My son spent a lot of time this summer in and out of practice working on various dribbling moves he was either shown by his coaches or that he watched in pro games or on YouTube. He'd try them on me in the backyard but wouldn't always try them in scrimmages or in the handful of 3v3 tournaments they entered. He's starting kindergarten and will be playing in the town rec league. I don't think he'll "need" to use any of these moves as it'll be a lot of bunch ball. Should I encourage him to try them out so that he's comfortable with them in the future or is it better to let him figure things out at his own pace?
He is so young and also the fact that, like you said, it will be bunch ball. Just encourage him to take advantage of any open space he has and not just kick it hard. Most coaches at that age just want the kids to kick the ball out of any danger area but that is a mistake in my opinion. My boy is 10 years old now and I always encouraged him to dribble and make any kind of move in open space. And not to worry so much about scoring. And it is paying off now that he's 10. His skills are way above any kid is his area. Not even close. Also, encourage him to pull the ball back when theres a lot of traffic, bunch ball. Most kids just keep kicking it forward when theres a kid like 6 inches in front of him and of course, the ball is not going anywhere. Here is my boy doing a maradona spin move at age 6. I loved it and gave me goosebumps because these type of skills will pay off in the long run in my opinion. 6 year old Little Nicki executes a Maradona
Leave him be - he'll figure it out in time - and he's got a lot of that ahead of him since he is so young. Also - my 9 year old had a bad habit of playing down when she played in rec specifically while playing travel at the same time 2 years ago. I got on her case often - bad dad! I wish I would not have done that and just let her have fun with her friends - left it as just time on the ball. Thankfully I learned to shut my big mouth.
Thank you both for your input. My instinct was to leave him be and I only second guessed it when he came home from an open practice the town hosted for K/1st Grade and asked if he was still going to be able to play with the "big kids" from the summer because that was more fun. Last thing I want is for playing to be less fun for him. I'm sure he'll enjoy running around with his classmates and I'm overthinking this.