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ball control in tight
situations
a progressive youth soccer coaching drill
designed to improve ball control
first published on
GiveMeFootball.com |
Good
close control of the football is very important, it is often the basic
skill that leads to better things in a players development.
Over
the years famous players admitted they were self taught - street
footballers seem to be of another generation now but kicking a tennis
ball around in the street was often the only route open to would be
footballers.
Whatever its limitations, some of Britain's all time greats probably
came up through that route - Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Wilf
Mannion readily spring to mind and their total control of the ball
suggested that street practice never did them any harm.
Recreating the situation they grew up in
is now out of the question, but there are practices designed to
develop ball control.
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Practice 1
In practice (1) a team of players x are all given a ball each, and at
a given signal they dribble the ball (using both feet) in and out of
the other players all inside an area of 10 metres x 12 metres.
The important thing
is that each player must avoid all the others, and must ensure that
their football doesn't come into contact with any player or any other
football. |
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Practice 2
To progress, the area is slightly
increased to a 12 metres square - again with all 11 players with a
ball each.
Again they have to avoid contact with the other 10.
To speed up the practice and to work on quicker control the coach
should now instruct each player they have 45 seconds to run the ball
to each line (marked A, B, C and D) stop it dead on the line before
moving to the next line. By adding a time limit it ensures each player
has to move quickly to each of the 4 lines and in so doing make it
more difficult to exert top quality control. Time limit can vary with
the technical ability and the age of the players involved. |
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Practice 3
To progress, 4 of the players now go on to the outside edge of the
square leaving 7 in the centre each with a ball.
The 4 on the edge (do
not have a ball to start). The X's in the centre run round keeping
close control of their ball until at the given signal they have 30
seconds to pass, and get a return pass from each of the 4 outside
players (X1 - X4).
Good passing is
essential, and players will have to constantly look up to see which of
the 4 outside men is available, at the same time avoiding the rest of
the players in the centre. |
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Practice 4
Now return to
each of the 11 in the square with a ball.
The idea now is for
each player to try and keep control of his ball, while at the same
time attempting to kick one of the other 10 footballs outside the
square.
As each players ball
goes out of the square so he is illuminated from the practice until
there is only 1 player left in possession of a ball within the square,
he is the winner. This develops competition and ensures players are
taught to look around them while controlling the ball.
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