Challenges
Instepper Challenges are unique, entertaining, and FUN activities that are designed to improve players’ first-touch (click and scroll).
- Dream BIG!
- Heart & SOUL
- Smiley Face
- PartytraP
- GO AL, GOAL!
- Tether 2 Gether
- Tutti 2T, Good Footie
- Let’s Play 9
- Crystal Baller

The Dream BIG! Challenge is a timed activity that challenges every soccer fundamental, including the FIRST-TOUCH. It also asks players to Dream BIG! about their soccer careers and the careers they want once their playing days are over.

Having Heart & SOUL is the key to a good first FIRST-TOUCH. The SOUL acronym helps players the remember the proper FIRST-TOUCH mechanics. The younger a player is introduced to Heart & SOUL, the better.
Try it Yourself
Step 1
- Have someone record you receiving several passes prior to starting the Challenge (you will want to see how much you instantly improve). Make sure to receive passes with both feet.
Step 2
- ‘Cup’ the soccer ball between the top of your dominant foot and shin.
- Point your toe up as high as possible to create a ‘pocket’ that the ball can rest in.
- Squeeze the ball with your toe against your shin to keep the ball in place.
- Lift your heel off the ground, keeping the ball in place.
- After a few seconds, remove the ball but keep your foot in the same position. ‘Feel’ the position of your foot.

Step 3
- Place a pip on the inside-of-your-foot. Specifically, place the pip on the nodule of the navicular bone.

Step 4
- Have someone pass you the ball.
- Make sure the center of the ball hits the pip.
- Your foot must be in the same position as described in Step 2.
- Make sure to video the first few Heart & SOUL passes.
Step 5
- Repeat Steps 2-4, this time using your other foot.
- Video yourself to see your improvement.
Instepper Mentors will help you improve and reinforce your Heart & SOUL.

The Smiley Face Challenge will teach your mentee the proper first-touch mechanics.
Please, please, please, please! Before doing this Challenge, record a “Before” video of the mentee doing a simple 2-touch drill (see instructions below). You are going to want to capture their immediate improvement with an “After” video.
The young girl in these videos never played soccer before in her life. Our Smiley Face Challenge session lasted 10 minutes.
Try it Yourself
Step 1
Pass a ball to your mentee, asking them to, “stop the ball with one foot, and pass it back with the other.” This is called the 2-touch drill. Don’t given them any further instructions other than that. Make sure they get an equal number stops with both their dominant and weak foot (see Before video).
Step 2
Add a smiley face to the inside-of-the-foot of their dominant foot, and only then provide them with the following instruction, “Make sure that when you stop the ball, that it hits the smiley face.” Let them figure out the mechanics on their own. It does not matter how they pass it back (see Step 2 video.)
Step 3
Add a smiley face to the tip of their plant foot (the foot not stopping the ball) and only provide them with the following instruction, “Make sure the new smiley is pointing to me (the passer) when you stop the ball.” Again, let them figure things out on their own (see Step 3 video).
Step 4
This step will be identical to Step 2, except now the new smiley face will be placed on the inside-of-the-foot of their weaker foot. Provide the same instruction. Let them figure things out on their own.
Step 5
This step will be identical to Step 3, except the new smiley face will be placed on the toe of their dominant foot. Keep the instruction simply and let them figures things out.
Each mentee will be different. Some will catch on quicker than others. That’s OK. If you mentee caught on quickly, introduce Step 6.
Step 6
Provide your mentee with the following instruction, “When you pass the ball back to me, make sure the ball if being kicked with the smiley face that is placed on the inside-of-the-foot and the other smiley face (on the toe of the plant foot) is pointing to me.” Again, let them figure it out on their own.
Keep this entire Challenge short. Hopefully, by the end, your “After” video will show marked improvement.

What the heck is a PartytraP. It’s 2 things:
- A palindrome, which is a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward.
- A Challenge meant to highlight improve an important fundamental skill that often gets overlooked: trapping the ball out of the air after the hits the ground.
The key to this Challenge is to make sure the player is able to correctly and confidently apply back spin on the ball so that it does not roll away from the player.

The purpose of this shooting/scoring GO AL, GOAL Challenge is to help AL achieve his/her GOOOOOOOAL; hitting 6 goal targets. It’s easier said than done.


Tethering is a fantastic way to reinforce proper FIRST-TOUCH mechanics by making it easy to get in the necessary touches to make this skill more instinctual. It’s a FUN activity for teams, Clubs, schools, and the world to do 2gether.

Tutti is Italian for ‘means ‘Everybody’. 2T is short for Two-Touch. Footie is short for Football. In any language, “Tutti 2T” results in “Good Footie”
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Let’s Play 9
Let’s Play 9 bring golf to the soccer field. If your FIRST-TOUCHES are perfect, you will have achieved the impossible; 9 holes-in-one!
CRYSTAL BALLER
Great players have the ability to predict the future; the ability to see 2 or 3 move ahead. The Crystal Baller Challenge will help you start seeing the future more clearly and also raise your soccer IQ.