KC Soccer Blog

We had a great outdoor practice this past Thursday, and it was encouraging to see most of the team present and ready to work.

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🔄 Basico Drill to Start

We opened the session with the Basico drill to get things moving. This continues to be one of our core warm-up activities, helping players sharpen their passing, first touch, and rhythm early in practice.

A big thanks to Phil and Isaias for stepping in to help with the KCL Practice. Their support allowed us to create a more individualized coaching environment and reduced the chaos that can sometimes come with a larger group.

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🎯 Shooting Drills with Game Speed

The main focus of the day was shooting drills. On one end of the field, we ran a series of exercises inspired by a training video from YouTube. The players really seemed to enjoy this section, as it gave them opportunities to work at game speed and simulate real attacking scenarios.

We’ll continue to mix in these types of drills because they help the boys transition from technique to execution under pressure.

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⚽ Scrimmage Takeaways

We wrapped things up with a scrimmage. Overall, the players are showing noticeable improvement:

• ✅ Better passing choices
• ✅ Increased off-ball movement
• ✅ Smarter positioning

One area we’ll continue to emphasize is communication. We want the kids to be comfortable calling for the ball, announcing when they’re open, or letting a teammate know when they’ve lost their defender. This is a small detail that makes a big difference on the field.

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💡 Closing Note

This was a productive practice that built on the foundation we’ve been working toward. Thank you again to our helpers and to all the players for their effort. We’re moving in the right direction, and every session counts.

We had a great practice yesterday, thank you to everyone who showed up! We know it’s a busy week with back to school schedules for many of our athletes, and we appreciate the effort.

Yesterday, we focused on off-ball movement drills:

• Basico
• Overlapping drill with finish
• Off-ball passing drill

These are exactly the types of drills most players need right now. During our short scrimmage, the kids really started to put things together, we saw some excellent long crosses across the field and forwards in position to receive them. Remember: when in scoring position, you have about 3 seconds to shoot or pass.

We also did a short possession drill to help players get comfortable with contact. Toward the end of practice we did a quick demo on setting up a wall. We will practice these drills again in future weeks.

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Weekly Routine 🏋️‍♂️

We want players improving, but also staying fresh. With multiple sports going on, please allow time for recovery. Aim for 3–5 days per week on the following: These moves are demonstrated on the skills page.

1. Matthews – 10 reps with the right foot, 10 reps with the left
2. Maradona – 10 reps with the right foot, 10 reps with the left
3. Scissor – 10 reps with the right foot, 10 reps with the left

➡️ Also, work on bounce juggling — 100 touches.

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Next Game 📅

• Tonight at 7:00 PM
• Swope Soccer Village , Field 3

Let’s carry the hard work from practice into the match. Go Liverpool! 🔴⚪

⚽ Practice Recap + At-Home Challenge 🏠

We had a solid practice today. We kicked things off with ball mastery working through the same ball mastery video.

After that, we jumped into a 2v2 tournament, giving players a chance to compete in tight spaces and make quick decisions. Players are focusing on where to go when you don’t have the ball on offense. About 40 minutes in, we were moved to the small boxes, where the players competed to see which team could get the most touches.

We’ll continue using the small boxes when the larger field isn’t available. They’re actually one of the best ways to develop quick feet, receive more passes, and stay engaged the entire session.

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⏱ This Week’s At-Home Touch Challenge:

We want players to practice these four moves at home. Set a 60-second timer and count how many clean reps you can do. Try to beat your score later in the week.

1. Rolling Toe Taps
2. In–Outside (alternate feet) – also known as the Matthews Cut
3. V Pull
4. Maradona (360 turn)

This only takes 5 minutes and the skills are demonstrated on the skills page. Please have your player work through it at least 3 times this week.

We also have two games this weekend. Unfortunately myself (Coach Chase) and Aiden will not be at Saturdays game, but Coach Mark will be there to lead the team.

⚽ Scrimmage Recap + A Few Notes for the Week 📝

We had a great scrimmage last night and just wanted to thank all the parents for showing up and supporting the kids. Also, a big thanks to Coach Sean for helping out and making sure playing time stayed fair across the board 👏.

A quick note to parents:
Please remember to mark your athlete’s availability for games and scrimmages in the app 📲. We ended up with 15 players last night, which made it tough to get everyone equal minutes. It really helps us plan better when we know who’s coming in advance.

Now to the good stuff—
There was excellent ball movement from both Man United and Liverpool players. We saw a lot of creativity and skill. Players also were very responsive to our focus on developing mental toughness.

🎯 What to work on this week:
One big takeaway from the scrimmage is shot selection. We had several goals from way outside the box, but against a stronger keeper, those likely won’t go in. Ideally, we want to get closer to the goal before taking a shot.

We also noticed a pattern in warmups: a lot of shots were aimed directly at the goalie 🧤. Let’s start shifting that mindset. Players should be aiming near the posts, not the center 🥅.

