Soccajoeys is Australia’s go-to soccer program for children’s development, and a leading name in junior soccer. We specialise in creating the best environment for children to learn, grow, and shine on the field, and our commitment to nurturing young talent shows in every drill, every game, and every smile.
Shooting is one of the most exciting skills a young player can learn, and it builds far more than goal-scoring ability. For our youngest players, our play-based sessions align with the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF V2.0). Every kick at goal helps develop balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. Children also build persistence when they miss and try again, learn to take turns and cheer on teammates, and work out cause and effect as they discover what happens when they kick harder, softer, or with a different part of the foot. As kids grow, those foundations turn into accuracy, power, and the confidence to shoot in real games.
In this guide, we cover why shooting drills matter and how to teach your child to shoot at home with five simple steps. We share easy-to-set-up shooting drills for every age, from knocking down cones with 5 and 6 year olds to 1v1 finishing for 12 year olds. We also offer tips for adding power and accuracy, and explain how our coaches approach shooting at Soccajoeys. Whether your child is just starting out or already has some skills, you’ll find drills to match their stage.
The Role of Shooting Drills in Soccer
Shooting is a crucial skill in soccer, and mastering it requires practice and the right techniques, that’s why we emphasise our soccer shooting challenge for kids to improve accuracy and confidence on the field. Here’s an insight into the significant role of shooting drills in soccer:
Enhancing Accuracy and Power
Our shooting drills are designed to help young players become comfortable with striking the ball accurately towards the target. This focus on precision and power plays a pivotal role in enhancing their overall playing technique.
Boosting Scoring Potential
More goals scored is not just a metric of success, it’s a huge confidence booster for young players. Our training emphasises the joy of scoring, encouraging kids to take more shots on goal and experience the thrill of contributing to their team’s success.
Building Confidence on the Field
Confidence is key in soccer. Our drills are structured to provide kids with numerous opportunities to succeed, helping them build the confidence to attempt more shots on goal during games. This sense of achievement is crucial for their development as players.
Developing Technical Skills
Our drills not only focus on shooting but also on the technical aspects that lead up to it, such as ball control, dribbling, and positioning. This comprehensive approach ensures that players are well-rounded in their abilities and can execute effective shots in different game situations.
Adapting to Various Challenges
We incorporate game-like scenarios in our drills to simulate real match conditions. This helps young players understand how to apply their shooting skills strategically during games and adapt to various pressures and challenges on the field.
By integrating these elements into our soccer shooting drills, we not only improve the technical skills of young players but also foster a sense of achievement and joy in the sport.
How to Teach Kids to Shoot a Soccer Ball at Home
Kids learn to shoot faster with one simple cue at a time than with a full technical breakdown. Work through these five steps in order, and only move on once the current one feels natural.
Approach from a slight angle. Take two or three steps in from just to the side of the ball, not from directly behind it. This lets the hips swing through freely.
Plant the standing foot beside the ball. It should sit level with the ball, toes pointing at the target. Cue: “Point your toes where you want it to go.”
Strike with the laces, ankle locked. Toes point down and stay firm through contact. Cue: “Toes down, laces on the ball.”
Keep your head over the ball. Eyes stay on the ball at the moment of contact, not on the goal. Leaning back is the most common reason shots fly over the bar.
Follow through towards the target. The kicking leg keeps swinging after contact, and the child lands on that same foot.
For complete beginners, start with the inside of the foot, like a firm pass. It’s easier to control, builds accuracy first, and gives kids early success before they begin learning those powerful ‘now famous at lunchtime’ kicks.
Equipment and Safety for Kids’ Shooting Practice
The right gear and set-up make shooting practice safer, and they help kids succeed sooner.
Choosing the Right Ball
A ball that’s too big or heavy is hard for small legs to strike cleanly, and it can turn every miss into frustration. For toddlers and preschoolers, start with a soft, lightweight ball, such as a foam, vinyl or light plastic ball. That way a mistimed kick or a ball to the face won’t hurt. Once children start school, a size 3 ball is the standard. Under Football Australia’s MiniRoos formats, size 3 balls are used up to the 8–9 age group, moving to size 4 for 10–11 year olds. Pump the ball to the pressure printed on it. An overinflated ball stings and bounces unpredictably, and a flat one won’t travel.
Related: What Size Soccer Ball For Your Child By Age
Giving Kids Room to Shoot
When several kids are shooting at once, spread them out in a line side by side, all shooting in the same direction. Give each child at least a couple of metres of space on either side. Never have children shoot towards each other, and make one simple rule: nobody collects a ball until everyone has finished their turn and the coach or parent says “go”. At home, keep shooting well away from windows, cars, younger siblings and the family pet.
