only, never glass. Kick toward the target only when nobody is standing in front of it. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Sleepy Monster Dribble

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

The grown-up is a slow, sleepy monster who tries to tap the ball with a foot. The child dribbles away and keeps the ball close. Only the ball is tapped, never the child.

  1. Your child dribbles around the yard.
  2. You are a sleepy monster: walk slowly after the ball and try to tap it with your foot.
  3. If you tap it, roar and fall asleep; your child wakes you by dribbling around you.
  4. Play short rounds of about 30 seconds with a rest between.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “You turned away from the monster!”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball

Safety: The grown-up walks and only taps the ball, never the child. Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Pass Through the Tunnel

Ages 4 to 6 · 3 min

Two cones make a tunnel. The child passes the ball through it to the grown-up with the inside of the foot: the first passing game.

  1. Put 2 cones or shoes a big step apart: that is the tunnel.
  2. Stand on one side; your child stands 3 big steps away on the other side.
  3. They pass the ball through the tunnel to you with the inside of the foot.
  4. Pass it back. Make the tunnel a little smaller when it gets easy.

Coach's cue: Praise the try: “Through the tunnel! Nice side-of-the-foot pass.”

Bring: size 3 soccer ball, 2 cones or shoes

Safety: Play on grass or a soft, flat, clear space with nothing to trip on. Stop for a drink and a rest whenever they want one.

Turn these into a plan your beginner actually does

In SSTracker the coach sends the session, your child gets a short workout with every step, earns XP when they log it, and you see the work. No club yet? The family plan is $7.50 a month per player, or $12 for the whole household, with 14 days free. Running a club or team is free.

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The research behind these plans

These sessions are built from 100 sources: national federation guidance, sports-medicine consensus statements and peer-reviewed studies on youth players, last reviewed October 2026. Where no study gives an exact number (most at-home doses), the plans use the cautious defaults the research supports, and we update them as new studies come out. Soccer is first; research-built plans for every position in the other sports SSTracker supports are on the way.

Ages 4 to 6: play and movement skills (11)
Soccer by age: US Soccer and youth programmes (8)
Other sports and safety for the youngest (4)
Age, development and practice design (22)
Positions, scanning and technique (11)
Goalkeeping (10)
Safety, load and injury (26)
Motivation and parents (8)

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