If your kid is wanting to join football, you will want to know what they will be learning, how they will be developing and if they are having fun. Here we will guide you through what to expect from kids football classes.
Having your kid take part in any type of physical activity will be hugely beneficial for them but it has been shown that football offers them benefits to their physical and mental health.
But, as their parents, you need to know what your child will be doing, what they will be learning and how football classes will be helping them. With this article, we offer you the ultimate guide to kids football classes, letting you know what to expect when you bring your kid along.
The Benefits Of Kids Football Classes
We are going to start by looking at some of the benefits football classes will offer your child.
Physical Fitness
One of the most obvious benefits of taking your child to football classes is that it will help their physical fitness.
Children aged 5 to 18 years old need to do two types of physical activity each week – aerobic exercise and exercises to strengthen their muscles and bones – aiming for an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity a day across the week.
Football is a moderate activity that is both aerobic exercise and it will help to strengthen your child’s muscles and bones.
Positive Effect On Mental Health
Any type of physical activity or exercise will help with your child’s mental health but studies have shown that football is highly beneficial for a child’s mental wellbeing. Studies have shown that taking part in football reduces the likelihood of depression by 45%.
Learning Discipline And Commitment
Attending football classes each week will help your child to learn about commitment. Working hard on each skill and technique, putting in more work on the skills they find harder will teach your child discipline.
Having a good level of discipline and commitment will help them with their football training but it will also help them in their life as a whole.
Building Friendships And Learning About Teamwork
Most kids’ football classes are split up into age groups so, when your child begins attending, they will be around children the same or a similar age to them. They will all have a shared interest in football. These two factors will make it easier for them to build friendships that could last a lifetime.
At football classes, they will also learn about teamwork. They will learn how to communicate with their teammates in a respectful manner. And they will learn how to be there for them and show them empathy when they are struggling with a skill or technique.
Higher Levels Of Confidence And Self-Esteem
Football classes will help to build your child’s confidence and self-esteem because they will be achieving new things each week and overcoming obstacles. It will help them to build confidence in their abilities.
Along with this, they will meet and make new friends who they can bond with and turn to when they need help. This will help them to have more confidence and self-esteem in who they are as a person.
What To Expect From BSS Kids Football Classes
Like most kid’s football, our classes are split up into age groups. Within this section, we will look at what your child will be doing and learning depending on which age group they are in.
BSS Minis – Ages 5-8 Years Old
This is our youngest age group and, within these classes, we take what comes natural to your child – their vivid imagination and neverending reserves of energy – and we use it to open their mind to what is possible in football, with or without the ball.
Each class is 60-90 minutes long and they are broken up into teaching technical skills and going through FDS game situations. For around 60% of the session, we focus on individual technical work with the ball. And the remaining 40% is reserved for FDS game situations. Your child will be given a soft introduction to the ICFDS Skills Badge Scheme and they will be taught to understand and appreciate the importance of respect and friendship.
The overall aim of our BSS Minis classes is to give your child a thorough introduction to the BSS methodology, creating a solid core series of skills so they are able to successfully move into the next phase of learning.
BSS – Ages 8-11 Years Old
When your child enters this age group, they will begin to compete more regularly. Because of this, our 8-11 year old classes focus on players practising individual, paired and group work, with and without pressure, so they can move closer to being match ready.
Each class is 60-90 minutes long, with the ICFDS Skills Badge Scheme beginning to take more prominence. All movements are slowly taught so they can be reinforced and mastered.
There will still be fun and experimentation because we want your child’s mind to flourish as they learn.
BSS – Age 11+
This is our final and oldest age group. By the time they get to these classes, their technical foundation has been laid so, within these classes, we focus on addressing players’ tactical, physical and mental development.
These classes are 60-90 minutes long and your child will not be limited to playing one position. They will be encouraged to experience playing in different positions so they can gain an appreciation and understanding of what is happening in all areas of the field.
In these classes, we will introduce your child to team play techniques, playing various combinations from 1 vs 1 to 11 vs 11 using FDS footballs as well as introducing more conventional Size 4 and 5 balls.
As well as further developing their technical side, we will help to further their physical development by helping them to strengthen their general fitness and their diet. We will also focus more on competition, using elements of both Futebol de Salão and conventional gameplay in practice.
Futebol de Salão: The Basis Of Our Training
Our BSS training is based on Futebol de Salão which is the Brazilian version of futsal.
Futebol de Salão is played 5 a side, on a pitch the size of a basketball court with a smaller (size 2), heavier ball that has virtually no bounce. This leads to faster, tightly compressed, higher pressure games, where players will get 600% more touches of the ball.
Having this be the basis of our training leads to more highly skilled players.
Helping Your Kid Outside Of Football Classes
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect so buying a Size 2 ball for home and encouraging them to work on their skill in the garden or taking them to the local park will help them to develop their skills.
It is also a really good idea to encourage them to stay active in general, stay hydrated, eat healthy, balanced meals and make sure they get plenty of rest. Practising skills and techniques is great but rest is an important part of training so make sure they don’t push themselves too hard.
Finding Your Local BSS Kids Football Class
We have BSS football classes up and down the UK and on the Channel Islands. Please click here to find your local class.
Kids Football Classes: The Ultimate Guide
There are many benefits to taking your kid to football classes. It will help their physical fitness and mental health, help them to build discipline and commitment and to find and make friends. They will learn about teamwork and it will build their confidence.
Our BSS football classes are broken up into age groups and our training is based upon Futebol de Salão. Your kid will come away from their time with us as a highly skilled footballer.
We hope you have found this guide helpful. If you would like to know more about our football classes, please click here to find out more.