Holding Off on Goalkeepers
It’s tempting to put a child in goal, but for young players a real goalkeeper often means hard shots at a small body and very few goals scored. Football Australia agrees: there are no goalkeepers in MiniRoos Under 6 and 7. Use cones, buckets, bottles or an empty goal instead. When goalkeepers are introduced, keep shooting distances sensible and make sure keepers know they can step aside from a shot that’s too powerful.
Warming Up
A few minutes of jogging, skipping, side-steps and gentle kicks loosens up legs and gets kids moving before they start striking the ball hard. For younger children, make the warm-up a game, like “follow the leader” around the cones.
Soccer Shooting Drills by Age
The best soccer shooting drills for kids match what they can do right now. Younger players need a still ball and a big target; older players need movement, decisions and some pressure. Each drill below takes five minutes to set up.
Shooting Drills for 5 and 6 Year Olds
At this age, good soccer shooting drills for 5 year olds use a stationary ball, a short distance and a target that reacts when it’s hit. Keep it to basic soccer shooting drills and lots of praise. Our Preschool (3–5) and Junior (6–8) programs build on exactly these skills.
Knock Down the Cones
Setup: Stand 4–6 tall cones or empty plastic bottles in a row, 3–4 metres from a line of balls.
How it works: Your child shoots each ball to knock down as many cones as possible. Count them together.
Coaching point: “Point your toes at the cone you want.”
Make it harder: Step back one big step, or try with the other foot.
Through the Gate
Setup: Two cones 1.5 metres apart make a “gate”. Place the ball 4 metres away.
How it works: Shoot the ball through the gate. Every time it goes through, move the cones a little closer together.
Coaching point: Plant foot next to the ball, eyes on the ball.
Soccer Shooting Drills for 8 Year Olds
By eight, most kids can dribble and shoot in one movement. Good shooting drills for 8 year olds add that step plus a bit of friendly competition.
Dribble and Shoot Relay
Setup: Two teams, each with a line of three cones and a small goal 6–8 metres past the last cone.
How it works: Each player dribbles through the cones, shoots, collects their ball, and high-fives the next player. First team to finish wins; goals scored break a tie.
Coaching point: Push the last touch slightly out in front, then look up before shooting.
Corner Targets
Setup: Hang a bib or place a cone in each bottom corner of the goal. Shoot from 8 metres.
How it works: Two points for hitting a corner target, one point for any goal.
Coaching point: Low and in the corner is harder to save than high and central.
Soccer Shooting Drills for 10 Year Olds
Ten-year-olds are ready to shoot after receiving a pass, which is how most goals are scored in real games. These suit players in our Premier (9–11) program.
Pass, Touch, Shoot
Setup: Player starts 15 metres from goal. A parent or teammate stands to one side with a ball.
How it works: The player passes, receives the return pass, takes one touch to the side to open up the goal, then shoots.
Coaching point: The first touch sets up the shot. It should move the ball out from under the feet, not stop it dead.
First-Time Finish
Setup: A feeder rolls balls from the side into the space 10–12 metres out.
How it works: The player runs on and shoots without a controlling touch.
Coaching point: Time the run so the plant foot lands beside the ball as it arrives.
Soccer Shooting Drills for 12 Year Olds
At twelve, shooting drills for youth soccer should look like match moments: a defender closing in, a limited time to shoot, and smart soccer movement off the ball to create space. Our Holiday program (5–12) covers this age.
1v1 to Goal
Setup: Attacker starts 20 metres out with the ball. A defender starts two metres behind.
How it works: On “go”, the attacker has six seconds to shoot before the defender catches up.
Coaching point: Shoot early and low, across the goalkeeper towards the far post.
Cross and Finish
Setup: One wide player, two attackers in the middle, a goalkeeper.
How it works: The wide player dribbles down the side and crosses. One attacker attacks the near post, the other the far post.
Coaching point: Arrive as the ball does, not before. Standing still in the box makes a striker easy to mark.
How to Improve Shooting in Soccer: Accuracy, Power and Height
Power comes from technique, not leg strength, so the fastest way to a harder shot is cleaner contact. For older kids, the order matters: accuracy first, then power, then lifting the ball.
How to Shoot a Soccer Ball With Accuracy
A soft shot into the corner beats a hard shot straight at the keeper. To shoot more accurately in soccer, kids should:
Use the inside of the foot for placement, like a firm pass.
Pick a target before the run-up, ideally a bottom corner.
Point the standing foot at that target.
How to Shoot a Soccer Ball With Power
The quickest way to improve shooting power is cleaner contact, not a bigger swing.
