NEW RECORD !!! U9 GIRL JUGGLING SOCCER BALL 585 TIMES.
How to juggle a soccer ball
Juggling With Your Thighs Step 1 - Hold the ball in your hands. Step 2 - Drop the ball. Step 3 - Bounce it back to your hands with your thigh. Step 4 - Repeat using your other thigh. Step 5 - Stop using your hands once you feel comfortable hitting the ball back and forth between your thighs. Step 6 - Count how many times you can thigh the ball before it hits the ground.
Juggling With Your Feet Step 1 - Hold the ball with your hands. Step 2 - Drop the ball. Step 3 - Kick the ball back to your hands with your foot cocked at a 90-degree angle. Step 4 - Repeat using your other foot. Step 5 - Stop using your hands once you're able to kick the ball from foot to foot in the air. Step 6 - See how many times you can kick the ball before it touches the ground.
Juggling With Your Head Step 1 - Hold the ball with your hands. Step 2 - Toss the ball several inches above your head. Step 3 - Head the ball back into the air. Step 4 - Repeat. Step 5 - See how many times you can head the ball continuously.
Dribbling is, perhaps, the most important skill you can develop as a player. You will be able to make the opposition ineffective by dribbling past them...and by dribbling you’re controlling the tempo of the game.
There are occasions when it’s wrong to dribble. The most skilled dribbler cannot always beat the opposition.
On Offense - If you are dribbling in the attacking third of the field, a 90% success rate is good and you can score plenty of goals.
On Defense– Don’t dribble near your goal. Just get rid of the ball and get it out of there. Every time you lose the ball you will present the opposition with a great chance to score, since the ball in near your goal
The lesson is? Don’t dribble in front of your own goal! Clear it out!
First things first- you have got to have confidence in yourself in order to pass a person while dribbling. To gain that confidence, you must feel as if you and the ball “are one”. In other words, you must feel as if that ball is part of you. Practice running back and forth with the ball using your dominant foot. Try touching the ball in different ways- outside, inside, outside, inside. Then try just outside or just inside. Once you have that down, try your weaker foot over and over again, doing the same as with your other foot. You must have 3 times more contact with your weak foot in order for you to improve significantly. Once you feel as if you are doing better, do it with both feet - outside, inside dominant then inside outside weaker. Be creative and do what feels comfortable. Once you have all of that down and you feel pretty confident, try some moves. But the moves should be the last thing you learn. Learn to be confident…You will only become confident if you, practice, practice, and practice some more. You must constantly feel the ball against your feet.
Some basic dribbling moves
Perform the "Stop and Go". For this move, the key is simply a change of pace. Jog slowly with the ball almost to the point of stopping. Usually it is best to do this as a defender is alongside of you and suddenly as you are jogging, burst past the defender. You can magnify the effect if you also put the sole of your foot on top of the ball for a second when you stop the ball, and then push it forward with your instep when you break off to perform the dribble again. Perform the "Fake Shot".Look up and towards what would be your target. Bring your leg back as though you are going to shoot to freeze the defense. Draw your leg back as though you are going to make a pass or take a shot, and then stop this motion just in front of the ball. You can then move the ball to the left or right to set yourself up for your next play, since the defender thought you were going to shoot. Try the "Cut Back" ("the Cruyff"). Cut the ball back behind your body with the inside of your foot. Plant your left foot to the side of the ball. Then bring your right foot up to cut the ball back. Do the reverse if you are cutting the ball back with your left foot.
