If you are a parent or coach to a U14 girls’ soccer player, then you are in for a real treat. It is about building substantial basic foundations with regard to soccer skills while keeping the passion and commitment driving young players.
Girls, when they reach 14 years of age, are prepared to take the game to the next level. They learn how to put technical skills into action, understand advanced tactics, and acquire confidence that will carry them to the next level.
Today we go through the key skills every U14 girls soccer player should possess technical capability to mental resilience. Think of this as your roadmap for guiding a young athlete on their journey.
By breaking down each of the skill areas, you are in a position to zero in on what matters most at this stage and set her up for success both on and off the field.
Ball Control and Dribbling
Why It’s Important: Ball control is the backbone of soccer. Being comfortable with the ball gives players the confidence to maneuver around defenders, set up plays, and dictate the pace of the game.
Skills to Focus On:
- First Touch: Mastering the soft first touch enables players to control the ball, whether it comes at them fast or awkwardly.
- Dribbling with Both Feet: Encourage your player to use both feet when dribbling. This will keep defenders guessing and give her more options on the field.
- Quick Change of Direction: Good dribbling is not just running with the ball; quick changes of direction are equally important in beating defenders. The inside cut, outside cut, and Cruyff turn are great to practice.
Drills to Try:
- Cone Dribbling Drills: Place cones in a zig-zag manner and have her dribble through them with both feet. To make it challenging, add time limits or ask her to change direction at every cone.
- One-on-One Practice: The best usage of building up dribbling skills is to practice one-on-one situations where she will be called upon to try to dribble past a defender into open space to simulate game scenarios.
SEE ALSO | What Skills Should a Girls U14 Soccer Goalie Have?
Passing and Receiving
Why It’s Important: Soccer is a team sport. The passing skill keeps the players in close contact with the rest of the team. A U14 player should be able to do accurate passing, receive confidently, and make quick decisions of what to do next.
Skills to Focus On:
- Accurate Passing: Emphasize passing with the inside of the foot for accuracy. Encourage her also to try exploring other types of passes, such as chip and lofted passes.
- Receiving the Ball with Various Parts of the Body: By this stage, the players should be able to receive with their chest, thigh, and feet.
- One-Touch Passing: One-touch passing allows her to develop quickness with the ball while making quicker decisions. This works especially well in tight spaces.
Drills to Try:
- Passing Gates: Set up small gates using cones and have her pass the ball with a teammate or coach back and forth, trying to hit each gate for precision.
- Wall Passing Drill: For those without a partner, a wall will do just fine. Have her pass the ball against the wall and then receive it with one touch, passing it again. This drill will help her in building control and consistency.
Shooting and Finishing
Why It’s Important: Shooting is essential for any player who wants to contribute toward scoring goals. The players at U14 should work on both power and accuracy to become a real threat in front of the goal.
- Accuracy over Power: Hit corners or work on trying to hit a specific target rather than just trying to generate raw power. Precise shots are more effective; very few goalkeepers at higher levels will be beaten by power alone.
- Using Both Feet: Encourage her to shoot with her weaker foot to build ambidexterity.
- Variety of Shots: Keep her versatile by teaching her to execute volleys, half-volleys, and curling shots.
Some Drills to Try:
- Target Shooting: In the goal, set up little targets for accuracy. Give them some competitive value by granting points for each target hit.
- Finishing Under Pressure: Add a defender or create game-like situations where she has to shoot quickly under pressure. This drill sharpens reaction time and helps replicate real match scenarios.
Defensive Skills
Why It’s Important: Defending isn’t only for defenders anymore. Every player should have basic defensive skills, especially as the level of competition increases.
Skills to Focus On:
- Positioning and Body Shape: Show her the importance of keeping her body low and using the sideline as a tool to close down space.
- Tackling: Whether it’s a standing tackle or a slide tackle, she should know when and how to tackle safely and effectively.
- Reading the Opponent: Encourage her to anticipate what the opponent is going to do next by paying attention to their body language and positioning.
Drills to Try:
- 1v1 Defensive Drill: Have her work on maintaining the proper body shape in a 1v1 situation and how to time a tackle.