Take a slightly longer last step so the kicking leg swings back further.
Strike through the middle of the ball with the laces, ankle locked.
Keep the head over the ball so the power goes forward, not up.
Once both feel reliable, put them together. Shooting a soccer ball with accuracy and power uses the same plant-foot and laces technique, struck a little harder at a chosen corner.
How to Shoot Higher in Soccer
To lift the ball over a defender, a wall, or a keeper who has come off their line, lean back slightly and strike the lower half of the ball. Teach this only once low shots are consistent, because leaning back is also the most common reason shots fly over the bar.
How to Get Better at Soccer Shooting
Practise little and often. Three 10-minute sessions a week beat one long one.
Use both feet. Players who can shoot with either foot get far more chances.
Shoot more in games. The simplest way to score more goals is to take more shots.
Building Confidence in Front of Goal
Technique gets the ball to the goal, but confidence is what makes a child take the shot in the first place. For kids from kindy through primary school, how they feel about shooting matters just as much as how they kick.
Praise the Effort, Not Just the Goal
Celebrate a good attempt as loudly as a goal. Try “Great job keeping your eyes on the ball!” or “I loved how you tried your other foot!” When children know effort is valued, they’re far more willing to keep trying.
Make Missing Normal
Even the best professional strikers miss more shots than they score. Let kids know that missing is part of learning. After a miss, ask “What could you try next time?” rather than pointing out what went wrong. This keeps them thinking and problem-solving instead of feeling discouraged.
Keep Score Light for the Little Ones
For under-8s, counting goals together is fun, but winners and losers are less important than having a go. Football Australia’s MiniRoos formats take the same view: results aren’t recorded for any MiniRoos age group. Save friendlier competition, like points for corner targets or relay races, for kids who are ready for it, and focus on personal bests: “Can you beat your own score?”
Never Leave Anyone Out
Being picked last or sitting on the sideline can knock a child’s confidence for weeks. Coaches and parents should choose teams, rotate turns so everyone shoots often, and avoid elimination games where the kids who most need practice are the first ones out.
Help Kids Who “Freeze”
Some children hesitate when the goal is right in front of them. Give them a simple routine they can rely on, such as “Look, plant, kick”. Start with low-pressure shooting with no defenders or crowds, and gradually build up. Confidence grows from lots of small successes.
Soccajoeys’ Approach to Soccer Shooting Training
At Soccajoeys, we embrace an approach to soccer training that goes far beyond the basics. Our shooting drills are structured to be more than just goal-scoring exercises; they’re a foundation for building essential life skills.
Developing Coordination and Balance
We focus on drills that enhance agility and coordination, crucial for young athletes. This not only benefits their soccer skills but also contributes to their overall physical fitness and agility. Our training emphasises the connection between mind and body, helping kids understand and control their movements, an essential skill both on and off the field.
Promoting Teamwork and Social Skills
Through teamwork in drills and games, children learn the value of communication and cooperation. These skills will be beneficial in various aspects of their lives. We encourage a sense of community and belonging, teaching children to support their teammates and thrive in a collaborative environment.
Catering to Different Skill Levels
We recognize each child’s different journey in soccer. Our program is flexible, offering personalised training adapted to each child’s skill level and learning pace. Continuous assessment and feedback ensure that every child is advancing at a pace that suits them, making the learning process both challenging and rewarding.
Encouraging a Love for the Game
Our environment is created to nurture a deep-seated passion for soccer, ensuring that this love for the game grows with each session. We aim to keep children engaged with soccer over the long term, setting the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment and participation in the sport.
Focused on Fun and Learning
Our sessions are interactive and dynamic, keeping the children engaged and excited about learning. We use creative methods to make learning fun, helping children absorb skills and techniques in an enjoyable way.
Safe and Supportive Environment
We prioritise the well-being of each child, with a focus on creating a nurturing atmosphere where they can grow and learn without fear. In our safe and supportive environment, children are empowered to take risks, try new things, and develop their skills confidently.
At Soccajoeys, every aspect of our soccer shooting training is thoughtfully structured to not only enhance sporting abilities but also to foster all-around character building, ensuring your child receives a holistic and enriching experience.
Soccajoeys’ Approach to Soccer Shooting Training
At Soccajoeys, we embrace an approach to soccer training that goes far beyond the basics. Our shooting drills are structured to be more than just goal-scoring exercises; they’re a foundation for building essential life skills.
Developing Coordination and Balance
We focus on drills that enhance agility and coordination, crucial for young athletes. This not only benefits their soccer skills but also contributes to their overall physical fitness and agility. Our training emphasises the connection between mind and body, helping kids understand and control their movements, an essential skill both on and off the field.