You can often tie this in with a fake shot. Dribble into an open space and fake a pass or shot, and then chop the ball back with the inside of the foot you used to fake the pass or the shot. Dribble off in the other direction at speed. Start by dribbling the ball forward and plant your left foot near the ball as your right leg "winds-up" for a big kick or shot. However, instead of shooting, bring the right foot down and "chop" the ball backwards and underneath your left leg. Do the "Scissors". Swing your right foot over the ball in a outward motion and take the ball with the outside of your left foot. The steps of the move are the same, but in reverse if you are doing this move with your other foot. Practice the "Reverse Step Over". Bring your right foot around and over the top of the ball to the inside and plant your foot on the ground. While your foot is on the ground, kick the ball with the outside of your foot to the right. Always remember to accelerate after doing a move. This move is most often done while in a standing position. Do the reverse for your left foot. To perform the trick faster, do foot drills as in jogging backwards and dragging the ball backwards with you or jogging fowards and tapping the ball in front of you. Try and keep the ball close to you. Try the "Double Step Over". If the defender doesn't go for the first "step over", you can try this move. Take your right foot over the ball, and then swing your left foot over the ball. Take the ball away with the outside of your right foot - it's two swinging motions of each foot over the ball - and then break off at speed. Pull the "Inside Outside". Fake like you're going inside and then rush to the outside. With the inside of your foot on the ball, carry the ball a little bit to the inside a few steps (leaning in the direction you want the defender to think you are going). When the defender is off balance or not ready, push the ball to the outside with the outside of your foot, and dribble away at speed. Again, change of pace is key to all dribbling moves. Reverse the above for the "Outside Inside". Use the outside of your foot. This is usually more difficult because you don't have as much control with the outside of your feet in terms of surface area, so make the dragging of the ball to the outside a shorter distance. Push the ball to the outside a few touches and then break to the inside with the ball on the inside of your foot. Try "Dropping the Shoulder". Dribble directly at a defender and feint with the shoulder in one direction and dribble away in the other direction. You are ducking or leaning your shoulder down a little bit one way and taking off the other way. Thus the reason for calling this the "Dropping your Shoulder" technique. Remember to touch the ball with each step as you move towards the defender so that the ball is close to you and easier to control and touch to one side or the other. If you are dribbling the ball with your right foot, then you are going to fake with your right shoulder. Touch the ball to the left foot just after you drop your shoulder fake. Perform the "Sole of the Foot Turn". Dribble straight ahead with the right foot and then pull the ball back with the bottom of your right foot, bursting away in the opposite direction with a change of pace. "Scoop" it! Tempt the defender into diving for the ball, and lift the ball over the defender's foot just as he or she dives in. This is usually done while feinting one way and then scooping the ball the other way, just over the defender's planted foot. Make sure to take off with a burst of speed after you lift the ball over the defender's foot. Often, you'll want to scoop or lift the ball over the defender's foot onto your other foot, so that your body will be between you and the defender after you make the move. Have the ball on your right foot and scoop it over the defender's foot to your left foot. Your body is then between the ball and the defender. This move is usually done when you're in an almost-standing position, and the defender is rushing at you, or you're suckering the defender in and then lifting the ball over his or her foot as he or she comes towards you too fast. Do the "Lean". Lean to one side and carry the ball with you as if you are going to dart off with it. When the defender doesn't expect it, take off in the opposite direction that you are leaning towards. This move is also usually done when you are in a standing position, trying to beat a defender to get a cross or shot off for instance. Sucker them. Entice the defender to try to go for the ball, exposing the ball as if the defender can steal it, and when he or she makes a move to go for it, you cut the ball away and take off. Again, change of pace is the key when beating a defender on the dribble. This is why, when training, you touch the ball each time you dribble, so that you can gain greater control of the ball and make those sharp cuts to the side or back and entice, elude, frustrate, and really annoy defenders. Try the "Stepover Nutmeg". While dribbling, step over the ball with your right foot, and when the defender leans that way, hit the ball with your left foot. It will "Stepover Nutmeg" the defender every time. Do a "Fakie". Take a small quick touch to the right, and then touch it through the defender's now-open legs or around him or her, and run onto it to do a "Fakie". Get "Behind the Foot". When you are in a jam with a defender in front of you, try this move. Take a hard half step to the right side of the ball with your right foot. You want your opponent to stab to your right side. Pull the ball back with the sole of your right foot, when it is past your left foot, tap it across the back of your left foot and if possible, tap it forward. When done fast, this move works very well. Get the defender to shift his or her weight. Drag the ball with your right leg toward your left leg and do a stepover with your left leg and explode to the left. Do this smoothly and the defender will shift his or her weight to the opposite direction.
Remember the key point: change of pace after doing a move! Go at a slow pace before you do the move and then speed up after you do the move.
Juan Riquelme Teaches You How to Take a Free Kick - Why not learn from a master?
