One of the things that always strikes me when I watch a player like Lionel Messi play is how three dimensional his game is. Where most players are mostly two dimensional in their dribbling (meaning they always keep the ball on the ground and just dribble backwards, forwards, left or right), Messi incorporates short, controlled lifts of the ball to move it right over the feet of defenders. This skill takes the ability to quickly pop the ball up in the air, trap it, and maintain great control of the ball all at the same time to be successful.
This drill will help you develop all of these soccer skills in a single drill.
Start with 2 cones about 10 yards apart. Start next to one of the cones with a ball. Pop the ball up and do 5 very short, very quick juggling touches on the ball. Bring the ball down out of the air in a controlled manner, then do sideways tick tocks to the other cone. Once you reach the cone, pop the ball up, do 5 more juggles, then trap the ball and do sideways tick tocks back to the original cone. Repeat as many times as you’d like.
One of the nice things about this drill is that it gets you a lot of short, controlled touches on the ball in a short amount of time. It could easily be 40-50 touches on the ball just taking the ball back and forth between the cones. Remember, touches on the ball are how soccer players develop their dribbling abilities, so the more you can get in a short period of time, the better.
For more great soccer dribbling and individual ball control drills, check out my soccer ball control drill collection by clicking on the image below!
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If you’re looking for some great resources to get you started on your soccer training journey, check out our individual soccer drills page. These drills are all free and are intended to help you grow as a player.
For something a little more in-depth, check out our soccer training guides section.
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