Clean Your Room soccer drill

Clean Your Room is a game in which two teams each try to kick all the balls out of their own half and into the other team’s half before time runs out. It trains striking a ball with the laces or the inside of the foot, and running to the next ball.

Soccer is called football in most of the world. This guide is part of Futbol Island’s free football lessons for kids aged 7 to 12.

Clean Your Room: setup diagram

Clean Your Room setupSetup diagram of an area 25 yards wide and 20 yards long, seen from above, with a cone on each corner. Gold dots are attackers or players with a ball and dark green dots are defenders; small triangles are cones, solid arrows are passes. A line of cones splits the area into two rooms. Four players on each side kick balls across the middle line into the other room.1234567825 x 20 yd (23 x 18 m)
A line of cones splits the area into two rooms. Four players on each side kick balls across the middle line into the other room. Gold: attackers. Dark green: defenders. Triangles: cones. Solid arrow: pass. Open this diagram as a picture.

At a glance

DetailFor this drill
AgesU6 to U8 (ages 5 to 8)
Players6 to 16, in two teams
Space25 x 20 yd (23 x 18 m)
EquipmentAs many balls as you have; cones for the area and a middle line
Time6 to 8 minutes, in one-minute rounds
SkillWarm-ups and fun games

Change the size of the area to fit your group: bigger makes it easier for the player with the ball, smaller makes it harder. Everyone who goes out comes straight back in, and nobody runs laps.

How to run it

  1. Split the area into two “rooms” with a line of cones. Put half the balls in each room and one team in each.
  2. On “go”, players kick every ball they can reach into the other room. Balls must stay below knee height.
  3. Players stay in their own room. No hands.
  4. After one minute shout “freeze!” and count the balls. The room with fewer balls is the cleanest.
  5. Next round: only the laces count. Then: only the weaker foot.

Coaching points to say out loud

  • “Toe down, hit it with your laces.”
  • “Standing foot next to the ball.”
  • “Find the next ball.”
  • “Keep it low.”

Make it easier or harder

  • Easier

    Make the rooms shorter so every kick gets across.

  • Harder

    Add a 3-yard “hallway” in the middle that balls must clear. Or players must stop each ball with one touch before kicking it back.

Common mistakes

  • Toe pokes. Show the laces: toe pointed down, ankle firm.
  • Kicking balls high. Below the knee is safer and is better technique.
  • Standing and watching after a kick. There is always another ball.

Why it matters in a game

This is the first step toward shooting and long passing: a clean strike with the standing foot beside the ball. Running to the next ball is also the habit behind our lesson on reacting after a shot.

The lesson that teaches it: Watch What Happens After the Shot.

Questions about Clean Your Room

  • How do you play Clean Your Room?

    Two teams, two halves, lots of balls. Each team kicks balls out of its half into the other for a minute. The half with fewer balls at the end wins.

  • Is it safe with lots of balls flying?

    Keep the rule that balls stay below the knee, use size 3 balls for under-8s, and keep the two teams well apart with a wide middle line.

  • What does it teach?

    Striking the ball. Many young players have never been shown how to use their laces, and this game gives dozens of tries in a few minutes.

Lessons that teach this idea

Related drills and guides

Futbol Island is a free football (soccer) learning game for kids aged 7 to 12. Every idea on this page is taught on a pitch with moving players, then checked with a quick quiz.

Play the lesson: Watch What Happens After the Shot