Game version
Easy-saves game: two friends take turns with a soft ball at close range, cheering every save, then each moves one small step harder.
Keeper Confidence Round
Easy saves first: close range and a soft ball until you keep 8 out of 10, then a little harder.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth soccer coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Stand ready in your set position.
- Ages
- 7 and up
- Time
- 6 min
- Players
- You and a partner or parent
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Soft ball, partner or parent
- Level · skill
- Beginner · Defending
The steps
How it works
- Stand ready in your set position.
- Your parent tosses a soft ball at your chest from 3 steps.
- Catch 10. If you keep 8, they step back one step or toss a little to the side.
- Finish on a clean catch.
Coaching point
Easy wins first. Hands first, body behind the ball.
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.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Climb your own ladder: stay at a level until you keep 8 out of 10, then pick the next. Beat only your own last try.
Story
You are a gardener watering a seed: every save grows it a little taller.
My best
Beat your own count
Beat your own best. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free soccer week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free
Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.