Dribbling & Beating DefendersDefending & Winning the BallBall Control Under PressureIntermediateFoundationalU9-U10Focused Drill

1v1 Loose Ball Battle

10-15 min Partner, Group 1 soccer ball, 4 cones for the grid, 2 mini goals or 2 dribble gates

Listen to your Coach

Coach Carter

A short spoken walk-through of this drill.

Goal

Win the loose ball and successfully dribble through the gate or score in the mini goal.

Setup

Create a 15x15 yard grid with a goal or gate on opposite end lines. Players line up at opposite corners of the same side line.

Drill Instructions

1. The coach prompts play by kicking a ball into the grid at random. 2. Both players sprint from their corners to win the ball. 3. The player who wins possession becomes the attacker and tries to score in the opposite goal. 4. If the defender wins the ball back, they can counter-attack immediately and try to score.

Coach Tip

Keep your body between the opponent and the ball as soon as you make contact.

Avoid

Lunging into the tackle with a high center of gravity, which leads to losing balance.

Court diagram coming soon

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