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
Gate game
This simple set-up is extremely versatile, allowing players to practice passing, dribbling and turning technique.
What this session is about
This practice develops passing, dribbling, turning and vision. This is a chance to express yourself and experiment with new skills.
What to think about
- This practice focuses the players on passing quickly to an open player and then dribbling into the space created.
- For the warm-up, divide the players into two teams. Each team takes a turn to see which of its players can dribble through the most gates in 30 seconds. That team then rests while the
other team goes. Therefore each team will have one winning player on each turn.
Set-up
30 x 30 yard square.
| Warm up | Session | Developments | Game Situation | Warm Down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes |
What you get your players to do
One team start in the gates, the other team starts with a ball each. The players must dribble around and make one-twos or overlaps using the players in the gates. The players must communicate their actions. Now the players dribble around and pass to the player in the gate and take their place the players must call “turn”.
Use the players in the gates to make wall-passes and overlaps.
Development
Use the gates to run a series of games
Dribble game – the teams compete to score the most goals by dribbling through a gate
Pass game – the teams compete to score the most goals by passing through a gate to a teammate
Pass v dribble – one team has to dribble to score, one team has to pass to score.
This time the player in the gate must perform a turn.
Game situation
The skills developed in this session will be tested in any game situation. A simple 4v4 game will provide plenty of opportunity to dribble or pass between opposition players.
One team tries to dribble through the gates while the other passes through them.
What to call out
- “Move the ball quickly”
- “Make an angle to receive the ball”
- “Know where the gates are”
- “Try lots of different moves”
