by Karen Stanley, NSCAA Women's Committee Chair
 

      The more contact your players have with the ball, the better they can develop their ball touch. Therefore, you may want your practices to have maximum ball touches for each player.

       Here’s a suggestion: Start each practice with 10 to 30 minutes of dribbling and moves. Each player, including your goalkeepers, need to have a ball. Begin by giving them directives, one at a time, and mix it up. Call a different directive every 30 seconds or every minute. Have them stretch in between. Focus on your players using vision and using change of direction and change of pace. Here are some you can try:

• Dribble with your right foot only; now with your left foot only
   
• Use the inside of the feet only, touch ball on every step
   
• Dribble with the outside of both feet; now with the inside only
   
• Use the inside and outside of your left foot only, touch on every step; now with the right foot
   
• Use the laces only, and change your pace
   
• Rake the ball with the sole of your right foot; now the sole of your left
   
• Rake three times to the left, and once to the right, and then straight ahead
   
• Stop the ball with the sole of your right foot, and accelerate immediately
   
• Do a step over move with your left foot
   
• Pull the ball back with the sole of your right foot, explode into space
   
• Cut the ball with the inside of your left foot; now with the outside
   
• Change direction; now, change pace
   
• Do an “L” move, left inside to right inside; now right to left
   
• Jump up for a header, as you push the ball ahead of you
   
• Now do a push-up; now a sit-up; now a somersault
   
• Juggle the ball with your feet only, now dribble again
   
• “Switch” on the command with another teammate, your ball with theirs
   
• Push the ball forward with the sole of your feet; now pull

Created: 12/20/99
Last Updated: 05/14/03

Since February 24, 1999
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  Web Administrator    Ken Gamble