Tips to Develop Your Dribbling Skills!

1. Every time you contact the ball in soccer, it’s called a “touch.” By using gentle touches, you contact the ball more often, which will slow you down initially, but as you get used to making more contact with the ball, it will allow you to advance quickly, but with more control over the ball.

• The more your foot touches the ball, the more control you have over the ball's movement.

2. Keep your knees bent as you pass the ball back and forth between the insides of your feet. Your body should be between the defender and the ball. You'll also be able to change direction faster.

• When you keep the ball close to your feet, defenders have a more difficult time intercepting the ball. This is also called shielding the ball.

3. To dribble, or move the ball downfield, you'll need to pass the ball back and forth between the insides of your feet. At the same time, gallop, don't just run, downfield. Galloping will let you keep the ball close to your foot at all times. The hip and foot placement that comes from galloping will also help propel you downfield. Keep the leading edge of your foot forward as you’re galloping. This keeps contact between the ball and the leading edge of your foot, giving you the most speed and balance.

• This doesn’t apply to making cuts, stops, direction changes, etc. This is just for moving the ball downfield with as much speed and control as possible.

4. Beginners, especially, tend to use most of their field of vision on the ball as they develop dribbling skills. Instead, you should practice keeping the ball at the bottom of your peripheral vision as early in the learning process as possible.

• By keeping the ball in your lower field of vision, you can more easily maintain awareness of the rest of the field. This can help you see holes in defenses, open teammates, scoring positions, etc.

5. Change the pace. Proceeding in an easily predictable manner is the easiest way to get hung up by a defender. Practice changes in your dribbling pace. This way, you can more fluidly change pace in confusing ways on the field to throw defenders off balance.

6. Use your body to protect the ball. Shield the ball with your body when a defender gets close. You can use your whole body to protect the ball. Use your arms, legs, and shoulders to keep the defender away from the ball. Just don't push or kick your opponent. You can also try to keep the ball on the foot that is furthest from the defender.