Football Drills for 8 to 11 Year Olds

By FootieSkills · Published 19 September 2026

Between eight and eleven, children can follow a two or three step instruction, stay focused for longer and enjoy a bit of competition. That opens the door to real technique work, and to the part of football that matters most in a match: making decisions under pressure. This guide covers five drills and how to make each one harder as the player improves.

What changes at this age

They can practise a movement repeatedly and notice whether it improved.
They compare themselves with others, so personal targets work better than races.
They are ready to use both feet deliberately, which is the best habit to build now.
They need variety. Rotate dribbling, passing, shooting and fitness so nothing gets stale.

Five drills to try

1. The wall pass ladder

Stand a few metres from a wall. Pass, control the rebound with a good first touch, pass again. Count clean passes in a minute, then step back a metre and try to beat your score. Do a round with each foot. This is wall pass reps, and the one-two pass adds movement once the basic version is comfortable.

2. Gates dribbling

Make six to eight gates from pairs of markers about a metre apart. Dribble through as many different gates as you can in 60 seconds, without touching a marker. Keep your head up, look for the next open gate and take small touches. The figure-8 weave and inside-outside cuts fit naturally here.

3. Shadow, then 1v1

With a partner, one player moves and the other mirrors them at arm's length without lunging in. That is shadow defending. After a minute, make it live: the attacker tries to dribble past and score in a small goal, and the defender stays patient and stays on their feet.

4. First-touch challenge

A partner (or a wall) sends the ball at you at different heights. Control it with the foot, thigh or chest and set it down within a step or two. On your own, throw it against a wall and control the rebound. The chest control and first-time pass skills are good follow-ups.

5. Target shooting

Mark three zones in a goal, or three targets against a wall. Call a zone before every shot and score a point only if you hit it. Start close, then step back. Try low driven finish for keeping shots down and top corner finish for accuracy.

Turning skills into decisions

A skill that only works when nobody is watching is not much use in a game. Once a drill is comfortable, change one thing:

Add time pressure: beat a 30-second clock.
Reduce space: make the square smaller.
Add a defender: start passive, then make them active.
Add a rule: two touches maximum, or weaker foot only for the first touch.
Play small: 2v2 or 3v3 to small goals is the best way to practise everything at once.

A simple weekly routine

Session 1: dribbling and fitness. Gates dribbling plus a few shuttle sprints.
Session 2: passing and first touch. Wall pass ladder plus the first-touch challenge.
Session 3: shooting and a game. Target shooting, then small-sided play.

Use the roller's levels as a ladder. Move from Junior to Intermediate once a skill has hit its target three sessions in a row, and from Intermediate to Pro when it feels comfortable at speed.

Handling frustration

This is the age when children start to notice they are worse than a friend at something. Keep the focus on their own progress: "you got 14 last week and 18 today". Celebrate improvement, keep targets just out of reach rather than impossible, and end each session on something they can do well.

Look after growing bodies

Children at this age are growing fast. Build in rest days, vary the activities and stop if something hurts. Enjoyment is the best predictor of a child still playing at 16, so protect it. This is general advice, not medical advice.