Dribbling: quick links

Dribbling courses:

If you’ve developed good dribbling control, you can test your skills by trying different dribbling courses. Have a friend or parent time you to see how many reps you can get, or how long it takes to complete a course. Keep practicing, and see if you can break your record!

Figure-8 dribbling course:

Dribbling in a figure-8 pattern is one of the best ways to develop dribbling control! Check our separate figure-8 dribbling page for video demos and descriptions of different figure-8 dribbling activities.

Diamond dribbling course:

If you’re becoming a ruler with figure-8 dribbling, take it to the next level by trying the diamond dribbling course.

Figure-8s are great, but diamonds open up a bunch more options to sharpen your dribbling skills and keep you challenged. Setup a diamond and let your imagination run wild:

Make the diamond big or small, short or tall, wide or narrow
Dribble around the diamond, through the diamond, or both
Use simple cuts to change directions, or add trickier dribbling moves
Restrict touches to your second best foot
Time yourself: how many reps can you get in 60 seconds?
Go multiple reps, or finish each rep with a pass or a shot on goal

5-4-3-2-1 dribbling course:

Setup six cones (or shoes, cans, pineapples) in a line. “o” is the soccer ball; “x” is a cone. The first two cones are 5 yards apart, the next are 4 yards apart, then 3, then 2 and finally the last two cones are one yard apart.

o x—–x—-x—x–x-x

Start by “slalom” dribbling through the cones, down and back, using both feet. Have your mom or dad or a friend time you to see how long it takes to go through the course. See if you can set a new record!

5-4-3-2-1 keys to success:

When the cones are far apart, you can take longer touches to stay at speed.
When the cones are closer together, you need to take quick, soft touches to keep control.

5-4-3-2-1 variations:

Use your right foot only.
Use your left foot only.
Make it really challenging by only using the outside of your feet.

The “zigzag” dribbling course:

This course requires a series of 90-degree turns (credit to German coach Peter Schreiner).

Zigzag sequence (see player A1):

Dribble forward at an angle (diagonal outside).
Do a 90-degree left turn at the first cone and dribble diagonally inside.
Do a 90-degree right turn at the next cone and dribble diagonally outside.
Repeat the pattern (diagonal outside / left turn / diagonal inside / right turn) four times.
When you reach the end, return on the other side.

Players start freestyle, choosing their own methods for dribbling through the course. You can add conditions, requiring a specific dribbling foot or types of moves. This course is perfect for practicing inside and outside cuts, twist-offs, V-pulls, and fakes such as the step-over, scissors, in-out and wind-up.

If you have multiple players, you can make it a race. You can also add goals at the end of the course to add a ball-striking element to the activity.

The “thunderbolt” dribbling course:

This course requires a mix of turns, some at a sharp angle, some at a 90-degree angle, some at a wider angle. The dribbling pattern looks like a lightning bolt (credit to German coach Peter Schreiner).

Thunderbolt sequence (see player A1):

Dribble forward at an angle (diagonal).
Do a sharp turn at the first cone and dribble inside.
Do a 90-degree at the next cone and dribble forward.
Do a wide turn at the next cone to start the next diagonal run.
Repeat the pattern (diagonal / inside / forward) three times.
When you reach the end, return on the other side.

Thunderbolt variations:

Players start freestyle, choosing their own methods for dribbling through the course. You can add conditions, requiring a specific dribbling foot or types of moves.
After a few rounds, switch your starting position (player A1) to the top of the thunderbolt. This works turns in the opposite direction.
If you have multiple players, you can make it a race. You can also add goals at the end of the course to add a ball-striking element to the activity.

The “comb” dribbling course:

This course combines 90-degree and 180-degree turns. The pattern makes the course look like a comb (credit to German coach Peter Schreiner).

Here’s a group of 9 players dribbling through a 2-fold comb course. The activity works just fine with just a single player, but adding more players adds more traffic, and makes it a bigger challenge.

Comb sequence (see player A1):

Dribble forward.
Do a 90-degree turn at the first cone and dribble inside.
Do a 180-degree turn at the next cone and dribble back outside.
Do a 90-degree turn at the previous cone and go forward.
Repeat the pattern (forward / inside / outside) three times.

Comb variations:

Players start freestyle, choosing their own methods for dribbling through the course. In the video above, players are doing step-over fakes for the 90-degree turns, and pullbacks for the 180-degree turns
You can add conditions, requiring a specific dribbling foot or specific types of moves.
After a few rounds, switch your starting position (player A1) to the top of the comb. This works 90-degree turns in the opposite direction.
If you have multiple players, you can make it a race. You can also add goals at the end of the course to add a ball-striking element to the activity.

Combination dribbling courses:

You can create dribbling courses that combine running with the ball (speed in open space), slalom dribbling (control in tight space) and dribbling moves. Here are videos of players dribbling through what we call the “M” course.

We call it the “M” course because it looks a little like the letter M. Have your mom or dad see how long it takes you to get through the course. Keep practicing and see if you can set a new record.

Start with the ball between cones 1 & 2, facing the “A” symbol.
Take a touch away (toward the “A”), then do a dribbling turn and come back through the starting cones. This is open space, so use running with the ball technique — push the ball out from your body to stay at speed — until you get close to cone 3.
Do a slalom dribble around cones 3 through 7. There are a lot of quick changes of direction in this part of the course. Make sure you keep the ball under control (quick, light touches), and keep a good posture (head and chest over the ball).
Explode after you go around cone 7 and run with the ball through cones 8 & 9. You can do a dribbling turn or go around the cones and start the return part of the course.
Repeat the slalom dribble going back the other way (cones 7 through 3).
After you round the last slalom cone (cone 3), explode and finish by going through the starting gate.

How fast can you make it through the course?