After teaching boys and girls of all ages for the past 15+ years for a living, I’ve found what girls do better than boys and vice versa. Hopefully this can help you [coaches, parents, players] understand and know the differences in girls and boys soccer development. There are not too many differences, but the ones that are will help you not become a statistic. Note: This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Differences in girls and boys soccer development
Confidence is probably the biggest difference between most boys and girls…
It seems most boys think they are better than they really are…
Whereas girls who are top players don’t have the confidence that they should.
As an athlete there needs to be a mix of confidence and humility.
Note: Please know this doesn’t mean all boys and girls… It’s more a majority thing.
Heading the ball
When it comes to learning skills you want to teach boys and girls the same, but there are some things that each do more naturally.
The first thing that pops out in my mind are headers.
There are multiple ways to head the ball and not too many players or coaches know this.
Watch 20 tips on heading – video
Think about all the coaches you see on the sideline at youth soccer games… Not too many of them ever played past high school.
So, one reason skills are lacking in players is because skills and knowledge are lacking in most coaches.
Girls have a harder time heading the ball while jumping…
When you go up to jump for a header you need to connect with the ball at your highest point – video.
The thing that many girls & boys do when heading is they head as they jump, instead of heading at their highest point.
So they jump too late, whereas if they jumped earlier they could time it better.
Take this test to know when to head and chest.
How to improve your ball striking in soccer faster
The problem is boys don’t work on much else, so improve on shooting but lose out on other skills.
I can’t tell you how many times while I am training, that I see boys with 1 or 2 soccer balls just kicking the ball for over 1 hour. They shoot, miss and then retrieve the ball.
Hint for any players who want to practice on their own. Take at least 6 soccer balls or even better just take one and use a wall to shoot at instead of a goal.
If you use a wall, at least it comes back right away… This saves you so much time and gets you way more reps to improve your game.
Teaching boys compared to girls in soccer [sports]
You probably know that as a whole, boys more than girls have a harder time listening at younger ages 5-9.
Ages 6-8 are specifically the hardest when it comes to boys, because they are so energetic.
In addition, you have them coming from school where they have been sitting indoors for 7 hours straight:)
There are some boys who have such high discipline and you would think that it is all the parents…
Parents have a lot to do with how kids act, but also the natural personality of each of us is different.
There are some parents who are super strict in their teaching, but at the end of the day nobody can completely control another humans mind.
The key for boys at these younger ages are be patient and let them keep that confidence.
By age 9 they start to understand that it’s okay to make mistakes and that things are not easy.
Soccer boys ages 6, 7 and 8 can gently be told that they are not doing it right and that it’s okay. With practice it will all come together.
Understanding how girls learn in soccer
Most girls ages 6-9 are really good at listening in small or large groups… This alone helps them get ahead in soccer or any sport, as long as they are getting good teaching.
I have two girls of my own, plus almost 65% of my soccer students are girls.
Therefore, I have more experience teaching girls, but after doing this full time teaching private and group soccer lessons I have become good at teaching both genders.
Girls by nature want to please their authority, which is the main reason they are better listeners at these young ages.
More than anything when coaching girls keep it positive, especially after they make mistakes.
Girls want to know when they don’t do it right, but you shouldn’t be as hard on them as boys. Females can take hard criticism, but mixing positive is also needed.
Ball striking
Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone, but I find that boys more often try to kick the ball as hard as they can. Although, there are some girls I can think of that have this problem too:)
Yes, there’s a time to go with power, but when learning it’s more about technique…
In addition, even when the pros hit long passes they are not kicking the ball as hard as they can. Technical should be the focus.
Once players learn to use technique over power they will become more consistent.
In other words, once you can be clean and accurate, the power will come easier.
Learn how to kick the ball properly.
How to improve your ball striking in soccer faster
The problem is boys don’t work on much else, so improve on shooting but lose out on other skills.
I can’t tell you how many times while I am training, that I see boys with 1 or 2 soccer balls just kicking the ball for over 1 hour. They shoot, miss and then retrieve the ball.
Hint for any players who want to practice on their own. Take at least 6 soccer balls or even better just take one and use a wall to shoot at instead of a goal.
If you use a wall, at least it comes back right away… This saves you so much time and gets you way more reps to improve your game.
College soccer & academic scholarship opportunity
Sorry boys but your chances to play soccer in college compared to girls is much more difficult.
The reason is for one there are more soccer programs at the college level compared to boys.
Girls have over 100 more D1 college soccer programs than boys do… That’s over 2,400 roster spots that girls have in just D1 alone. Then think about D2, D3, NAIA, Junior College.
Number of college soccer programs in 2023:
- D1 boys have 208, D2 has 206, D3 415, NAIA 188, Junior college 217
- D1 girls have 333, D2 has 265, D3 440, NAIA 188, Junior college 181
Note: These numbers change each year, as teams move up or down, come and go.
D3 does not offer athletic scholarships, but does academically.
I have seen boys who are excellent at soccer technically and are good athletes too and then find it difficult to play D1.
Then there are girls I have seen that are not even technically sound and get D1 scholarships because of their athletic ability. This doesn’t mean the players go to college and get playing time.
You need to keep your skills up because someone younger is always working hard to come up.
Majority not all boys and girls
This is the same as saying boys and stronger than girls. Not every boy is stronger than girls, but for the most part it is true. The same goes with how girls and boys learn in soccer.
So everything I share is not to say all boys and all girls are a certain way. In my experience there are more boys that do better at certain things and the same for girls.
Girls at younger ages are usually better at listening than boys are. Again some of my best listeners and most disciplined are boys.
Many teenage boys think they are already so good at skills and that they don’t need to improve, but then some train hard everyday.
This article is to teach you that most girls and boys are these certain ways in soccer.
Knowing the difference helps coaches do a better job
In my first 5 years I wanted to know the differences in girls and boys soccer development.
You hear so many other things outside of sports that the two genders are different in.
There are not too many articles or people talking about this, so I wanted to write a blog post on the topic.
Since I train both boys and girls all ages and levels in 1on1, small group and large group setting full time, I know that I train more than 99.9% of soccer coaches worldwide.
Plus soccer coaches do more ‘game like’ practices, not technical skills development.
This is why I know the differences, because being completely immersed in it gives me more experience. Not to mention that this is a passion of mine.
Understanding the athlete not just what to teach them, but how they learn.
If coaches can know what each gender struggles in more and can relate quicker means more kids get impacted.
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