Soccer Shots

Love this Program and the Coaches. They are currently teaching my 3 year old at her Pre-​school and have taught my now 8 year old as well. I feel that the skills they learn and the patience the instructors have with the children is amazing. My 8 year old is playing competitively and she is doing very well. I think it is because of Soccer Shots who built her confidence and skills when she was younger.
Thank you Soccer Shots!

Enrolled my 3 year old daughter but from the start I was unhappy with the way the coach taught. My daughter was one of the youngest (most others were about 5) so she clearly does not have the agility, experience, and attention span as the older kids. Coach seemed impatient with the few younger kids so he’d let them roam around doing their own thing while he focused on the older ones. I called and asked for a refund and was charged $ 15 for them to refund my money! I understand it may be policy but I wasn’t happy with the quality of the teaching. Leaving 3 stars because every time I called a friendly employee was available to assist me and answer any questions I had. Available help but unhappy with the way that coach taught.

I really cannot say enough great things about Soccer Shots LA. They come and do a weekly class at my preschool every Monday and it is the perfect way to start off the week at school.
1. Communication: I cannot stress how wonderful they are at communicating with us. No matter what the question/​concern is (schedule change, week off, parent question, etc) they always respond to us via email, phone or even in person, immediately. They are always ready and happy to help us solve any issue that comes our way.
2. Reliability: They show up, every week, on time, no matter what. We’ve never had an issue with them missing a week, showing up later, leaving early, or anything. We’ve had the same Coach (Coach Matthew & Coach Mario to help out) since day 1, which is really important in Early Education. The children come to trust & rely on their coaches and they’ve created a really special bond. The children in our class start to cheer as soon as they see Coach enter the gate.
3. Attitude: This sort of ties into everything I have already said but no matter what staff member we are dealing with, we have never been meet with anything but kindness. We’ve had to call the office to talk about multiple things and they have always been super friendly and helpful. The Director of the West LA area has stopped by our school on multiple occasions just to say hi, check in, & make sure we’re happy. Coach Mario helped us get our program set up and since the beginning, I’ve even able to contact him with any question at all, and he is always there for support. Lastly, Coach Matthew, who instructs our weekly class, is amazing. The children enjoy his class so much, learning and laughing through the entire session.
Soccer Shots is a wonderful program and a really great introduction to the game of soccer. We feel very lucky to have such a great program be a part of our preschool.

When someone told us there was a soccer program for 2 year olds, it was difficult not to guffaw thinking of a bunch of toddlers haphazardly directing (or not) soccer balls around a field while running over each other, bawling and/​or wandering off. But we heard it was a viable option so we gave it a try.
For our active 2 year old son, it was a the best decision we could have made! I can’t say how any other soccer program compares, as we have found the perfect fit at Soccer Shots. We are currently enjoying our second 10 week session at Glen Alla (a great location for us). It is obvious that this program is tried, tested, and custom designed for the appropriate ages. Each week the kids learn a different skill, and so far the second session has been comparable to, but different enough from the first to ensure continued interest. The follow-​up weekly emails are a nice touch too.
In the first 10 weeks, my son learned: 1) not to use his hands, 2) to slow dribble, 3) to fast dribble, t4) to do a power-​kick, 5) various drills to increase these skills and 6) to combine all these moves and score a goal! In 30 quick minutes once a week, they squeeze in a warm up, at least 3 activities, a water break and a session-​ending roundup! (I recommend getting there a little early to let the kids run out the crazies before they get down to work).
What makes this program Excellent to us is the people. The owners are delightful and the office and administration is always courteous and helpful. Our wonderful sometimes-​coach Mario has risen through the ranks to become the new Director of Soccer Shots, which is a sign of smart management, as Mario is extra-​friendly, personable and a talented player to boot! All the coaches are enthusiastic and skilled with the kids, including Coaches Michael, Eder, Matthew and Cat.
My son would want us to give special recognition to his favorite coach, Coach Justin! This young man so sincerely believes in the importance of the valuable role he is playing in these kids’ lives that it never occurs to him to worry about looking silly. He has that quality that Santa Clause, Willy Wonka (the first, cool one; not the second creepy one) and Mr. Rogers (among others) possess — a genuine love of kids (I have a feeling we’ll be teasing «Ouch-​ouch-​ouch-​ouch-​ouch!» Justin-​style for years to come).
If you’re reading this review to decide whether you should try organized soccer at all, I say YES. Even if your kid is «squirrely /​unfocused /​scatterbrained /​unathletic /​disobedient /​spazzy /​hyper» (or any of the other horrible terms that people judge our kids with), Soccer Shots will be great for them. Maybe not the first week, or second, or sixth, but I can promise you that if you attend 10 sessions and do a little mid-​week home practice, you will have a different kid in 2.5 months, who is learning to follow instructions, socializing in a team-​based environment, and setting the precedent that fresh air and exercise are an expected part of a healthy life. (I’ve repeatedly seen it happen to kids who I thought would never catch on).
If you’re reading this review to decide between Soccer Shots and another program, I can only say that Soccer Shots gets an A+ from us in every area, from value to satisfaction, and I can’t imagine you finding anyplace that’s better than an A+!
Hope to see you on the soccer field!

