Dribbling - Exercise:

Highway

Competitive speed dribbling for kids on the motorway

Do your soccer protégés have problems with speed dribbling? A competition takes place on a straight stretch of this motorway to teach kids how to dribble at speed.

A. Learning goals

Dribbling under time pressure, co-ordination

B. Fantasy

Motorway=Marked-out dribbling path
End of the motorway=Point at the end of the dribbling path where the corridors merge.
Overtaking lane=Left-hand side of the corridor.
Car=Player with ball
Porsche=Player with ball

C. Story

You’re at the end of a motorway. A car is driving in the right-hand lane, and a Porsche is following close behind it. The end of the motorway is approaching, after which the road goes down to one lane in each direction. If you don’t manage to overtake the car on this wide road, you’ll have no chance of doing so on the single-lane road.

D. Organisation

Mark out two corridors, each of them between 1.5 and 2 metres wide. The dribbler starts from the front marker, and the runners a little further back. The distance depends on the difference in the players’ ability.

E. Description

When the command to do so is given, both players start at the same time. The runner can use the left corridor to overtake the dribbler before the section with two lanes ends. To add a competitive twist, you can award each runner a point for successfully overtaking the dribbler in good time.

F. Variations

  • Both players have a ball; one dribbles using their left foot, and the other uses their right foot. Bear in mind the players’ individual preferences.
  • Two players follow one dribbler.
  • Integrate a curve into the dribbling path.

G. Tips

  • Vary the distances between the dribblers and the runners at the start of the exercise.
  • Don’t forget to encourage players to use both legs.
Dribbling exercise highway