Dribbling

2 Dribbling Drills to Improve Your Skill in Your Backyard

By Parker & Walsh 1 Comment

Here at Soccer Training Solutions, we’ve already given you some helpful tips for how you can improve your soccer skills in your backyard.

But today we’ll focus on dribbling, one of the best skills for anyone trying to play at a high level, and show you how you can improve your skills in your backyard with only one cone.

(And if you don’t have a cone handy, you can substitute any small object like a shoe or soccer ball. Ditto for any nearby grassy area if you don’t have a backyard or if it isn’t set up for soccer practice.)

The following two drills will help you work on your change of pace and change of direction, which are the only two elements you need to beat a defender on the dribble.

Pair these two elements together, and you will be extremely difficult to stop on the dribble.

The first drill below works on change of pace, and the second drill works on both a change of direction and a change of pace.

Drill 1: Change of Pace Dribbling

Set a cone on the ground and start about 15 yards away with a soccer ball at your feet. Make sure there is about 15 yards of open space past the cone too for you to dribble into.

To begin the drill, dribble at a medium pace toward the cone. When you pass the cone, sprint dribble for another 15 yards after the cone.

Try to run as fast as you can after the change of pace while still keeping the ball under your control. The change of pace is crucial.

At the end, use the sole of your foot to stop the ball. (And make sure you switch up which foot you use.)

Once completed, turn around and do the exercise again. Try to do it 10 times in a row, which will also help you get fitter.

Drill 2: 1 v Cone Dribbling

For this next drill, use the same basic setup at the previous drill, but this time you will dribble at your cone which acts as a defender for you to beat.

In order to beat your “defender,” you will perform a move, which can be anything from a step over to a 360 spin.

Practice each move 10 times slowly and then 10 times at a faster pace. You should complete your move about a yard away from the cone. Here are some moves that you’ll want to try.

Rake – Use the sole (bottom) of one foot to pull the ball across your body and slightly backwards to the inside of your other foot.

In a game situation the pull would take the ball just out of reach of a defender, and pushing the ball with your other foot would allow you to accelerate past.

Step Over – Move one foot around the front of the ball and slightly over the top so your heel passes across the top third of the ball.

At the same time drop your shoulder to make it look like you are going to take off in that direction. Then you use the outside of your opposite foot to accelerate the other way.

Inside Out – Use the inside of one foot to touch the ball slightly inside as if you were going to knock it to your other foot or continue dribbling inside.

Then use the outside of the same foot to move the ball back to your original direction and past your defender.

These are just a few of the drills that you’ll want to try for the 1 v Cone drill. There are also other dribbling drills you can try.

For even more training ideas, as well as complete training plans, take a look at our Individual Soccer Training System.

photo credit

How to Beat Defenders off the Dribble

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

Just about every player wants to know the secret to dribbling past opponents, and this article will shed some light on it. Two questions typically get asked. First, what is the best move to use when dribbling? And second, how do you beat someone 1 vs. 1?

What is the best move to use?

You can debate the merits of various 1v1 moves endlessly. There are step-overs, cuts, drags, stop-and-gos, 360s, and much more: in short, plenty of options. But in reality, it does not matter much which move you use. You do not need a particular special move to beat your opponent, and different players are more effective with some than others.

Perfecting particular soccer moves is not the most important aspect of beating a defender with dribbling. Instead, you only need to know two things, which leads us into the second question!

How do you beat someone 1v1?

You most likely have heard these two things I am going to tell you, but they are crucial to take to heart, especially if you can do both of them together.

The two things in order to beat someone off the dribble are change of pace and change of direction. This is it.

The best coaches I’ve ever had drilled these two things into me, and got me to a point where I could do both. My game improved significantly as a result.

The most vital component to beating a defender 1v1 is achieving separation. A change of pace or a change of direction can get you a little separation on their own, but pairing them together yields greater separation and allows you to get around your opponent.

We’ve said that the particular move you use doesn’t matter. But I would recommend perfecting two to three moves of your choice for your arsenal, so you don’t become predictable with the same one over and over again.