Promoting Teamwork and Social Skills
Through teamwork in drills and games, children learn the value of communication and cooperation. These skills will be beneficial in various aspects of their lives. We encourage a sense of community and belonging, teaching children to support their teammates and thrive in a collaborative environment.
Catering to Different Skill Levels
We recognise each child’s different journey in soccer. Our program is flexible, offering personalised training adapted to each child’s skill level and learning pace. Continuous assessment and feedback ensure that every child is advancing at a pace that suits them, making the learning process both challenging and rewarding.
Encouraging a Love for the Game
Our environment is created to nurture a deep-seated passion for soccer, ensuring that this love for the game grows with each session. We aim to keep children engaged with soccer over the long term, setting the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment and participation in the sport.
Focused on Fun and Learning
Our sessions are interactive and dynamic, keeping the children engaged and excited about learning. We use creative methods to make learning fun, helping children absorb skills and techniques in an enjoyable way.
Safe and Supportive Environment
We prioritise the well-being of each child, with a focus on creating a nurturing atmosphere where they can grow and learn without fear. In our safe and supportive environment, children are empowered to take risks, try new things, and develop their skills confidently.
At Soccajoeys, every aspect of our soccer shooting training is thoughtfully structured to not only enhance sporting abilities but also to foster all-around character building, ensuring your child receives a holistic and enriching experience.
Find Shooting Training for Kids Near You with Soccajoeys!
Are you ready to see your child excel and flourish on the soccer field? Let Soccajoeys be your partner in this journey, where fun activities are transformed into valuable soccer skills, fostering confidence and proficiency in young players. And of course, every Soccajoeys session includes plenty of shooting, taught by coaches who know how to keep kids engaged and improving. Classes are grouped by age, so your child trains with others at the same stage.
Many of our venues also run as an indoor soccer program, so training keeps going whatever the weather.
If you’re eager to enrol your child or simply seeking more details, we offer convenient options for you to reach out. Visit the Soccajoeys website to explore our programs and learn about our approach.
Find a class near you or call us on 1300 781 735.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is shooting in soccer?
Shooting is any attempt to kick or head the ball into the opponent’s goal to score. It covers everything from a tap-in from a metre out to a long-range strike.
How do you shoot a soccer ball?
Approach from a slight angle, plant your standing foot beside the ball pointing at the target, and strike through the middle of the ball with your laces. Keep your head over the ball and follow through towards the goal.
What age should kids start shooting drills?
Kids can start kicking a ball at a target as soon as they’re walking and running confidently, often around two or three. Simple structured drills like the ones above suit most children from about five.
Can you score directly from a kick-off?
Yes. Under the Laws of the Game, a goal can be scored directly from a kick-off against the opposing team. It’s rare because of the distance, but it’s allowed.
How does a penalty shoot-out work?
Each team takes five penalty kicks, alternating, from the penalty mark. The team with more goals wins. If it’s still level after five each, the teams keep taking one kick each until one scores and the other misses. Junior competitions sometimes use shorter or modified formats.
How can my child score more goals in soccer?
Most young players score more simply by shooting more often. Practise low shots into the corners, work on the first touch before shooting, and encourage your child to have a go whenever they see the goal.
How do you score a goal in soccer?
A goal counts when the whole ball crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. For kids, learning how to score in soccer mostly comes down to getting into a shooting position, picking a corner and striking the ball cleanly.
How do you score a goal as a striker?
Strikers score by being in the right place at the right time: moving into space as the ball arrives, attacking the near or far post, and shooting early, often first-time. The 1v1 to Goal and Cross and Finish drills above practise exactly this.
What are the best soccer shooting drills for beginners?
Start with a still ball and a target that reacts, like Knock Down the Cones or Through the Gate. Once your child hits the target most of the time, add a dribble before the shot.
Turn Your Child into a Soccer Star with Soccajoeys – Enrol Now!
Are you ready to see your child excel and flourish on the soccer field? Let Soccajoeys be your partner in this journey, where fun activities are transformed into valuable soccer skills, fostering confidence and proficiency in young players. If you’re eager to enrol your child or simply seeking more details, we offer convenient options for you to reach out.
Visit the Soccajoeys website to explore our programs and learn about our approach. You can use the contact form to send us a message for any further information you may need. Additionally, for those who prefer immediate interaction, you can call us on 1300 781 735. Our dedicated team is committed to providing you with all the necessary information and support to guide you through the enrollment process.
Embark on this exciting soccer adventure with Soccajoeys and witness the growth and success of your child in the sport they love. Reach out to us today and take the first step towards nurturing your child’s soccer potential!
