NSCAA Coaching Academy Technical Series - Dribbling

A vital technique for young players, a crucial component of any team's attack

With an effective training session, a coach can make a difference with individual players, as well as the team. Through training, the player can improve his or her individual skills and improve his or her tactical decision-making skills. As these physical and mental skills develop, the team will evolve into a more dangerous and intelligent attacking force..

This series of articles will offer a logical progression of a training session devoted to dribbling. Ideas offered by members of the NSCAA National Coaching staff are incorporated into the article, and the training session follows the progression that is emphasized in the NSCAA Coaching Academies. The training session focuses on the three types of dribbling - possession, speed and attacking - and will evolve from the warm-up to the fundamental stage, then to the tactical stage, match-related conditions and finally to the match-condition stage.

Part 1 of this series will deal with possession and speed dribbling.

Although this particular training session incorporates the three types of dribbling into one session, coach Jeff Vennell notes that each individual type of dribbling can be the object of a training session. If a coach senses the need to make the session specific to a type of dribbling, he or she should be comfortable in doing so.

Warm-up
Organization: Designate an appropriate area on the field. The size of the space may range from the field's center circle to the penalty area to an entire half of the field. The size depends on the number of players and their skill level. The better the skill, the smaller the space should be (see Diagram 1). In executing the warm-up, the players dribble about the area following the commands of the coach. The commands may vary from dribbling with various surfaces of the feet and dribbling for tight control to individual offensive moves to changing direction with speed. If a coach or team is familiar with particular moves, (i.e., Coerver moves) they may be demonstrated and practiced during this time. It might be a good idea for players to individually demonstrate such maneuvers or individual moves you have noted they excel in. In this way, you help in the development of their sel f-confidence and the honing of their leadership skills.

The intensity of the workout should increase throughout the duration of the warm-up, and even though it is a warm-up, the coach should stress the importance of proper feinting and the explosion after the feint is executed. Also, vision is being worked upon as the players must keep their heads up to avoid collisions with other players and find open space.

This warm-up is economical in nature in that it is a mild cardiovascular workout while the player is becoming acclimated to the major emphasis of the training session.

Fundamental/tactical training

The training session focuses on shielding, speed dribbling and attacking with the dribble. With each type of dribbling, the coach can utilize a fundamental stage where there is no pressure, and gradually introduce pressure to make the exercise more tactical in nature.

Shielding

Organization: 10 x 10-yard grid with four players to a grid (see Diagram 2).

To begin this part of the session, player A plays the ball to player B. Player B shields the ball from player C for five seconds. Player C then receives a ball from player D and will shield the ball from player B. The defensive pressure should intensify each time, but the defender should not steal the ball. This restriction is imposed to give players a chance to be successful in perfecting their shielding skill. The players in the middle will switch after five trials each.

More pressure is added at the next stage. Players should match up for a one-minute game of keep away in the grid. There are no goals, for the focus of the drill is possession by shielding. By rotating players through this several times, the coach can increase the intensity of the defender each time. At first, the defender may be restricted from stealing the ball, but the intensity should be increased to the point it is an all-out game of keep away. The players on the side have balls that can be put into play, so that the players in the middle work the entire minute. When the minute is up, two players from the side rotate into the grid for their minute's practice. Perhaps of importance are the matchups in each grid. By carefully selecting which players are opposing each other, the coach can assure that equal 1v1 competitions are taking place in each work area (see Diagram 3).

The coach can use this part of the session to cover the major teaching points regarding shielding. These important fundamentals include keeping the body between the ball and the defender, playing the ball with the farthest foot from the defender, keeping the body at a correct angle to the defender so the player does not have his back turned away from opportunities in front, legally using the arm to make space and moving either laterally or away from the defender. The object is to keep possession as long as possible, and wait for the defender to over commit. If this occurs, the player can move to an open space and resume the shielding.

Along with the technical training, players also will develop a tactical awareness of when to move to open space with the ball. All field players should participate in this training, as players in every position are faced with situations in which shielding is necessary. Finally, the one-minute grid work is very economical in that it is great fitness training for the players.