If you’re new to soccer, dribbling is simply ball control while moving. This can be done with any part of the body but the hands, which are forbidden in soccer (except for the goalkeepers).
Now, you know what dribbling is, but do you know what it is not?
Dribbling is not tricks and flicks, fancy ball handling or fancy ball movement. These are all moves used in freestyle soccer, which is mostly done as an art.
Some of these can be used in-game to execute dribbles though, but the basics are what really stick out in the end.
Neymar’s rainbow flicks are used to dribble the ball away from opponents but the zig-zag movement that follows and the change in direction involved point to the fact that the move would be useless if he never got his basics down pat.
If you do not want to be that player who knows ten thousand skill moves but cannot beat an opponent, then you need to master and internalize the seven soccer dribbling drills in the following sections.
7 Soccer Dribbling Drills
Here are the top seven soccer dribbling drills.
Straight Line Cone Weave
A key facet of dribbling is close control. This means the ability to maintain regular contact with the ball so that you can manipulate its movements.
Every great dribbler you’ve ever seen always looked like they had a magnet attached to their soccer boots which made sure the ball was never more than three inches away from them.
The straight-line cone weave drill is a classic way to train this facet of dribbling for soccer players.
Set up a series of cones in a straight line, about a yard apart from each other, and dribble the ball through them with weaving movements. With this dribbling drill, you also master how to move in tight spaces.
Zig Zag Slalom
One of the most popular goals of the 21st century was scored by Lionel Messi on April 18, 2007, against Getafe. He was still a young player with incredible speed and when that goal went in, the world took notice.
The goal breakdown is simple: it was a mazy run to beat multiple defenders with slaloming movements and close ball control.
While it is near impossible to replicate such a goal again, you, too can master the zig-zag slalom dribbling style. Set up a series of cones in a zig-zag pattern and dribble through them, slaloming back and forth.
This drill improves your dribbling precision and your use of both feet as you work the ball upfield toward the goal through an obstacle course of opponents.
Fast Break Lane Dribble
Fast breaks in football are some of the most beautiful things ever. In real games, they are referred to as counter attacks which teams apply to score out-of-nowhere goals.
The dribbling skills used in these counter attacks are fast break lane dribbles which train a player to be able to pick up a ball and dribble within a lane.
The simplest version of this drill is done with cones lined three feet apart horizontally and vertically, which the player runs through while controlling the ball.
The horizontal spaces between each cone are the lanes through which the player dribbles the ball.
Controlled Lane Dribble
Tactical setups in football have players positioned in different parts of the field with clear instructions to follow certain lanes. This is done to prevent clashes between teammates and to ensure better penetration of the opponent’s defense.
A great way to ensure that players are able to play in their lanes and move the ball as the coach intends is to perform controlled lane dribble drills.
Set up multiple cones with enough space between them, parallel to each other vertically or horizontally.
Dribble within the lane, and when you get to the top of the lane, switch your foot and dribble in the opposite direction.
Gated Shuttle Around Cone
This drill is similar to the setup for the fast break lane dribbles drill. Cones are lined up horizontally and vertically, three feet apart from each other to create lanes or gates.
The player starts at the bottom, dribbles through a gate, then shuffles to the next one until they are out of the grid.
The drill is repeated as many times as possible for the player to have mastery over tight spaces, change of direction and ball control which is key to dribbling.
Do not focus on the number of touches that your foot makes with the ball, but your control over the ball.
Speed Dribbling
Remember the Messi goal described earlier? A key reason it was possible was his speed. First of all, a player has to work on his speed in the gym, on the tracks and on the road.
Daily runs will help build the endurance you need, track work will help build the speed, and gym work will help build the endurance you need to sustain the speed.
Translating it into your dribbling can be done with the speed dribbling drill, which entails running at the fastest speed you can muster from your muscles while keeping close control of the ball.
Change Direction Drill
This is a big part of soccer training because ball movement on the pitch requires players to think on their feet and change directions.
Agility, stamina, flexibility and impeccable ball control is needed. After gym work, players need to perform drills that help them master changes in direction else they would be deadwood in-game which can affect the team.
To perform the basics change if direction drill, line up cones in a grid about five or six yards apart, then from the bottom of the grid, dribble quickly to the top of the grid and change directions with pace. Do this repeatedly, increasing your speed as you perform the drill.
Final Thoughts
Arguably the greatest soccer player to have ever existed, Lionel Messi is revered for the way he uses the basics to beat several men on the field.
Pep Guardiola, one of the best coaches in the world and the man responsible for unleashing Messi on the world, once said: “He is not just the best player because he can dribble past three or four players; it is because he does it better than anyone in the world.”
With little wasted movements, Messi shuffles from left to right, changes direction, alternates his feet (he is dominantly left-footed, however), and runs the length of the field with the ball.
Outside his immense talent, only a perfect mastery of the skills which the seven dribbling drills described in this article can bestow on a player could have helped him get to the level he is known for.
You, too, can be half as good as Messi. All you need is dedication and practice.
