Instructions for Rolling Forward and Back
- This is a great way to start soccer practice for kids, as it will
allow the youngster to start getting a good feel for the ball. Start in a standing position with
the ball between your legs and with the sole of the foot, roll the ball forwards until the leg is
extended, and the knee almost locked. You must keep your foot on the ball at all times.
- Drag the ball back to you with the sole of the foot, controlling it
with your instep back at the starting position. Always keep your knees bent during this exercise,
and stay on the balls of your feet for mobility, which will also allow you to move the ball
quickly.
- Immediately switch feet with the ball and repeat the exercise of
rolling the ball forwards and then back, this time using the standing leg from the first part of
the drill.
- Keep alternating feet, keeping the ball under control at all times
underneath the sole of the foot. This exercise will enhance controlling of the ball in tight
situations, and always go for accuracy and fluency with the exercise, gradually building up your
speed with more practice.
Instructions for Rolling Sideways
- From a starting position again with your legs slightly apart and
the ball in between your feet, you are ready to do progress on to controlling the ball by rolling
it sideways. This technique is a great way to help you create time and space on the
ball.
- With the sole of the foot, roll the ball directly sideways from its
starting position. The right foot will move the ball outwards from its starting position to the
right, keeping the ball under control at all times with the sole of the soccer shoe.
- Drag the ball back to its starting position, still with the sole of
the foot, so that the ball rests in the centre of your legs and repeat the exercise with the
opposite leg.
- Try to not pause in between the change over with feet. Look for
control first and then speed afterwards and gradually build up a rhythm to move the ball more
quickly.
Instructions for Drag Back and Tap
- With the ball in between your feet, this roll back and tap exercise
will help to prepare young children learning the game, how to quickly control and get the ball out
from under their feet to pass the ball on to a team mate.
- Roll the ball forward with the sole of your foot and drag it back,
as practiced in the first exercise above. Again, it doesn’t matter about speed to start off with,
getting the exercise right for accuracy is far more important.
- When you have dragged the ball back to you, using the same foot
still, immediately tap the ball forward and across your body. As this is about control, the tap
should be light enough so that it doesn’t get away from your reach.
- Staying on the balls of your feet at all times, quickly use the
sole of the opposite foot to then control the ball and drag it back to the starting position. Again
as soon as it has been dragged back, immediately tap it forward with that foot and control it with
the opposite once again. Keep repeating.
Instructions for Outwards Push and Sideways Roll
- Time to practice some dribbling skills with this next exercise. In
this, the ball will be pushed outwards from your feet and then controlled to bring it across
to the opposite foot quickly, in order to try and trick the opposition.
- Start with the ball at your feet and push it forwards and out to
your side with the outside of your starting foot. You will be moving yourself forward at the same
time in motion with the ball in order to keep it under your control.
- Before the ball gets away from you, stop and trap it with the sole
of the same foot which you pushed it outwards with. Upon trapping it, roll the ball back across in
front of you with the sole of your foot to the opposite foot, all in one smooth motion.
- Then continue with the receiving foot pushing the ball outwards and
moving forwards still, repeat the process of stopping, trapping and crossing it over to the
opposite foot.
Instructions for Forward Tapping
- This tapping exercise is one, when practiced enough, which will
allow you to carry the ball with confidence on the field of play. Ball control moving forwards is
an important aspect of the game and with this exercise you will be able to enhance your dribbling
skills even further.
- From a starting position, give yourself enough room to move forward
in a straight line. Start by tapping the ball forward with the top of your foot and for every step
you will take, you will tap the ball on in front of you again without stopping.
- Use the same foot to continue tapping the ball forward. The taps of
the ball should be soft enough so that the ball stays close to you, but still moves you
forward.
- After twenty taps of the ball forward, swap feet to give the
opposite foot just as much practice. The ability to control and play the ball comfortably with both
feet will propel your game forward.
Instructions for Tapping Circles
- To enhance your dribbling skills further, this next exercise is a
step forward from the forward tapping exercise above. Again prepare yourself with enough room to
move forward in a straight line and start by tapping the ball forward with the top of your
foot.
- For every step that you take again, make a tap of the ball in a
forward motion. You can continue using the same foot, pushing it softly enough in front of you to
keep it under control.
- After five taps and therefore five steps, turn with the ball,
controlling and tapping it with the outside of your foot, in a circle to the side of the foot that
you are using for tapping the ball.
- Once you have done a 360 degree rotation and are facing forwards
again, switch the ball to the opposite foot, move forward five steps and taps, and then do a
controlled circle to the side of that foot. This soccer drill will help with your balance and
control as well in tight turning circle.
Instructions for Sidestepping Rolls
- Another important ability to practice, is being able to move
sideways efficiently with the ball at your feet. This will enable you to play your way out tight
situations, especially when close to the touchlines. This exercise will help you learn how to
quickly shift the ball from foot to foot.
- With the skills learnt from previous exercises, roll the ball
sideways with the sole of your foot, but this time while you are sidestepping across the
pitch, along with the ball’s momentum. It is a good idea to set yourself up on the sideline for
this exercises, so that you can move along it in a straight line.
- Build up your speed as you practice, and the quicker your
sidesteps, the quicker you will be shifting the ball between your feet. Stop the ball with the
opposite foot to the one which rolled it forward.
- As you are still moving forward, the foot playing the ball should
then catch up to the stopped ball, and you can roll it forward to be stopped by the other and so
on. Never touch ball twice with same foot.
Instructions for Tap, Tap, Pull and Push
- To enhance dribbling skills even further, this tap, tap, pull, push
exercise starts to combine moving forward with control from both feet in a smooth motion. Starting
with the ball at your feet, start to move forwards by tapping the ball with the instep of your
starting foot, sending the ball across to the other foot.
- Without pausing, tap the ball forwards a little bit with the
receiving foot so that your forward momentum continues through the soccer drill. With the
foot which has just pushed the ball forwards, trap the ball with the sole of your boot, dragging
the ball back towards you.
- When the ball has been dragged back into your feet, you can tap it
across to the opposite foot which will then tap the ball forwards. This starts the sequence all
over again, getting reading to trap the ball, drag it back and tap it over to the opposite foot
again.
- A great way to enhance this drill is when the ball is tapped across
to the receiving foot, the ball can be rolled outwards by that foot, then back in towards you
before tapping it forward ready to trap it.
Instructions for the Silhouette Step Over
- As you practice more, you will naturally want to step up your skill
sets, and this one will allow you to practice the famous step over action, perfected by Cristiano
Ronaldo. It is a technique which looks complicated but is easy to put into practice.
- Start by pushing the ball forwards with the outside of your foot,
and then the aim is to immediately trap the ball using the sole of that very same foot with which
you started the exercise.
- One the ball has been stopped, do a step over, or a silhouette as
it is known with that very same leg. This is a dummy move, where the leg rotates around the ball.
The leg should move from the inside of the ball swing around the front of the ball before being
drawn back in.
- The completion of this exercise will then be done with the opposite
foot tapping the ball forward with the outside of the boot in the opposite direction to which you
first moved. This will initiate the repeating of the process of trapping, performing the silhouette
move and then tapping forward again with the opposite foot.
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