One of the most thrilling aspects of any soccer game is performing free soccer drills, I am sure you would agree with me in this regard. One of the basic faults that players make when dribbling a soccer ball is that they focus more on the ball and don’t know what is happening around them.
I will share with you a drill that has often been used repeatedly during soccer practice to teach young players to dribble a soccer ball because they love it. The drill teaches the players to seek and make the maximum utilization of space.
The biggest hurdle faced by the coach is to make the young soccer player aware of his environment while having control of the ball under his feet.
The most often used drill to teach the young players to keep their heads up while dribbling is also a lot of fun apart from teaching valuable skills.
This drill is far better than other soccer exercises which makes the players just dribble around the cones because it gives the opportunity to feel the ball and for the space close to them for their utilization.
1.On an average start by marking out a square of size 20 * 20 yards (change the square size depending upon number of players and age).
2.Hand over the balls to the one half positioned on the opposite side of the square. These players are named as the attackers.
3. Next, have the other half of the players spread out and cover the square. These players are named as crabs.
4.Crabs use their hands to protect themselves after sitting down. These players can walk around using their hands and feet only.
We can accomplish both a lot of learning and yet have fun during these free soccer drills.
Upon the coaches’ whistle, all the players dribble the ball to the opposite side and stop the ball on the line opposed to them. The attackers are renamed as Crabs, when the original crab attacks the attackers. The game comes to a conclusion only when one Attacker is left and he is declared as the winner.
The Crab learns the importance of teamwork by refusing space to the attackers and tries to take the ball away from them; it’s really a win-win situation in soccer coaching.
It’s a simple but effective way of teaching the players to dribble with their heads up, cross the defenders, and avoid bumping into each other as they move across the square.
The final inference is every player has the ability to be more alert, to react quickly and to run faster. These free soccer drills help achieve better acceleration and decision making speed.
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About the author
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.
