Sixteen years ago, my children were in need of some thing to do after school to keep active. We signed up for soccer, and fell in love with the sport instantly. Soccer is an easy, self-explaining, and beautiful activity to watch. It is the number one sport in Europe and it is quickly becoming a popular one in the United State.
You can put a kid in the soccer field and tell he/she to kick the ball and you will see amazing things happen. Some children come with natural talents. Others take a little while to perfect the skill of handling the ball. Overall, it is the easiest sport for a very young child to grasp. My oldest son started at five. My daughter started at three. My youngest son began at four. And all three children knew instinctively how to score a goal right at the start by just listening, "kick the ball into the net". Children love to run around and try to get things; in soccer, it's the ball. They like to compete with friends to be there first. Passing the ball to each other is also fun as well as learning to direct where the ball should go.

Soccer players use all parts of their body, except the hands. You can send a group of children into the field and say "don't touch the ball" as the only rule and they would understand. Soccer appeals to young kids because they like to kick hard, run fast, and chasing the ball. It is a self-explaining sport that requires little knowledge about the game. When the kid gets to kick the ball at least once, he/she is happy running along with teammates. It is not as complicated as baseball or basketball at this young age. I haven't known a child at three years old signed up for basketball or baseball, but as young as two years old, a child can play soccer. This phenomenal is appealing to the parents as much as their tots.
Watching soccer matches are a joy to all. If you carefully watch how a child uses his chest, head, or knee to control the ball, you will see the art of the game. Soccer is beautiful in itself and in its players. As the child develops more skill in dribbling, handling, and passing, you can't help but marvel at how well and how far soccer can help the child's coordination. It takes the brain to tell the body what to do, and to carry it out. It teaches the child to be fast with his/her own action.
Soccer provides opportunity for individual to thrive, and also supports the concept of a team. One person can't do everything to win, but playing as a team, the chance of winning is within reached. With children start playing at a younger age now, soccer will soon be as big as football, basketball, and baseball.

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