Mastering dribbling in soccer involves mastering various components, which we refer to as “The 7 C’s of Dribbling.” Each C stands for a unique skill in dribbling. These include:
- Close control
- Change of direction
- Changing feet
- Changing speed
- Changing distances
- Creativity and
- Changing situations
To improve your dribbling, it’s essential to practice each component separately. In this post, we will provide tips and resources to help you improve your dribbling and ball control.
#1 Close Control
Keeping the ball close to your feet while dribbling is crucial. The first step to learning this skill is practicing dribbling with every single step.
Dribbling with every single step is a nuanced technique that is almost never taught during team practice.
Our ebook entitled, “The Most Important Skill in Youth Soccer.” covers this technique in detail.
#2 Change of Direction
Great players like Lionel Messi and Neymar have the ability to change direction quickly with the ball. Freestyle dribbling drills are an excellent way to practice this skill.
The Anytime Soccer Training program has dozens of freestyle dribbling drills that are fun and challenging.
#3 Changing Feet
The modern game requires players to be equally proficient in dribbling with either foot.
The Anytime Soccer Training program has dedicated videos for each foot and a progression that takes players from unopposed training to game-like situations.
Related: Improving Your Weak Foot
#4 Changing Speed
Explosive changes in speed allow offensive players to keep defenders off balance. Dribbling obstacles are an excellent way to challenge players to accelerate and decelerate often in a game-like manner.
After honing your skills with cones, bring in a defender to simulate game-like pressure.
#5 Changing Distances
Incorporating different distances in almost every dribbling drill is important. The Anytime Soccer Training program has a mixed distance line cone weave drill that uses a stacking pattern to encourage players to use different distances, speeds, and feet.
#6 Creativity
Dribbling with confidence and flair requires both art and science. However, oftentimes, a player’s seemingly random creativity on the field is the result of hours of practice and repetition of specific moves during their backyard training.
Freestyle drills are a great way to promote creativity and fun in training. Players enjoy these drills and can even compete to see who can pass the most cones.
#7 Changing Situations
Playing 1v1 is the best way to improve dribbling under different circumstances.
The Anytime Soccer Training program has hundreds of 1v1 games with different rules and ways of scoring that change the problems players must solve.
Pro Tip: Instead of traditional goals, use gates made of two cones on each side. Players can score by dribbling past the defender and through the gate. This adds an element of fun and encourages players to focus on dribbling skills instead of relying on long shots that don’t often happen in a game.
By applying these tips and consistently practicing these skills, you will be well on your way to becoming a great soccer player.
Instead of searching for drills on YouTube, join the Anytime Soccer Training program today for free and get access to thousands of drills and resources to improve your game.
