There are very few soccer drills that are better for improving your dribbling skills quickly than the slalom. The slalom is an individual soccer drill that helps you develop your balance, quickness, dribbling skills, direction changes, and your ball control. The way that the slalom helps you develop all these skills is by making you make a series of very quick, very controlled turns in a very small space.
What you will need to do the slalom soccer drill
A soccer ball
8 Cones
Take the cones and set them up in a straight line approximately 1-3 feet apart depending on your comfort level. If you find that you are struggling with the drill, move the cones apart a little more to give yourself some more space. Start at one end of the line and dribble back and forth through the cones.
There are several variations you can do with this drill in order to develop different skills. This post contains five soccer slalom drill variations to help you develop your dribbling skills.
Variation 1 – Right foot only
Develop your touch with your right foot! Dribble through the cones using only your right foot. This drill variation will help you practice using both the inside and outside of your right foot. Try to touch the ball only twice on each side of the cones
Variation 2 – Left foot only
Dribble through the cones using only your left foot. This drill variation will help you practice using both the inside and outside of your left foot. Try to touch the ball only twice on each side of the cones. This variation may be difficult for right footed players. Go slow and keep trying and you can develop your touch with your left foot as well!
Variation 3 – Inside Inside Slalom
Dribble through the cones using only the inside of both your feet. On the right side of the cones, use the inside of your right foot. On the left side of the cones, use only the inside of your left foot. Ideally, you should try to only touch the ball twice on each side of the cones. One touch will be to push the ball through the cones. The second touch will be to push the ball forward to the next gap in the cones.
Variation 4 – Outside Inside Slalom
Alternate between using the inside of one foot and the outside of the other to dribble through the cones. Use the inside of your foot the push the ball forward into proper position so you can use the outside of your other foot to push the ball between the cones. This forces you to have good balance and timing, as well as becoming very light on your feet.
Variation 5 – Slalom with an Inside Roll
This last variation teaches you to use the sole of your foot to move the ball laterally (side to side). Push the ball forward with the inside of one foot, then with the sole of that same foot roll the ball between the cones. Push the ball forward with the inside of your other foot, then use the sole of that foot to roll the ball through the next gap in the cones.
These soccer slalom drills are great dribbling drills to help you with your ball control. Doing these drills consistently has done wonders for me in the past in developing my control with the ball. I recommend picking a couple of these drills and spending 15 minutes a night practicing them. If you just spend a little time every night, you’ll be amazed at the benefits to your game!
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For more free individual soccer drills, visit our free drills section.
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