Setup

• Each player has a ball
• Set down cones to make a 40×30 steps field for 10 players – larger if more players
  • Anything can be a cone (an article of clothing, a water bottle, any marker)
  • Set cones every ten steps
• Do not set up any goals
  • If there are goals, players will shoot on them and not listen to you
• Demonstrate each drill / game before starting it

Drill 1 – 5 minutes

• Dribble the ball anywhere within the field of play, using only your feet
  • Remind players that they can use any part of their foot
• Use the entire space
  • Do not let players bunch up
• Keep the ball close while dribbling
  • Can the players run and keep the ball under control
  • Players who are walking should be urged to run
  • Players who are running too fast should be urged to slow down in order to stay under control

Game 1 – “Lights” – 5 minutes

Objective: Follow directions to get to the opposite side of the field

• Players line up on one of the long (40 steps) sidelines
• You are on the opposite sideline
• Game: Call out a color light
  •  Green light: they run and dribble towards you
  •   Yellow light: they walk and dribble towards you
  •   Red light: they stop the ball with the bottom of their foot – the sooner the better (Remember the HINT from the previous drill: keep the ball close to you)
  •   Disco light: they stop and give you their best dance moves
• If players advance too fast because they are not under control, send them back to their last spot
  • There are no winners for reaching the opposite sideline first, everyone goes at their own pace
• After players reach the opposite sideline, you go to the other side and do it again

Drill 2 – 5 minutes

• Use cones to set up two circles within the field of play
  • Send half of the team to one circle and half of the team to the other circle
  • You will use these two circles for the rest of the practice
• Dribble around the outside of the circle
  • Everyone goes in the same direction
• Every minute or so, switch which direction you are dribbling in

Game 2 – “Relay” – 5 minutes

• Remind players to keep the ball close to them so they can control where it goes
• One player at a time on each circle
  • The other players line up inside the circle to wait their turn
• Dribble around the circle once
  • When finished, a teammate takes the ball and does the same
• Once everyone is done going around once, do it again, going the other way
• Repeat two or three times

Drill 3 – 5 minutes

• Same as Drill 2, except players now slalom through the cones
  • If you go to the right of the first cone, go to the left of the next cone

Game 3 – “Slalom Relay” – 5 minutes

• Same as Game 2, except the players now slalom through the cones

Game 4 – “Ball Retriever Circle Challenge” – 10 minutes

• Objective: Dribble a ball back to your base after completing a dribbling challenge around the circle
• Setup
  • Put a couple of cones down to create a base in two opposing corners of the field
    • Half of the team lines up behind one base, the other half lines up behind the other base
  • Put all of the balls in the two circles
    • Number of balls in a circle = Number of players in the corresponding base
  • 2 players go at a time, starting from their bases in opposing corners of the field
    • The players are not competing to beat the other player, but to complete the challenge
      • The rest of the players line up behind their base and wait their turn
• When you say “Go!” the players run to the balls and dribble them by slaloming around the circle
• After getting around the circle, the player dribbles the ball back to the base
• The next 2 players go
• When everyone has completed the challenge, do it again but this time dribble in the other direction

Drill 4 – 5 minutes

• Dribble inside the circle
  • Less space requires more effort to control the ball

Drill 5 – 5 minutes

• Teach the players to “shield” the ball
  • Put your body between the ball and the opponent trying to steal the ball
    • Keep the ball close enough to you to control it but far enough from the opponent to steal it
• Interchangeably call out “dribble” or “shield”
  • “Dribble” – players will continue to dribble inside the circle
  • “Shield” – players will stop the ball with the bottom of their foot and put their body between the ball and an “imaginary opponent”

Game 5 – “Cookie Monster” – 5 minutes

• Recruit two “cookie monsters”
  • Two adults – one for each circle
    • You could be one of them, but it is better for you to coach and correct the players
• Ball = cookie, for the purposes of this game,
• Players dribble inside the circle
  • When a cookie monster approaches them, they shield the cookie by getting between it and the cookie monster
  • When cookie monster leaves, the players continue to dribble

End Practice

• 1,2,3 Go “team name”!