A dribble in soccer is one of the most confusing concepts to grasp.
By definition, it’s simply the act of moving the ball while keeping control of it. But long-term and die-hard soccer fans don’t consider basic ball movements as dribbling.
It is the flicks, tricks, shimmies, dummies; it is the stepovers that get the crowd going that fans consider dribbling. What they overlook is that skillful players have their basic ball movement down pat.
In this article, you will learn about dribbling a soccer ball – the basic ball movements and how to manipulate the ball while on the move.
7 Steps to Dribble a Soccer Ball
Here are seven steps that can help you dribble a soccer ball.
Make Gentle Contact With the Ball
Since soccer is a game that requires incredible control, contact with the ball is a skill that all must master. Failure to master this skill makes one a poor and uncoordinated soccer player who will be overlooked by even their friends for a pickup game.
Your touch is important, especially in dribbling. Poor touches get the ball away from your feet and have you chasing it down like a mother chases her toddler who just learned to walk.
Learn how to touch the ball gently so that you can remain in contact with the ball. Initially, you will find yourself moving slowly.
As you master gentle touches, you will find yourself being able to accelerate with the ball at your feet. This is the art of dribbling a soccer ball.
Keep the Ball Close to Your Feet
Now we all know that most people cannot use both their legs. It is easier to touch the ball and move it along with your dominant leg.
However, effective dribbling means being able to control the ball with both feet; alternating between your more dominant foot and the less dominant one as you progress down the field.
This is why you must master your touch. As stated earlier, soft touches help you manipulate the ball easier, which keeps the ball within your control.
In dribbling, you will come in contact with defenders or obstacles. Once your control is on point and you can touch the ball between both feet, you have completed half of your learning.
The other half of your dribbling learning is in the rest of the article.
Dribble in and Out Through Cones With One Foot
Now comes the actual training part of your dribbling learning.
Dribbling a soccer ball in a soccer match means being able to keep the ball in constant motion and at close control while progressing down the field to the opponent’s goal and evading defenders.
What do you do when you can keep the ball in close control and can move it between both feet, but cannot evade defenders? You lose the ball, and your coaches lose trust in you. Your friends will use you as the ball/bag boy, too.
To avoid this, practice going in and out using soccer training cones.
Line up as many soccer training cones at whatever distance you can manage. Use shoes or anything that can be an obstacle if you don’t have cones.
Set the ball at your dominant foot – because this is the foot you will end up dribbling the most with – and run at the cones.
Go in and out with your dominant foot, using the inside and the outside of said foot to control the ball. Do it as many times as you can to master controlling the ball with both the inside and the outside of your foot.
Practice a Crossover Drill Through Cones With Both Feet
Now that you have the one-foot dribbling down pat, it’s time to learn two-foot dribbling. This is where crossover drills come in.
In this exercise, line cones in a zig-zag manner and not in a straight line. The reason for this is that it’ll force you to make use of both feet because dribbling can sometimes require you to manipulate the ball with both feet to get out of sticky situations in a soccer match.
Once the cones are lined up, start with the ball at your dominant foot. Run through the zig-zag and switch the ball to the other foot as you progress. This side-to-side motion teaches you how to change directions when dribbling.
Practice an Inside-outside Drill Through Cones With Both Feet
Line the cones back in a straight line for this drill which is performed with both feet. It is similar to the basic dribbling in and out with one foot but the difference is that you use both feet.
As you dribble through one cone with one foot, you pass it to the other foot. Dribble through the other cone with the other foot and pass it back to your starting foot.
Keep going inside and outside with both feet until you clear the cones. Do this as many times as you can to gain mastery of it.
This drill helps you maintain control of the ball when you have an opponent you must beat directly in front of you.
Practice Roll-inside Drills
Roll-inside is a touch-style dribbling that is deceptively good in a soccer match. It gives the defender the illusion that you want to move the ball at speed, meanwhile, you only slightly move the ball to be able to get away quickly from the defender with a change of pace. In essence, it sets you up for a change of pace.
How to do the roll-inside drill: Keep the cones lined up straight, start with your dominant foot, then roll the ball with the top of your dominant foot and stop it with the inside of the other foot. Do this as many times as you can to gain mastery.
Practice Passing the Ball Back and Forth Without Cones
This drill should come first, but I put it last on this list for a reason, and I’ll tell you why.
Dribbling is an action that involves motion. You do not dribble on a spot. This drill involves standing on a spot and passing the ball between your two feet.
However, it is something basic that can be done at any time in your dribbling practice. The other drills are things you must have down pat in order to move and manipulate the ball cleverly.
To make the best of this drill, pass the ball between the insides of both feet at varying speeds. You should also make sure to include forward and backward movements.
Final Thoughts
On a final note, I would like to reiterate that dribbling is not the flicks and tricks that extremely skilled players like Ronaldinho, Neymar Jr or Cristiano Ronaldo can perform with the ball.
It is the effective movement of the ball by the player to be able to get out of sticky situations.
Soccer players are faced with harsh defenses – players who want to take the ball away from you and even take you out psychologically or even physically (dirty players). Being able to manipulate the moving ball is important.
And as with every other soccer skill, practice makes perfect.