- Small-Sided Defending Drills: Small-sided games using 3v3 or 4v4 formats help players practice defending in realistic settings, building decision-making and positioning.
SEE ALSO | How to Get Better at Soccer: 9 Steps to Leveling Up Your Game
Game Awareness and Decision Making
Why It’s Important: As the player develops, it is not just what they are doing with the ball, it’s when and where they do it. The flow of the game, reading what might happen, and decision-making.
Skills to Focus On:
- Scanning the field: Encourage her to observe where teammates and opponents are on the field and where open space is. It’s a habit that will help her make quicker, better decisions.
- Anticipate play: Have her watch pro soccer games to try to anticipate what players will do next. The off-the-field exercise can make a world of difference.
- Make decisions under pressure: Quick decisions come with practice. Let her make mistakes in training so she can learn from those mistakes.
Drills to Try:
- Small-Sided Games with Touch Restrictions: Place restrictions on the number of touches each player is allowed to have. This forces her to think and act in minimal time thus enhancing decision-making.
- Pattern Play Drills: Create situations that are likely to happen in the game, such as passing and moving through a series of cones representing defenders. This can help her anticipate and make intelligent movements.
Physical Fitness and Conditioning
Why It’s Important: Soccer is a physically demanding sport, and no matter how advanced your child gets with skills, fitness levels often determine who can keep up late in the game.
Building stamina, speed, and agility gives your U14 player a competitive edge.
Skills to Focus On:
- Endurance: There is a lot of running in soccer, so a good endurance base is important.
- Agility and Speed: Soccer frequently involves quick changes of direction. Agility training can be a huge game-changer.
- Strength and Injury Prevention: Building core and leg strength will help prevent common injuries and enhance athleticism overall.
Drills to Try:
- Interval Running: Employ a series of sprints with jogging or rest in between to simulate the stop-start nature of soccer.
- Agility Ladder Drills: These drills improve the speed of the feet and coordination, which will directly benefit her in the field.
- Bodyweight Strength Exercises: Squats, lunges, and planks are great for building a generally solid base as an athlete without being reliant on weights or machines.
Mental Resilience and Confidence
Why It’s Important: Soccer can be extreme, and it is normal to make mistakes. A good mindset helps her respond if need be from mistakes and maintain the focus, no matter what.
Skills to Focus On:
- Growth Mindset: She should not regard mistakes as failures but rather as fantastic ways of learning and getting better.
- Under Pressure: The more she is exposed, through practice, to these high-pressure situations, the more prepared she will be when it does happen in games.
- Confidence Building: Celebrate even small wins in practice, because with every achievement comes confidence to greater heights.
Drills to try:
- Mock High-Pressure Situations: Practices that involve a time limit to complete or a score to meet will make her comfortable under pressure.
- Visualization Exercises: Pregame or prepractice, have her visualize success, like scoring a goal or making a great defensive play. It is a super powerful tool to which big dividends in performance will be realized.
- Team Building Exercises: Confidence will grow with Camaraderie. Encourage team building where trust and support from players will grow.
SEE ALSO | Do You Need Long Legs to Play Soccer?
Communication
Why It’s Important: The game of soccer is a team sport. Most often, it is the communication that makes the difference between an enthusiastically worked-out play and a missed opportunity.
A U14 player should be able to communicate with her teammates to improve teamwork and sharpen tactics.
Skills to Focus On:
- Calling for the Ball: Encourage her to ask for the ball in practice so that she will feel comfortable enough to do it in a game.
- One-Sided Communication: She should learn to direct teammates with calls like “man on” for pressure from behind, “switch” to change the direction of play, and “through” to pass between defenders.
- Positivity and Encouragement: You will be surprised, a positive attitude will uplift the spirit among team members. Let her encourage her teammates by using words that encourage positivism.
Drills to Try:
- Small-Sided Games of Communication Drills: Play in small teams where each player must communicate their intentions verbally before receiving the ball.
- Silent Games: Wholly with Visual Signals. Play a no-verbal communication game of hand signals and body gestures wherein you teach her about clarity in gesture and position.