Sample Individual Practice Plan
Really, there's not much of a difference in say a fundamentals training session whether you're six or seventeen, it's all about spending time with the ball and making the ball do what you want to do and not vice versa.
When you take a break between activities, you can either juggle or do sit-ups and pushups.
15 minutes
Start out near half field, try to hit the cross bar with the ball. Use this a warm-up, jogging to retrieve the ball, and dribbling back with the right foot and then left foot, alternating. See if you can hit the cross bar with your left foot too. When striking the ball towards the crossbar, you're not trying to drive the ball or chip the ball, it's a combination of the two, don't follow through when you kick, rather stop just after you hit the ball, that way you'll get some lift under the ball. Mastering this will give you a great feel for the ball, so you can play the ball to any part of the field, to any player or space. Incorporate some stretching into this warm-up phase.
15 minutes
After trying to hit the cross bar five or six times, juggle with each foot twenty times - repeat this three or four times. Next, do a cycle, from left foot to right, to right thigh and then left thigh, and then up to the head and chest - repeat this four or five times. Try to make up your own cycles, say left foot to head and then to fight foot and back up to the head.
20 minutes
When you're done with that, find a wall to strike the ball against, practice driving the ball, this means hitting the ball with power, but controlled, so again, not following through when you strike the ball like when taking a shot, by stopping just after you hit the ball--there's not that much back spin on the ball like with a chip--more steady. Spend about ten minutes hitting the ball against the wall with both feet. Spend a few minutes than striking the ball against the wall with all the different parts of your foot--inside, outside, and instep of both feet.
10 minutes
Moving on, kick the ball up in the air as high as you can and control the ball with the instep of your foot, see if you can actually steer the ball to one side when you're controlling it, as if there was a defender on you - repeat five or six times.
10 minutes
Next, try dribbling at speed twenty yards or so, touching the ball with each step but going as fast as you can.
Last, run through another cycle of juggling, vary your routine, two juggles on the right foot and then two on the left, then three on the right and three on the left, going up to ten.
5-10 minutes
Take a slow job around the field with the ball at your foot to cool down.
Improve Your Moves - Skills & Drills
If you’ve learned anything on this site, it’s that your success as a soccer player depends on much more than how well you can kick the ball. The fate of the game rests on strategy, teamwork, and decision-making. That being said, there are several skills and techniques that’s you’ll want to have developed, if not perfected, so that you can tap into them when you need to.
Shoulder Feint
Dip the shoulder to one side and go in the opposite direction. Step into the direction you are faking with your shoulder and take off with the ball in the other direction, almost with a spinning motion. It's a shoulder fake to the right, then you dribble off or turn with the ball to the left . Do the reverse to go the other way: Fake to the left (lean) and dribble off by turning to the right.
You’ll want to do this with your back towards the defender. Before turning, and when you have a defender on your back, throw in feints as if you are going to go in one direction, when you really intend to go the other way. Feint to the side by dipping your shoulder.
As a midfielder, however, you might want to have your body half turned already, and open to the field. This turn coupled with the fake with your shoulder is useful if you are marked tightly and coming back to the ball with a defender right on top of you and need to spin away.
Spinning with the Inside of the Foot
Use the inside of your foot to spin around with the ball. You’re using the inside of your foot for control and pulling the ball around to open up into the new direction you want to go in. That way, you are immediately open to the entire field and can make a pass with the inside of your foot on your next step.
The Dummy Turn
If the ball is played at the right pace and you think the defender is too close to you, you can let the ball run through your legs and turn and beat your opponent to the ball. Also, if you know your teammate is behind you and open, you can let the ball run through your legs and go through to your teammate, and they then can play the ball to back to you - much like a give and go.
This is very effective for forwards to learn. The ball can be played to the forward who's checking back, who lets it run through his or her legs or just lets the ball go by them and quickly turns to get the ball back from the deeper forward who is posting up.
When the two forwards are lined up, one should always be closer to the midfield. The forwards should try to work in tandem and stay ten or fifteen yards from one another, one stretching the defense the other closer to the midfield. The forwards can rotate and switch these positions through the course of the game, but often the taller forward posts up high to win head balls, while the other forward tries to win the knock downs or anticipate a flick (off of a goal kick or punt, for instance).