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⏱ 5-Minute At-Home Touch Routine

We’re encouraging players to work on their touches at home. All they need is a ball and a timer or stopwatch. All moves are listed on the skills page.

Set a 60-second timer for each move below and count how many clean reps you can get. Then try to beat your number later in the week.

1. 🔄 Toe Taps
2. 🌀 V Pull
3. ✂️ Scissor
4. 👣 Tik Toks (aka inside-inside touches)
5. ⚽ Bounce Juggles (drop → bounce → kick back up)

Let’s keep the momentum going. Looking forward to another strong week! 🔥

⚽ Focus: Footwork + First Moves

We had a strong session this Wednesday. The group worked through a full footwork circuit with a focus on 3 key moves in a game scenario leading up to a finish.

If you want to keep improving, what you do outside of practice matters most. Even 15–20 minutes a day adds up fast. Try to go through this routine at least 3 times before our next session — daily if you’re feeling motivated.

🔄 This Week’s Footwork Circuit
We’ll repeat this warm-up often, so learn it well:

🔗 The first 8 min of this video shows exactly what we worked on today:

1. Moving Toe Touches (forward/back)
2. Tik Tok in place (eyes up)
3. Ball Taps – 3 Left, 3 Right
4. Rolls Side to Side
5. Double Rolls (2 Left, 2 Right)
6. Ball Shift with Messi Feint
7. 2x Outside, 2x Inside – Right Foot, then Left
8. V Cut Right, then Left
9. Wide V Cuts – Alternate Feet
10. Short V → Outside Touch Into Space
11. L Drag – Left to Right
12. Stepover → Push Into Space
13. Shield Ball Side to Side
14. Weak Foot Only – All Movements

🎯 Weekly Reps Goal – Skill Moves
We focused on three attacking moves this week to setup for finishing. You can click on the move or go to the skills page for a full video demonstration.

✅ 25 In & Outs (Right Foot)
✅ 25 In & Outs (Left Foot)

✅ 25 La Croquetas (Left)
✅ 25 La Croquetas (Right)

✅ 25 Scissors (Right)
✅ 25 Scissors (Left)

That’s 150 total reps. You can knock it out in 10–15 minutes with a ball and a little space.

💡 Pro Tip
Make every rep count. Focus on:

• Keeping your head up just before making your move
• Staying low with good balance
• Using your arms to sell the fake

Coach: Mark

We had a great group of players from different teams today, focused on individual footwork and game awareness in small-sided play.

Skill Work:

The first move Coach Mark introduced was the Brazilian Touch. This is something every player should be practicing at home. It’s a foundational move that teaches rhythm and ball control using both feet.

👉 Watch this 60-second video to review and practice the Brazilian Touch:

After that, we worked on:
– A push out, then pullback to the opposite foot – a move designed to shake defenders and change direction quickly.
– An alternating scissor, performed in place. The key here is staying light on your feet and keeping your balance while selling the move with your body.

Small-Sided Games:

We finished practice with a lot of 1v1 and 2v2 play. Here’s what we noticed:

When playing 2v2, we need to keep improving on what we do without the ball. That means:

– Knowing where your teammate is.
– Scanning the field before the ball gets to you.
– Looking up, especially when the other team is about to kick off or right before you challenge for the ball.

If you’re not checking your surroundings, you’ll play with your head down—and that makes it easy to lose the ball or miss a pass.

Box Drills/Practice:

While kids waited for their turn in games, they rotated through two box drills:

1. Two players passing in a box – focusing on control, spacing, and keeping the ball moving.
2. Bounce juggling off the wall – usually done with 2–3 players per box. This works on quick touches, reactions, and adjusting your body to awkward bounces.

Focus: Footwork + Finishing

We had a great Wednesday practice this week. There was a small group so each player had the opportunity to take several shots on goal with both left and right feet as well as practicing skill moves. We wrapped things up with a 1V1 tournament.

If you want to be the best, regular practice won’t cut it. The players who improve the fastest are the ones who work on their own, even just 15–20 minutes a day makes a big difference. Aim to do this routine at least 3 times this week — and daily if you’re feeling motivated.

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🔄 This Week’s Moves

We focused on footwork and shooting, and introduced three core skill moves:

• Moving Scissors
• Body Feints
• La Croqueta

Instructional videos for each of these moves can be found on the skills page.These are quick, attacking moves that help you beat a defender 1v1. They don’t take up much space, so you can practice them at home, on a sidewalk, or anywhere with a ball and a little bit of room.

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🎯 Weekly Reps Goal

Try to hit these numbers each day:

• ✅ 25 Moving Scissors to the Right
• ✅ 25 Moving Scissors to the Left

• ✅ 25 Body Feints to the Right
• ✅ 25 Body Feints to the Left

• ✅ 25 La Croqueta to the Left
• ✅ 25 La Croqueta to the Right

That’s 150 touches total — easy to knock out in 10–15 minutes.

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💡 Pro Tip

Don’t just go through the motions. Focus on:

• Make sure to look up/scan just before performing move
• Low center of gravity
• Using your arms to sell the move