Which Football Class for Kids? – Super Soccer Stars

They have been in the UK less than one month but they are the biggest and most popular in the US and are here to roll out what I think is a particularly great way of teaching football in the UK.

As a parent you are inundated with choice for extra-curricular activities, ridden with guilt for not ‘stimulating’ your child enough. There are waiting lists for classes and there are classes for everything. You can drive yourself mad and more importantly, you can drive your kids mad. In London today, competition is everywhere.
No longer are children allowed to roam free, play free and just be children. It’s a sad state of affairs. So, although I’m not a fan of subscribing to every class that there is out there, I can see the benefit in choosing carefully.

Exercise is one of the things that I am very keen on. As we bring up a nation of obese children; glued in front of TV’s, computers and smartphones. Don’t get me wrong my little one sits with my beloved new HP Envy  laptop learning his numbers and letters just as much as the rest of them, but moderation is key. Parents are time poor and gadget rich though and what was once an advantage soon disadvantages. Space is at a premium in London too; back gardens aren’t the football pitches that they used to be. Parents are more aware of dangers lurking outside of the home so kids don’t take themselves off to the park like they used to in my day. Bearing all this in mind, regular games/sport is a must.

Football, of course is probably the most popular games option for a 3-year-old boy and classes have been popping up all over the place to satisfy the demand of every pushy parent and every little kid with too much energy to burn. Super Soccer stars stood out to me whilst doing my research. The newest of the bunch in the UK but a tried, tested and most popular option in the US for early childhood soccer development that is being re-imported back into the UK. Run by an ex-Arsenal coach, the roll-out is happening now. They already have five venues in my vicinity but I chose one that offered Sundays (for Dad to take LO) as well as indoors AND outdoors. I am a big fan of sunshine and sunlight, in every season. Our kid’s are becoming vitamin D deficient because they aren’t getting enough of it.

What I love about this program is how each age group is split in to six-month increments for classes. Between the ages of 2 and 4, a child’s ability and developmental level changes dramatically. Keeping age groups separate and in small groups means that the focus is truly on what your child can learn at that given time. At 2 even 2 months makes a difference in language and mental and physical capacity. There are two coaches per class too and class sizes stay small because little ones need individual attention; you don’t expect to pay your money for a class where your child is running off on his own doing his own thing! Focus is on teaching through play; role play, imaginative play, in a non-competitive environment (until you move into older age brackets).

It’s not just about teaching to kick a ball in to a goal. A lot of thought has been put into the learning process. They nurture and teach using props and an abundance of experience with children. Qualifications both in football and childcare are high so you know that you are getting the best of both worlds. Their training process is rigourous for new recruits.

I have a relatively shy little boy, at least to start with but by the end of the first session he was talking about going back and by the second week he was really enjoying himself and coming out of his shell to join in. If you want to start your child playing football or just getting them out into the fresh air playing sport, then Super Soccer Stars it should be. They offer the best in nurture, fun and learning. You won’t be disappointed.