If you want to know more about dribbling, then check out our other blog post, Soccer Dribbling: How to Practice the Most Important Skill.

Soccer Dribbling: How to Practice the Most Important Skill

By Parker & Walsh 1 Comment

soccer-defending-block-tackle Dribbling is a crucial skill to develop from as young an age as possible.

Kids may not be able to understand soccer tactics such as spacing or be able to complete more nuanced tactics such as effective passing, but dribbling is much more natural and an accessible skill.

And it’s certainly not just for kids, as dribbling is important at all levels of play. Being able to dribble past defenders is a learned skill and takes lots of practice.

Even midfielders and defenders must also be able to dribble in different situations, so it’s crucial for everyone to practice it regularly, not just forwards.

As with most skills, lots and lots of repetitions are crucial to improvement. This is where dribbling has a clear advantage over other skills, as you can dribble a soccer ball around all the time.

If you want to get better, start to dribble a soccer ball everywhere!

Dribble in your backyard, dribble through the house (if you’re careful not to break anything), dribble on the walk over to your neighbor’s house.

Dribble in tight areas and try moves to get around objects or people.

Dribbling a soccer ball around all the time will allow you to be comfortable on the soccer ball and pick your head up. And ultimately, it will help you keep control of the ball when you get to a game situation.

How can dribbling improve your game?

We’ve already mentioned that all players need to feel comfortable dribbling, no matter their position.

Dribbling allows you to keep possession, put your team in a numbers up advantage situation and create your own shot, to give a couple of examples.

Next time you’re watching a soccer game, keep track of all of the situations where you see players dribbling. It will be a lot more than just forwards trying to get by a defender in the attacking third.

Do you see a defender under pressure who needs to dribble to open up a passing lane? Or a midfielder tracking back and keeping possession?

How many dribbling moves do I need to learn?

Fancy moves can look impressive, but players really need just two to three moves. You need a move to go each direction: left and right.

These might be different types of cuts with different surfaces, step-overs, or similar techniques.

If you want to take your game to the next level, then you need to combine two or three moves together.

How do I practice soccer dribbling moves?

In order to effectively practice dribbling, you need to develop the motor skills and muscle memory for your two to three favorite soccer moves.

First, start off performing the move slowly for five reps to get the motion down correctly.

Next, perform the move at about 75% of full speed for five reps. Finally, practice the move at 100%.

You will need to do this for each move. You can practice your soccer moves anywhere, but an open grass area will work best.

If you want access to a complete library of dribbling moves, plus daily training plans that will help get you playing better faster, check out our soccer training system.

Do you do anything particular to practice dribbling? If so let us know in the comments.

How to Perform a Proper Take-Over in Soccer

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

soccer-takeover A take-over is a simple run that is very effective. Performing a take-over correctly can get you out of tight spaces on the field and can possibly give you an open shot.

When to Perform a Take-Over

There are two key situations in a soccer when it’s beneficial to perform a take-over: 1.) When you can’t get behind your defender and your teammate with the ball is within 10 yards or closer to you and 2.) When your teammate is dribbling at you.

When you can’t get behind your defender for your first run and your teammate with the ball is within 10 yards or closer to you, then you need to make a second run, a take-over.

When your teammate is dribbling at you, standing still does you no good. Running away puts your back to your teammate, and back peddling is just too slow. The only other option is to make a take-over run, running behind your teammate.

How to Perform a Take-Over

There are three key components to performing a take-over.

First, communication is crucial. The player performing the take-over run must say TAKE if he/she wants to take the ball off their teammates foot, and must say “TAKE” right before he/she wants to take the ball from his/her teammate.

After hearing the the word take, the player dribbling the ball must not touch the ball again. If the player performing the take-over run does not say anything, then the teammate dribbling the soccer ball keeps dribbling.

Second, the player performing the take-over run must run behind his/her teammate with the ball. Running behind your teammate allows you perform the take-over.

Third, the player dribbling the ball must carry it on the outside of his/her foot away from his/her goal.

This way the player dribbling the ball will be able to protect it from the defender by using his shoulder and forearm to hold off the defender. The defender has to go through the whole body of the player dribbling the ball.