Home

News Detail

4

Sep, 2012

Practice Your Dribbling Skills

We want everyone to be able to dribble quickly in a straight line and also avoid defenders/traffic by being able to do some very basic turns and switchbacks. I play them up with the kids as being "tricks," but these are not really in the nature of true "tricks" yet. (Trust me, we'll get there eventually.)

Yesterday we focused on several:
(1) a simple pull-back or "reverse," which is putting the foot on top of the ball, pulling the ball backward, and going in the opposite direction.
(2) a "hook turn," which is another 180-degree move in which the player steps a bit in front of the ball with one foot and then uses the outside of the opposite foot to kick the ball backwards (then turn around and dribble back in that direction).
(3) a "fake reverse," which is started the same as (1) but then the player pushes the ball forward and continues in the same direction.
(4) a "Matthew," which is to make a 90-degree left or right turn, where the player leans one way and then uses the outside of the opposite foot to push the ball away (90-degrees). So, if I'm going right, I lean left and then use the outside of my right foot to push the ball to the right, then I chase after it.

In coming weeks, we will be adding:
(1) a "cut" (which is like the hook turn but uses the INSIDE of the foot instead of the outside),
(2) a Zico (which is a fancier version of the Matthew that involves first stepping over the ball as part of the fake), and
(3) a Maradona (a fancier version of the "fake reverse" in that you use this move to throw off the defender but continue moving in the same direction).

We will continue working on these in the coming weeks, so by the end of the Fall everyone will have these moves mastered. You can go on YouTube and find some demonstrations if you are unfamiliar want to work on them with your kids outside of practice.

National Partners