Forwards can also clip the ball into the other forward’s path and work a give and go. Instead of a dummy and letting the ball go past them completely, they can get a touch on the ball or flick the ball on to the forward, using the pace of the ball to spin the ball into the other forward, perhaps around a defender. Watch how this is done by Juventus and Trezeguet, he does the dummy run and then turns to receive the ball perfectly.
Communicate
Listen to your teammates, especially if they say turn or time or man on – take their advice. They can make things a lot easier for you. It’s really important to communicate on the field and let your teammates know when they have time or when there is pressure coming. It’s a good habit to get into, if you play the ball, pass along a message too – time, turn, man on, you’ve got time, go at them, and so forth.
More on Crossing: Get the Ball in the Box
As a winger or wide midfielder, it’s important to get the ball in the goal box. That means serving the ball across the goal mouth. Whip the ball in and put it in with pace. This makes it easier for the targeted player to redirect the ball on goal and also helps avoid getting the ball cut out or blocked by a defender.
Get accustomed to crossing the ball when you have the opportunity. You don't have to always beat the defender. The defender, who is marking you, will begin to think you are going to cross it every time, and that’s when you take the player on and go down the line to cut the ball back or take a shot yourself.
Plus, you don't need to reach the end line to cross the ball. You can and should cross the ball from any point over the half line, as long as you are trying to pick out someone directly or if you are leading a player with a cross or long pass - as that player makes a run towards goal.
Stock Ball
With this play, you’re trying to get to the end touchline and lay the ball back to a teammate. As a team, you can try to seek this kind of situation out: Get the ball wide to a midfielder who can take the defender on and cut the ball back across the goal mouth. You want to make it difficult for both the goal keeper and the defense to keep their eyes on the ball and the player they’re marking.
There are numerous options, but another could be playing the ball down the line to a forward, who has made a diagonal run, who can then turn and cut the ball back to a teammate across the goal mouth. This could be a quick early pass across the goal mouth, too.
As a rule, if you can beat your defender down the line, then go for it. But if you can bend the ball around the defender or feint and get enough space to get the cross in, go for that.
Be aware of where your forwards are so you can time the pass correctly and have the ball meet them at the right time and pace as they move towards the goal. Try to pick someone out with your pass. A stock ball is an ideal play that often leads to an assured goal.
Soccer Fundamentals
A few tips for young players, key aspects of the game to keep in mind, both defensively and and when attacking. Of course, don't forget to enjoy yourself when playing, try new things on the pitch and take players on. A player who cares about his team. He's always smiling and cheering his teammates on. Above all, he wants the ball and wants to make things happen. That's infectious.
Send this page to a friend or teammate:
General
Keep high concentration at all times.
Stay fit - endurance and strength.
Be positive and play your best.
Have realistic expectations of teammates.
Communicate on the field (don't scream or blame each other).
Have the ability to combine with players.
Show creativity and vision.
Play the way you're facing (play simple).
Defensively
Be aware at all times.
Play smart and anticipate.
Always get behind the ball on defense.
Stay on the goal side when defending.
When challenged, make the play predictable so your teammate can anticipate the next pass or play.
To make a player commit, take a quick step forward and quickly back off using your body to block the run. Not obstructing the player but anticipating the play.
When faced with a two on one: buy time until help arrives (concede space a bit of space, don't dive in); take away the pass and force the ball in one direction.
Always recover centrally (toward the penalty spot).
Always find a free player and mark-up.
Offensively
Keep it simple.
Have vision of the entire field.
Play the ball back when options are limited or dangerous.
Always look around before collecting a pass.
Have a first time pass in mind before collecting the ball.
Be calm with the ball.
Always be in position to support teammates.
Give options to player with the ball (check in and check out asking for the ball).
Keep your elbows up and use your body to protect and shield the ball.
Take on players in offensive third of the field.
Dribble toward defender until he leaves his mark then pass or beat him.
Key Training Tips
Get lots of touches on the ball.
Small sided games help develop creativity and skill (keep the training area small so players have less time on the ball, must make quick decisions and are always under pressure).
