Soccer lesson plans aim to provide every student with a foundation in which they can develop their soccer skills, eventually leading to fun and successful gameplay. To do so, students can get comfortable and confident with a breakdown of basic ball mastery skills, dribbling, passing, and shooting techniques.
While working on different skills and drills, students can also explore the basic rules and strategies of soccer, with an added bonus of different games and activities they can play in groups big or small! Check out awesome resources and activities for your soccer unit.
Skill Development Soccer Lesson Plans
Students who play soccer outside of physical education might be eager to jump into full 11 v 11 soccer games and more intense training sessions. However, within physical education, regardless of grade level, jumping right to full-blown games of soccer will leave many students in class feeling frustrated and left behind.
Therefore, soccer lesson plans for physical education can focus on skill development. That doesn’t mean teachers can’t create an amazing soccer unit that engages all students in class. Through a skill development approach, teachers can differentiate and modify the fundamental skills of soccer for every experience and ability level.
For example, one aspect of soccer lesson plans is developing students’ dribbling skills. To start class, teachers could start students with a basic warm-up focusing on a stationary toe touches with the ball. From there, beginner-level students could start by dribbling with their dominant foot (e.g., right foot), while more advanced students could practice dribbling with their non-dominant foot (e.g., left foot). Everyone gets to practice soccer dribbling skills!
Different Elements of Soccer Lesson Plans
At PLT4M, we break down soccer lesson plans using the following categories:
Ball Mastery (Stationary)
Dribbling (With Cones)
Passing
Shooting
Rules & Game Play
A great way to plan a soccer lesson is to put together a lesson using one material from each section and finish the class with a game. (Note: Modified games are a great way to introduce students to all the different ways they can play soccer, not just 11 on 11.)
Let’s examine a sample lesson plan that teachers could create using the soccer unit resource pack in PLT4M.
Sample Lesson With Instructional Materials
Teachers can introduce awesome soccer lesson plans using the resources and materials from PLT4M soccer.
Ball Mastery: Toe Touches (5 Minutes)
5 rounds of:
30 seconds Touch Touches
30 seconds Rest
Dribbling: One Foot Dribbling Relay Race (5 Minutes)
Set up 5 stations of 10 cones and spread students out into teams. Have students dribble down and back only using one foot dribbling and weaving through the cones as part of a relay race.
Passing: Two Touch (10 Minutes)
In groups of 2, have students set up three cones and practice being both the person at the top of the cone (Player 1) and the person shuffling from the other two cones (Player 2).
Shooting: Stationary Shot (10 Minutes)
In small groups, students can take turns practicing shooting at a target from the stationary position. Have some students act as the shooters, while others retrieve balls to the shooting area before rotating. Each student takes at least 20 shots during this time.
Rules & Game Play: Lightening Shooting Game (Remaining Time)
Have all players line up 25 yards from the goal and all of the soccer balls at one goal post with a passer and a player in the net as a goalie. One at a time the passer will make a pass out to the first player in line who attempts to take a shot on net.
If the ball goes in the net, they are safe and return back to the end of the line. If the ball goes over or to the side of the net they are out and have to stand behind the net to help gather the balls.
If you catch a ball when you are out, you can go back into the line. If the ball hits the crossbar, everyone who is out, is back into the game.
Continue playing until there is only one player left shooting.
Key Takeaways on Soccer Lesson Plans
Soccer is an awesome addition to your physical education curriculum! From manipulative skills to motor skills, students can learn a lot from the popular game of soccer. A few key takeaways for teachers as they set out to implement soccer lesson plans include:
Focus on Skill Development – Each drill from PLT4M has written and video instruction. We recommend taking about 5-10 minutes on any drill to introduce the skill and allow time for students to practice different soccer drills.
Make It Fun – Teachers can add fun twists and different variations to make the different skills and drills fun and challenging for students. Based on your age group and class dynamics, you can always tweak and modify drills to mix things up!
Add Assessments – Create custom metrics to log different types of soccer data relevant to your group/audience. Example: Number of juggles.
Want to tap into the soccer resources and technology to take your soccer practice plans to the next level? Reach out to PLT4M to schedule a free consultation on how to incorporate these resources and lots of other awesome PE lesson plans and topics!
FAQ
What other types of lesson plans and workouts does PLT4M have?
Consider PLT4M your full learning management system for health and physical education.
PLT4M has a full slate of PE lessons for physical education teachers to choose from! From PE games to fitness activities, PLT4M has countless options. Check out some of the most popular below:
Is PLT4M aligned to Shape Standards?
Yes, every program is aligned to the PLT4M to the Shape Standards. SHAPE America’s National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education define what a student should know and be able to do as result of a highly effective physical education program. This guide demonstrates how the PLT4M programs align with grade level standards, helping you achieve and accomplish a standards-based curriculum.
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