🎮⚽ “100 juggles, then you can play PlayStation”?

👉 “Do your 100 juggles and then you get an hour of PlayStation.”

Sounds familiar, right?

We say it with the best intentions. We want to help. Motivate. Encourage.

But sometimes, what we think is helping actually does the opposite.

Let’s be honest — that sentence sounds a lot like:

👉 “Finish your math homework, then you can go play.”

In both cases, we’re sending the same message:

The fun comes after the chore.

And just like that, soccer — something that should bring joy — gets lumped in with schoolwork and tasks.

Something to get through so the “real fun” can begin.

Is that really the message we want to send?

🤔 The truth is, when we do that, we drain the joy out of the game.

Training starts to feel like a punishment. A condition. A burden.

But soccer?

Soccer should feel like freedom. Joy. Passion. Play.

Yes, practice matters. Repetition matters. Learning technique matters.

But our job as parents isn’t to push our kids.

It’s to light the spark.

💬 The real key is how we communicate.

Our kids need to feel why practice helps them.

That juggling — or any drill — isn’t just some test they have to pass to earn screen time.

It’s how they build confidence.

How they become quicker, sharper, better.

And if you’re wondering what the “right” way is to explain that?

There isn’t just one.

🎯 Every kid is different.

Some respond when you talk.

Some need to see it.

Others only get it when they experience it.

You know your child better than anyone.

Only you can figure out what actually reaches them.

And maybe, instead of starting with “Do 100 juggles,”

we start with:

🗣 “Wanna see how your favorite player trains?”

Or

🔥 “Let’s try something that’ll make you unstoppable out there.”

That little shift in approach could change everything.

You’re not just starting a drill —

You’re planting the seed of love for the game.

❤️ Because soccer shouldn’t feel like a deal.

It’s not “do this, then you get that.”

Soccer is a journey.

And the best journeys?

They always start with “I want to,”

Not “I have to.”

✨ Motivating kids in youth soccer isn’t about dangling rewards — it’s about helping them fall in love with the process. When joy leads the way, growth naturally follows.