Soccer Dribbling Guide

Soccer dribbling is one of the most important skills you need master. Simply, if you don’t know how to dribble your opponents you will not either know how to play soccer. So, to help you out I have created this article where you will learn everything you need to know in order to become a true dribbling master. Ready? Let’s start…

Use your soccer dribbling skills in the right situations
You should not only dribble to show people how good you are; instead use your talent to play smart. Never dribble if you have an unmarked teammate near you. Passing the ball safely to a near teammate is more effective then a dribbling solo raid. The optimal rule is to never dribble in your own half. However, you should try to dribble often in your opponent’s 18 yard box

The advantage with dribbling is that your opponents will not know what you aim to do next. To stop you, opponents will need to figure out which way you will most likely go.

Try to relax
Soccer dribbling is not just how skillful you are with the ball; you need also to have a lot of confidence in yourself. When dribbling you must really think that you can get around your defender.

Try not to panic while receiving the ball. Instead, be calm and try to figure out the best way to get around your opponent.

Balance is important
Your main mission when dribbling is to fool your opponent and make him/her lose balance. At the same time you need of course to maintain your own balance.

Equilibrium and soccer dribbling
Equilibrium is an advanced subject, but I will try to keep it simple. You and every human on the earth have something called "center of gravity". This gravity center is situated (on every human being unless you are from Mars :-) in the middle of your torso (your torso is located just about at your navel).

Your body will be in equilibrium whenever an imaginary line from the center of gravity falls in the middle of the support area. In your and every soccer player's body the space between your feet is what we call the area of support.

If your feet are together, the equilibrium of your body will be less. This is because your center of gravity may fall outside the area that is created by your feet. Here is how you can try this out:

• Stand with your feet close together

• Ask a friend to push you a little on the back (not too hard)

• In the next moment you will lie on the ground, but what have you discovered?

Well, you have discovered that falling over will be much easier than when you have some space between your feet. Squat down with your feet apart, then lean forward (just a little bit) and flex your legs slightly, and you will discover how easy it is to keep your balance.

Now start to dribble by following these steps:

• Have a space between your feet

• Lean your body forward a little

• Both legs should be flexed

• You should also have your haunches down

• Both of your arms should be relaxed and not moving

What you are learning now is another thing that is important when talking about balance.

Do you need proof?
Every movement you make with the ball will move your center of gravity forward, backward, up and down.

If you don’t really believe this place yourself on a large scale (if you can find one of course). Start to move your arms directly after the indicator of the scale stops.

The indicator will swing either up or down, and moving your arms faster will increase the swing of the indicator. What you have discovered is another important part of dribbling: rhythm! When dribbling you need to react and make decisions quickly, but your movement must still have a rhythm.

How to find your opponents’ weak side?
Your opponents will always have a weak side; it’s up to you to find it. But before spending many hours studying your opponents, let me give you a little hint: Try to check whether your opponent is right- or left-handed.

Now you may wonder what your opponent's hand has to do with dribbling. I mean, aren’t we discussing soccer dribbling here? Of course we are discussing soccer dribbling but to locate your opponent’s weak side, you need to know his/her weak leg. How do you discover that?

Well, if you dare, you could just ask him, or you could use another smart way to figure it out. Just check whether he/she is left- or right-handed. Now you may wonder how you’re going to know if your opponent is right- or left-handed?

Well, if your opponent is right-handed, his/her left leg will normally be weaker, and if he/she is left-handed, his/her right leg will be the weaker one. Your opponent will also have more problems in handling the ball using his/her weak leg, so watch out for this!

Do not completely trust this advice. There are skillful opponents who can handle the ball pretty well with both feet; therefore, watch carefully before deciding what leg is the weak one.

Finally, don't forget this one: Passing the ball to an unmarked teammate is much more efficient than trying to dribble through a wall of opponents.