Kids Soccer Drills : How To Develop Dribbling Skills


I don’t know a thing about you, but I’ll bet that anyone who has played soccer will know the significance of dribbling in kids soccer drills. Dribbling is the art of maintaining control of the ball while moving around in the field. It is one of the first soccer skills taught to the kids at the beginning level.

But the question is how important are the dribbling skills? If you want your kids to develop dribbling skills, regular drills are the best thing to do. It teaches the kids the basic movements to drive the ball well. Dribbling the ball by keeping it close to you is used to develop the ability to get ahead of several opponents without losing control of the ball.

To become a good dribbler, you need to spend time with the ball and take to heart these key fundamentals. Kids soccer drills coach the kids to use the surface of their foot. Most often they will be using the front portion of their instep, especially when dribbling at a high speed.

However, to be a good dribbler, ensure that the kids are expert at using the inside and outside of both feet. This way they can keep control of the ball irrespective of where the defensive pressure comes from. Also teach them to use both sides of the foot, like a hockey stick.

Soccer drills for kids must ensure they touch the ball with every step taken with the ball. The ball is tapped keeping it in front while dribbling it. This allows the young players to take good control and increase the dribbling speed with the ball.

This has the effect of eluding the defenders when they try to get close to the ball to capture it. So set out gradually and concentrate at this in the beginning when kids are practicing to ensure that they are getting a feel of the ball with every step.

Instruct kids in youth soccer drills to keep altering the speed. It’s not necessary for the kids to be exceptionally fast to beat the opponent on the dribble. Rather, put the defender to sleep for a moment and then break past the rival with great speed.

Guide the kids to constantly keep an eye on the ball. They need to be both aware of the surroundings and maintain focus on the ball while dribbling.

Help them improve upon their weak foot. Soccer drills for youth should include continuous striking of the ball against a wall using the bad foot which will help them improve slowly. In the spare time, kids should play about with a soccer ball. Tell them to sit down, take a ball and use the weaker foot to just roll it back and forth. The more it is done, the more control can be maintained with the ball.

So, there you have it! Kids soccer drills should teach the kids to use their body to defend the ball. The ball must be protected with the body when a defender comes close. For more such tips on dribbling and other soccer coaching techniques, enroll for our youth soccer coaching community.

Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in Kids soccer drills. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free Youth Soccer Drills guide visit: Soccer Training Drills.

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