My son attended 3 sessions of soccer shots at Alla Park when he was 3 – 4, and he absolutely loved it all three times. He came home from each session in great spirits and ready to demonstrate his new skills. I watched many sessions and was very impressed with the coaches and the quality of the class for these reasons;
(1) the coaches knew all of the kids by name, paid attention to all of them, and ran many age appropriate drills that kept the kids happy and attentive;
(2) there was a good coach to player ratio, even though the class was full to capacity;
(3) the class was very high energy, and the kids were running around and working on skills for the entire hour. I saw very little wasted time.
(4) they emphasized skills and fun games, and introduced competition slowly. I believe kids need to learn to lose, but my son was not ready for it at that age, and the soccer shots method definitely helped get him used to playing against other kids and learning to be gracious about winning and losing.
My son is now 5 and we have done a number of different sports and activity classes including swimming, gymnastics, art, music, and basketball. I have found soccer shots to be one of the best at keeping his interest while teaching a skill and getting exercise all at the same time.

We had heard both good and bad things about Soccer Shots then we decided to check out their website. When we saw & read about Soccer Shots (including Unilocal reviews), we thought «wow sounds awesome»! Regardless of the negative things we had heard… we decided to still give it a try.
We 1^st registered for the session at Balboa Park in the San Fernando Valley. The first 2 – 3 classes were great, coaches were enthusiastic with all the kids and we were happy. As each week passed, something and somewhere it changed for the worse. I can’t say that it was one thing in particular, it was various factors.
1. On some weeks, 1 coach was out so there was only one coach for this group and that made a world of difference.
2. Skill development was lacking. The kids were being introduced 2 – 3 different skills at each session.
At the next session, the coaches would just move on & not check for understanding.
3. Competitive vs non-​competitive. Unfortunately, there was competition. They would have each kid go against each other to make a goal.
A. Yes, we agree it’s friendly competition; good for them to experience, etc… but not good when one kid knows who to kick the ball and the other doesn’t. Some kids hesitated & cried during this part — as its singles the individual kid out. That is not a trait of positive character development.
B. During this time, the kids would stand/​sit just wait, get bored, start rolling around the grass, etc. This was every last 20 – 30 mins of each class.
4. This kinds of ties in with #3. The majority of these kids were new to the program & group sport. Others seems liked they had been in this program for some time. This is partly the problem. 1 kid knows what to do & much more assertive while others are shy & lost.
5. Then there was a constant revolving door of «new kids» some who were older & more advanced! They would come some weeks & other weeks they wouldn’t. Coaches hugged & kissed them, held their hands when leaving… then we realized it was a relative of one of the coaches. There was no consistency.
Even with all of this, we gave Soccer Shots 1 more try. We again registered (same location) & it was just as disappointing. We can go on but we think we have gotten our point across. Soccer Shots website & idea sends a great message with a huge focus in individual skill development. Unfortunately, we feel they have moved away from it or have simply forgotten their own message as they become bigger.
We have found another similar program at the same park that stands by their mission… gaining confidence & the learning fundamentals of a variety of sports (awesome program). We gave Soccer Shots two chances & both times were a huge disappointment.

My son did soccer shots through his school. He reported that he was bored, which I thought might be a good life lesson. But then I learned from some of the teachers that the kids actually only got a couple of turns each during the entire session. Most of their time was spent standing against the wall. My son, indeed, never seemed to learn much after several (5+) sessions with the company, each of which is 6 weeks long. In addition, the company has horrible customer service. It’s impossible to get in touch with anyone other than their voicemail. No returned phone calls after repeated messages left.

My son participated in Soccer Shots for a few sessions and loved it! He was always excited for Friday afternoons when he got to play soccer. He would sometimes get a bit shy when we first got to the park, but one of the coaches was always quick to come over, say hi, and start talking to him. The coaches all knew his name and that was important to me. We had taken a different sports class when he was younger and even at the end of the session the coach still didn’t know all the kids’ names. That bothered me. I like that the Soccer Shots coaches greeted him by name and made him feel like he was important. Soccer Shots also focuses on character development. So the kids weren’t just learning soccer skills. They were learning how to be good people while also learning the game of soccer. Every lesson was accompanied by a word that the kids had to focus on for that day. I like that they were learning how to be respectful and encouraging teammates and not just how to win a game. I was also quite impressed with how much the kids progressed with their soccer skills. My son started when he was 3 and did his last session when he was 4. By the end he had developed some pretty good ball control! We had a very positive experience participating in Soccer Shots and I would highly recommend it!

