Drills to Improve Soccer Dribbling Skills
You’ve probably seen Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry or Cristiano Ronaldo dribble many times and admired the way in which they are able to run with the ball at their feet and beat players by using their skill and speed. Dribbling in soccer stands out as the basic foundation for any other core skill of soccer, such as ball control, passing, and finishing. Establishing the correct dribbling foundation in the early stages strengthens the players’ ability to develop most of the other soccer skills.
The soccer dribbling drills in this section include realistic progressions and are going to help you teach your players to develop the skill of how, when and where to dribble and run with the ball. A lot more soccer drills for dribbling will be added to this segment so check back often.
Key Coaching Points for Dribbling:
- relaxed body (upper body over the ball)
- eyes on the ball as well as the opponents feet (if close)
- head up when possible to scan field, oncoming pressure and assess options
- soft touches
- close control of the ball
- change of direction and speed to change the point of attack or to avoid defender
- use all surfaces of the foot
- positive first touch into space
- positive attitude on ball (be a friend with the ball)
- explode into space
- use your body to protect the ball (be big/wide/low/strong)
- be creative
