How do you build up your dribbling ability?

[loden]

Let's say I know nothing about dribbling. How would you go on about building an individual program? Start with the fundamentals and go on to more advanced stuff. All tips and drills are welcome.

[Elninho]

Let's say I know nothing about dribbling. How would you go on about building an individual program? Start with the fundamentals and go on to more advanced stuff. All tips and drills are welcome.

This thing's been posted all over the Net... I used to go through the "7-minute drill" before practice.

http://www.sksoccer.org/drills/1000_touches.htm

[Antonio498]

My advice on building dribbling skills is to practice dribbling around cones. Just get some small objects (doesn't have to be cones, maybe bricks etc) and place about 6-8 of them in a line, about a metre or less apart. Then jusr dribble in between them, practicing different turns at rach end. Start with 5 there and back with both feet, then just left, just right, only the outside/inside of both feet, rolling the foot over, performing a dummy before each cone etc, any and all dribbling techniques. The repeat, as fast as you can. Move the cones further apart to practice dribbling at pace, or closer together to improve control in a tight area. Do this each day and you'll really notice a difference in the quickess of your feet and the degree of control which you have over the ball even when travelling pretty fast.

A second tip is to try to read and react to the movement/actions of players on both your team and the opposition. For example when running at a fullback and a centreback comes to cover him, is there any way you can play the two against eachother? Is there any gap where you could go between them? If a teammate makes a run to one direction of a defender this could drag the opposition out of position and create space for you to accelarate into. You could fake to pass to this teammate before changing direction and leaving the defender off balance. Similarly you can run at players as a way of creating space for people on your team to take advantage of.

Part of dribbling is having an awareness of what's happening around you, and using it to your advantage. Great close control at speed is one thing, but running blindly at players won't usually achieve much. Be clever about it.

Oh and vary what you do, don't dribble every time, play it short sometimes, hold it up, or cross early etc. If you become predictable, it makes the job of defending against you a lot easier.

Hope that helps :)

[bigredfutbol]

Thanks for the tips. I'm a 37-year old novice player, with about ten games total under my belt. I'm playing indoor, and I sorely need to work on dribbling, ball control, and so forth. Some useful hints here.

[theblondsoccerstar]

Juggle. it seriously helps your touch. im a living testimony of it.

[nvan_football]

Juggle??? :confused: Why? I think it has nothing to do with dribbling.

[appleCORR7]

Just practice having the ball at your feet and running with it. Practice using different parts of your foot while you move. If its just you and you fall over the ball then who cares?!! Hahaha ... :D

Practice on different surfaces too. Because i find that improves your touch ie) concreate is quicker and a bit more tougher to keep the ball under control than grass things like that.

but PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!

appleCORR

[hawk_claw]

1. Find a little kid half your age and size

2. Find a small place ( basement coudl work)...where u have to keep the ball close to u at all times

3. Toy with the kid


At least it works for me...my lil 5 year old brother ( future soccer phenom :)) gives me quite the work out

[Dominican Lou]

Wash your soccer ball and dribble it around your house everywhere you go, whether you're going to answer the phone, to the kitchen, anywhere.

And try to play as many short-side, 3 on 3, 4 on 4, 5 on 5 games a possible. The smaller the field the better.

[Lehuynhduc]

Dribbling is all about creativity. Don't limit yourself with exercises.
You can't learn to dribble alone. You need to have some friends. At least 1 so you can play 1 on 1 (great way to improve you dribbling skill and your confidence while hold up the ball.
Last thing, don't worry about losing the ball while practicing dribbling. Always try to relax your body while dribbling too.

[lillefty7]

try dribblig in ur bedroom and be creative. helped me out a ton. and never lose confidence

[loden]

strongsoccer.com has some excellent videos of drills and moves. I'm seeing dramatic improvement in small side games, after practicing these on my own.

This has also been very helpful:
http://www.sksoccer.org/drills/1000_touches.htm

I think the fundamental thing that has been holding me back is me not being able to accurately judge the height of the ball when it's on the ground. Side drags, toe touches, back drags all helped me get a better feel of the ball. My recieving has also improved tremendously because of that.

Oh, yeah, somebody suggested juggling to improve dribbling...bad advice.

[gwebster]

Thanks for the tips. I'm a 37-year old novice player, with about ten games total under my belt. I'm playing indoor, and I sorely need to work on dribbling, ball control, and so forth. Some useful hints here.

Similar situation for me. I do the 1000 touches and dribble a ball around the house, but I find I'm not doing things instinctively in games. I think simulating pressure would help alot--hawk_claw's suggestion was a good one. Heck, I used to get some excellent competition from my chihuahua (a real ankle biter)...until we got the little guy fixed...

[serieAfan89]

Juggle??? :confused: Why? I think it has nothing to do with dribbling.
juggling is the best way to improve your touch. if you have good touch then you will be able to improve your dribbling ability.

[serieAfan89]

I think the best way to improve dribbling is to play around the house. if you have a narrow hallway in your house then you can work on close-quarter dribbling...its a bit like dribbling on the wing if the hallway is long. I contribute about half of my touch to dribbling in my house, because when i get bored i dribble it around and run all over the place. Great place to try out new moves too.

[giggstovieira]

My advice on building dribbling skills is to practice dribbling around cones. Just get some small objects (doesn't have to be cones, maybe bricks etc) and place about 6-8 of them in a line, about a metre or less apart. Then jusr dribble in between them, practicing different turns at rach end. Start with 5 there and back with both feet, then just left, just right, only the outside/inside of both feet, rolling the foot over, performing a dummy before each cone etc, any and all dribbling techniques. The repeat, as fast as you can. Move the cones further apart to practice dribbling at pace, or closer together to improve control in a tight area. Do this each day and you'll really notice a difference in the quickess of your feet and the degree of control which you have over the ball even when travelling pretty fast.

A second tip is to try to read and react to the movement/actions of players on both your team and the opposition. For example when running at a fullback and a centreback comes to cover him, is there any way you can play the two against eachother? Is there any gap where you could go between them? If a teammate makes a run to one direction of a defender this could drag the opposition out of position and create space for you to accelarate into. You could fake to pass to this teammate before changing direction and leaving the defender off balance. Similarly you can run at players as a way of creating space for people on your team to take advantage of.

Part of dribbling is having an awareness of what's happening around you, and using it to your advantage. Great close control at speed is one thing, but running blindly at players won't usually achieve much. Be clever about it.

Oh and vary what you do, don't dribble every time, play it short sometimes, hold it up, or cross early etc. If you become predictable, it makes the job of defending against you a lot easier.

Hope that helps :)
this along with the 1000 touches program, has helped my dribbling alot. these work, i swear to god they do. ;) :D

[loden]

I think 1000 touches workout has limited use after a certain point. I find that it's best to concentrate on 3-4 dribbling moves, and focus on the things that really matter; change of speed and direction. You can have a very limited dribbling vocabulary, yet be an excellent dribbler if you master the timing of when to pull your moves.