Free drill library · Soccer

At-home soccer drills for 7 to 10 year olds: goalkeeper

This is a free sample week of at-home soccer training for 7 to 10 year olds, for a goalkeeper: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 19 to 22.5 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

Everything here can be done in a room, garage or yard. Drills that need a team are left out; a parent can be the partner in a pair drill.

Most of a goalkeeper’s game happens with the ball at their feet: across youth and pro matches, about three in four of a keeper’s actions are passes and distribution, and only around one in ten is a save. Good home training for a young keeper leans on footwork, handling and passing, and keeps diving for soft ground and the right age.

How much: about 20 minutes (25 at most), 2 to 4 times a week, mostly as games.

What a young goalkeeper can train at home

  • Set position and footwork
  • Catching at every height
  • Passing and receiving with both feet
  • Rolling and throwing to a target
  • Falls on grass or a mat, from the knees first (no standing dives before 11)

A free sample week of soccer for 7 to 10 year olds

Session 1

Goalkeeper session 1: Ready stance 19 minutes

  1. Warm-up: jog, skips, side shuffles, jump and land, balance on one leg · 6 min
    Land softly with knees over toes. This kind of warm-up helps prevent injuries.
  2. Beat your score: clean catches from a parent’s soft tosses in 30 seconds · 2 min
    Count your clean catches. Beat your own score.
  3. Keeper set position: freeze on a clap, then catch a soft toss (2 × 40 s, 20 s rest) · 2.5 min
    Toes, knees, hands ready.
  4. Keeper wall passes with both feet (2 × 60 s, 30 s rest) · 3.5 min
    Keepers use their feet the most. Both feet, every time.
  5. Game: catch streak, how many soft tosses you catch in a row · 3 min
    Make it a game. Cheer every catch.
  6. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly. Tell someone one thing you did well.

Session 2

Goalkeeper session 2: Scoop catches 20.5 minutes

  1. Warm-up: jog, skips, side shuffles, jump and land, balance on one leg · 6 min
    Land softly with knees over toes. This kind of warm-up helps prevent injuries.
  2. Beat your score: clean catches from a parent’s soft tosses in 30 seconds · 2 min
    Count your clean catches. Beat your own score.
  3. Keeper scoop, basket and W catches from soft tosses at 3 to 4 yards (3 to 4 m) (3 × 60 s, 30 s rest) · 5 min
    Hands first, body behind the ball.
  4. Keeper set position: freeze on a clap, then catch a soft toss (2 × 40 s, 20 s rest) · 2.5 min
    Toes, knees, hands ready.
  5. Game: catch streak, how many soft tosses you catch in a row · 3 min
    Make it a game. Cheer every catch.
  6. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly. Tell someone one thing you did well.

Session 3

Goalkeeper session 3: Ball drops 22.5 minutes

  1. Warm-up: jog, skips, side shuffles, jump and land, balance on one leg · 6 min
    Land softly with knees over toes. This kind of warm-up helps prevent injuries.
  2. Beat your score: clean catches from a parent’s soft tosses in 30 seconds · 2 min
    Count your clean catches. Beat your own score.
  3. Keeper ball drops, then two-ball drops (3 × 45 s, 30 s rest) · 4.5 min
    Watch the ball all the way into your hands.
  4. Keeper scoop, basket and W catches from soft tosses at 3 to 4 yards (3 to 4 m) (3 × 60 s, 30 s rest) · 5 min
    Hands first, body behind the ball.
  5. Game: catch streak, how many soft tosses you catch in a row · 3 min
    Make it a game. Cheer every catch.
  6. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly. Tell someone one thing you did well.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 soccer plans SSTracker has for this group. In SSTracker every step is on the screen, your child logs the work, and you see it. No club needed: the family plan is $7.50 a month per player, or $12 a month for the whole household, and the first 14 days are free.

Get the full plan free for 14 days Coach or club director? Set up your team free Print a free week for another sport or age

The drills in this week

Keeper Ready Stance Game

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Learn the goalkeeper's ready stance and get set before every ball.

