Staying on the ball – Warm-Up
in Soccer dribbling drills, Warm Ups
Allow your players to develop confidence and technique in this three-part session. By HANNAH DUNCAN MORE
Ball dribble challenge
This session will test whether your players have the skills to take on and beat defenders, and then go on to score goals. If they haven’t, use this practice plan and they will soon have the technique.
What this session is about
- Improving dribbling skills and close control.
- Creating space to shoot.
- Shooting.
What to think about
When dribbling the ball, players need to:
- Keep the ball within playing distance.
- Slow down as they approach a defender.
- Use body feints and deceptive foot movements – try tricks, e.g. Ronaldo stepovers.
- Commit the defender, change your direction and accelerate past.
- Use the inside/outside of both feet.
- Remember – only a little space needs to be created to get a shot off.
Set-up
| Warm up | Session | Developments | Game Situation | Warm Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 10 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes | 10 minutes |
What you get your players to do
Mark out an area, split into three zones, with a goal at one end. Attackers line up in pairs at the end opposite the goal. Place one defender in each of the first two zones and a keeper in the zone with the goal, as shown in the top picture.
Play begins with a 2v1 in the first area. However, one attacker must try to dribble the ball into the second area, rather than wait for a pass there. The pair must then try and beat another defender.
If successful, they try to score in the third zone. Swap attackers with defenders regularly.
Pairs take turns to try to dribble past defenders in zones and then shoot for goal.
Development
Now split the playing area in two zones rather than three and split players into three teams. The defending team lines up with two defenders in the area nearest the starting attackers, and a goalkeeper and a defender in the other zone. These players must stay in their respective zones.
The other two teams line up at the opposite end to the goal. One player from each team starts dribbling a ball at the same time, where they take on the defenders (who can work independently or as a pair), before dribbling into the second zone to try and score.
The next player in their team can only go once their team mate has either scored or had their ball knocked out of play.
Each team defends for two minutes. Teams score a point for a shot on target and three points for scoring. The team with the most points wins.
Defenders try to stop individuals from different teams going through their zones and scoring a goal.
Game situation
Mark out an area with a goal and a zone at each end, as shown in the bottom picture.
Play a 6v6 game. Each team has a defender and a keeper restricted to its end zone, leaving 4v4 in the central zone.
The aim of the game is for a player to dribble the ball out of the central zone and into the opponent’s end zone. Once there, they face a 1v1 against the defender, plus they have the keeper to score past.
Always restart play in the central zone with dribble-ins instead of throw-ins. The team that scores most goals wins.
Teams keep a defender and keeper in their defensive zone while other players try to dribble into those zones to shoot at goal.
