Soccer Shooting Target Practice

A soccer ball

A goal — portable soccer goal, or two cones 8 feet apart with a crossbar

Targets — towels hung in corners, cones, or water bottles

A flat outdoor area

Set up your goal. A portable youth goal is ideal, but two cones 8 feet apart works. If you can rig a crossbar (a rope or broomstick), even better.

Place targets in the corners of the goal. Hang towels from the crossbar, stack cones in the bottom corners, or place water bottles. These give your child specific spots to aim for.

Start close: place the ball on a spot 10 feet from the goal. Shoot 5 balls at the bottom-left corner target. Count how many hit or knock down the target.

Shoot 5 at the bottom-right corner. Record hits.

Move back to 15 feet. Repeat both corners. The extra distance requires more power and more accuracy.

Now shoot from an angle. Approach from the left side at a 45-degree angle and shoot across the goal to the far corner. This is a real game situation.

Approach from the right side and shoot to the far corner. Angled shooting is harder because the target window is narrower.

Tally all hits across all distances and angles. This is your score for the session. Beat it next time.

Accuracy is more important than power. A perfectly placed shot in the corner beats a powerful shot down the middle every time. Coach your child to aim, then add power.

Use the instep (laces) for power shots and the inside of the foot for accuracy shots. Practice both techniques.

The plant foot matters. The non-kicking foot should point at the target. Where the plant foot points, the ball goes.

Keep a training journal. Record hits per session and track improvement over weeks. Data-driven practice is more motivating than random shooting.

Add a goalkeeper (yourself or a sibling) once accuracy is consistent. Shooting against a moving target is the next level.