  1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, weight on your toes, hands out in front at waist height.
  2. Your partner walks around with the ball and says "set" at random moments.
  3. On "set", freeze in your stance facing the ball and hold for two seconds.
  4. Do 15 sets, then swap so your partner shows you their stance.

Coach's cue: Toes, knees, hands ready.

Bring: soccer ball, partner or parent

Safety: Practice falls on soft grass or a mat, start from your knees, and never dive at a player's feet without a coach.

Keeper Two-Footed Wall Passes

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Keepers use their feet more than their hands in a game. Pass and receive off a wall with both feet.

  1. Stand 3 to 5 steps from a wall.
  2. Pass with your right foot, stop the rebound, pass again.
  3. Then the same with your left foot.
  4. Do 2 sets of 10 with each foot. Older keepers take the first touch away to one side.

Coach's cue: Keepers use their feet the most. Both feet, every time.

Bring: soccer ball, wall

Keeper Scoop Catches

Ages 7 and up · 8 min

Gather balls rolled along the ground with the keeper's scoop.

  1. Your partner stands 5 steps away and rolls the ball straight at you.
  2. Step behind the line of the ball and bend forward, little fingers close together.
  3. Scoop the ball up into your chest and hug it.
  4. Do 20 catches, then have the rolls go one step to each side.

Coach's cue: Get behind it, scoop and hug.

Bring: soccer ball, partner or parent

Safety: Practice falls on soft grass or a mat, start from your knees, and never dive at a player's feet without a coach.

Keeper Ball Drops

Ages 7 and up · 6 min

Your parent drops a ball; you catch it before the second bounce. Then try two balls.

  1. Stand in your set position facing your parent.
  2. They hold a ball out at shoulder height and let it drop.
  3. Step and catch it before it bounces twice.
  4. Do 8. Then they hold two balls and drop only one.

Coach's cue: Watch the ball all the way into your hands.

Bring: tennis ball or soft ball, partner or parent

Safety: Use a soft ball or a tennis ball indoors. Thumbs and little fingers never overlap. The thrower never throws hard from close range. Stop if a finger or wrist hurts.

Safety for ages 7 to 10

  • Plans for this age group use beginner drills only. Advanced drills open from age 13 in the app.
  • Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: soccer

  • Shin guards under socks for every game and partner drill.
  • A ball the right size for age (size 3 for the youngest, size 4 from about 8, size 5 from about 12).
  • No heading the ball at age 10 and under (U.S. Soccer). Ages 11-13: light heading in practice only, with a coach.
  • No slide tackles in practice games; stay on your feet when you defend.
  • Goalkeepers learn to fall on soft ground first, starting from the knees.
  • A warm-up with balance, jumping and landing (like FIFA 11+ Kids) cuts injuries by about half.
For every sport and age (7)
  • Head knock or concussion signs (headache, dizziness, confusion, feeling "off"): when in doubt, sit them out. See a doctor, and no return the same day.
  • Back to sport only with a doctor's written OK, after a step-by-step return. Every U.S. state has a youth concussion law.
  • Heat: drink water before, during and after. Take shade breaks, ease into hot weather over about two weeks, and stop if dizzy, sick or headachy.
  • Lightning: if you hear thunder or see lightning, go inside a building or a closed car. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder (the 30-30 rule).
  • Pain is a stop sign, not something to push through. Stop and tell a grown-up; pain that lasts or comes back each session needs a doctor.
  • Water and rest are part of training: 1-2 rest days a week, plenty of sleep, a meal or snack before and after, and other sports welcome.
  • Know where the nearest AED (heart defibrillator) is, and who calls for help in an emergency.

The research behind these plans

Which drills are shown at which age, and the safety notes, follow the 77 sources below: national governing bodies, medical associations and studies on youth sport (last reviewed October 2026). Where no study gives an exact number, the plans use cautious defaults, and we change them as the research does.

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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