My daughter can be shy but the teachers are so great they’re starting to win her over and we’re only two classes in.
She’s learning to listen and take directions, team playing, patience, and so much more. So far so good

We have had a wonderful experience with soccer shots. From the administrative office, to the great coaches and the quality of instruction they provide. We have been with them for 4 seasons now and would recommend them for high quality, soccer instruction. We have tried other programs and soccer shots is the best with the highest value.

My 4 year old son loves this program at Balboa Park. He had coach Adam last year and now coach Andy, which he LOVES! He has learned great soccer skills along with teamwork and other valuable life lessons. I absolutely recommend getting your toddler involved with this program.

This evening as I had to take off the T-​shirt my boy had now been wearing for 48 hours I realized that he really loved Soccer Shots! I promised him it would be clean for the next week’s practice :)
Why do I like Soccer shots so much as a parent? Having my children actively learning about soccer, respect, team playing, the joy of the game and doing this all with super friendly coaches and staff, whom enjoy hearing the parents cheer, and are ready to teach and be fun all at the same time is well worth it!
The classes cater to 3 different age groups at the same time, so 2 of my kids get to play at the same time and they do not require for the kids to wear cleats or special uniforms, just the T-​shirt.
I cant wait to see the smile on my kids face this Friday as they get to put on their orange shirt and get out there and enjoy Soccer Shots! F.G.

I like what soccer shots is about in terms of teaching children soccer, but had a very negative experience in terms of communication with them. I left two emails, one voicemail, and two phone msgs with the administrator trying to follow up with a previous question, and none of my calls or emails were responded to. No matter how great the teaching skills may be, ignoring phone messages and emails sends out a message that people do not matter or are not worth their time, and that made me concerned whether I would recommend or want to do any business with them in the future. There are so many other soccer organizations out there these days, that I would opt for one with more respectful and timely communication.

Soccer Shots has been great for my four-​year-​old! I think this program caters to my son’s age group and really help him learn the basics of the sport in a fun and creative way.

My son was 4 years old when I first took him to a free trial class of Soccer Shots last fall. He was shy in a new environment but the Coaches were very friendly and encouraging and the non-​competitive approach is just what he needed to come out of his shell. You can’t go wrong when one of the rules is to ‘Have Fun’! At the end of the first class, I was telling him how proud I was that he tried something new and he said, «You know what, Mommy? I’m proud of myself!» I had never heard my son say anything like that before and knew immediately that this was a great program for him. In just one hour, my son’s confidence had been lifted to a new level and this was a completely new activity for him! The Coaches (especially Coach Charlie) have a great way of encouraging each child, keeping them focused, yet making it fun all at the same time. Over the next few weeks, my son’s confidence continued to grow, his coordination improved and he learned valuable social skills. The difference from his first class to the last was night and day. We immediately signed him up again for the winter session. He looks forward to class each weekend and loves the stamps at the end of each session. Soccer Shots is a great, affordable program and I can’t recommend it enough!

I enrolled my child in the 2 – 3 year-​olds program and was really impressed by the way in which the coaches were able to teach the kids. They showed an amazing amount of patience and caring, something that I’m sure that other organizations have trouble with due to their lack of programs for younger children. I was very frustrated with my insanely distracted child and Coach Andy and Coach Phil made sure that I didn’t get discouraged. My kid loved getting stamps and stickers, and especially loved wearing his shirt. Great program!

A good alternative AYSO which only plays on Saturdays.

I am so excited for my 3yr old son to have started his first class of soccer this Tuesday. I always knew he is definitely a natural in soccer, ever since he he saw a game on TV and he grabbed a ball and just started to mimic everything the players will do. I’m sure this fall soccer will bring out my sons natural talent and burn out the energy he has! Yay for soccer shots!

My kids love this program! Soccer shots had a special offer that was on one of the discount websites and we signed up for a summer course. It is hard to find a class that both my 3 year old son, and 5 year old daughter can be in together at the same time. This one worked perfectly for both. They are having a great time and every Friday get excited to take the next lesson!

Soccer Shots has being coming to my daughter’s preschool and for a few years, and I enrolled her this Fall. She loves it and it makes Friday an extra special fun day at school. I like it for the physical coordination and team ethics she’s learning