Dribbling Drills
Some soccer leagues play and practice exclusively indoors while others are occasionally forced inside the constraints of the gymnasium by inclement weather. Either way, there are many drills for indoor soccer that allow players to build on their skills such as dribbling, goalkeeping, and short distance passing.
These drills for indoor soccer focus mainly on dribbling, since it’s a skill that doesn’t require much physical space in order to practice. A good dribbler is not born overnight, but rather hones their skills for years by performing a series exercises daily. Try some of these drills for indoor soccer once players have a solid understanding of the foundations of dribbling in place and are ready to take their skills to the next level.
Beehive and King of the Hill
This first dribbling drill is called “Beehive”. For this drill, mark off a square that allows for approximately 1 square yard per player. If the team has 20 players, the square should be about 20 yards long and wide. Each player has a ball and starts at a random point inside the square.
At the sound of the coach’s whistle, players begin dribbling the ball around the square using proper dribbling technique for both inside and outside foot dribbling. The goal of the drill is to avoid the other players and maintain control of their ball within the confines of the square. Once players have a basic understanding of the drill, the size of the square can be decreased in order to increase the difficulty required for continued, controlled dribbling.
Next, here’s another dribbling drill performed in a 20 yard square. To begin this drill called “King of the Hill” each player has a ball except for one player who is “it”. At the sound of the coach’s whistle, players begin dribbling their balls around the square while the player who is “it” tries to kick everyone’s balls out of the grid.
There are a number of variations to this drill. Some teams play that once a ball has been kicked from the grid, that player must sit out for the remainder of the drill. Others play that once a player loses their ball, they join the side of the “it” player and attempt to knock balls from the remaining players in the square.
Attack and Protect and Shadow Dribbling
This drill, called “Attack and Protect” is like a combination of the previous two drills. It also takes place within a 20 yard square, and this time each player is given a ball that they must protect while simultaneously trying to kick the ball away from the other players in the square. Once a player’s ball has exited the square three times, they are out of the drill.
“Shadow Dribbling” is a good drill for teaching players to keep their heads up while engaging in controlled dribbling. Divide the team into pairs, and give each player a ball. One from each pair will begin as the leader while the other is the follower.
The leader begins dribbling the ball while the follower follows the leader, also dribbling the ball. Encourage the leaders to change direction, pace and technique frequently. After a few minutes, have the players switch positions and repeat the exercise.