Flip cone dribble

The ability to dribble at pace and change direction with the ball under control, will benefit any player. Flip cone dribble is a fun, competitive game to help your players develop this ability.

What this session is about

Improving dribbling skills and close control.

What to think about

Remember these key elements for correctly dribbling with the ball. Watch carefully to make sure your players use the proper technique.

• Keep the ball within playing distance.
• Use the inside and outside of either foot.
• Take quick, small steps.
  Players must dribble with their heads up.

Set-up

Create circular playing areas 10 yards in diameter. Mark out the circles with pyramid cones. Split your players into teams of four and have two teams play against each other in each circle.

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

Distribute, say, 10 disc cones – five of one colour and five of another – around the playing area. The two teams line up on opposite sides of the circle, with each team assigned a set of five cones.

On your signal, the first player in each line dribbles with a ball into the playing area with two objectives – to turn over all the other team’s cones, and to flip back any of their own cones that the opposition has turned over.

Give each pair 30 seconds to turn over as many cones as they can. They then dribble back to their line and the next team mate repeats the drill.

The team with the fewest cones upside down after all the players have had a turn, wins.

Players dribble the ball through the circle, turning a maximum of five opposition cones over or replacing their own.

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Development

Put extra pyramid cones around the outside of the area. Now, every time a player flips a cone, they must dribble around one of the outside cones before re-entering the playing area.

To progress further, increase the size of the playing area, allowing both teams to send two players into the circle at a time.

Players must now show good control and movement by dribbling around a cone outside the circle after turning over a cone.

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Game situation

Play 4v4 across the width of a 30 yards by 20 yards playing area. Teams score a point for dribbling across any part of the line they are attacking and controlling the ball in the end zone. When a point is scored, re-start with the other team in possession. The first to 10 points wins.

In a 4v4 game with no goals, teams win a point for dribbling the ball over the opposition end line.

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What to call out

• “Keep the ball close”
• “Keep your head up”
• “Don’t bump into each other”