Team Building for Youth Soccer Teams

Team building activities can help the players on your youth soccer team get acquainted and learn to communicate and work together. Choose games that require players to work together to accomplish a challenge. You can play these games right on the soccer field, but you'll need a few supplies for most of them.

Things You'll Need

• Cones or sports balls
• Bandanas
• Ropes
• Fabric squares
• Hula hoops

Instructions

Obstacle Course

1. Set up an obstacle course using cones, balls or similar items. If players touch any of these objects while walking through the obstacle course, he must exit the game.

2. Divide the soccer team's members into pairs and have one kid in each pair put a blindfold or bandana over her eyes.

3. Instruct the blindfolded players' partners to guide their partners through the obstacle course by giving verbal directions.

Cross the River

1. Use two ropes to indicate the banks of a river, and use five or six squares of paper or fabric to represent rafts.

2. Describe the game's rules to the team. Explain that they must work together to crawl across the river using only these rafts while following certain rules. Only two feet and one hand can be placed on any one "raft" at a time. If more hands or feet are placed on a raft, it will "sink." Furthermore, all rafts must remain in use at all times or they will "float away."

3. Monitor the team's progress and remove any squares that the players leave unoccupied or squares that they occupy with more than the allowed number of hands and feet.

Hula Hoop Pass

1. Instruct all teammates to stand in a large circle and hold hands.

2. Break the circle for a moment to slip a hula hoop over one player's arm.

3. Instruct players to pass the hula hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of each other's hands. Once the team has accomplished this goal, add a second or even a third hula hoop to the circle and see if the team can move them around more quickly.

Tips & Warnings

• Cheer your players on as they try to achieve these games' goals.

References

• Wilderdom: Team Building Activities, Initiative Games and Problem Solving Exercises
• Team Building Activities for Kids
• Youth Group Games: Peanut Butter River

Resources

• Wilderdom: Mine Field
• eMints College of Education: Team Building Activities for Elementary School Students
• The Source for Youth Ministry: Team Builders