Series of Moves and Skills

If you can find a wall juggle off it for touch.

Get ready to be a great dribbler. Practice keeping the ball close and use a sequence of touches cut the ball in and out as follows where

1 = outside left foot

2= inside left foot

3= inside right foot

4= outside right foot.

First sequence 1-2,1-2, 1-2, etc Go accross the field. return with 3-4, 3-4, etc. Keep the ball tight and close, bend your knees.

Second sequence 1-2-4-3, 1-2-4-3, 1-2-4-3

Try and keep the ball so close that anyone watching you can clap or blow a whistle and you have to be able to stop the ball with your knee. Work first on touch to keep close, keep your knees bent, and your upper body out over the ball . Swivel your hips as you cut the ball with your 1-2-4-3 motion. Play some music with rythem (no hip hop) while you do it.

When you have this down try:

Third sequence 1-2-3-2-4-3,1-2-3-2-4-3,1-2-3-2-4-3, etc. Here the middle taps 2-3-2 are done very fast. Try them in a static position frist just tapping the ballback and forth as fast as you can. It's like speed bag work in boxing.

Now for the tough part. First keep your eyes focused on the "waist" of a dummy so the ball is just inside your peripheral vision. Find a friend, Mom, or Dad to play "dummy" . Stand about3-4 yards away and focus your eyes on their waist. Keep your foot on the ball and see if you can barely see it in yourperipheral vision Your eyes don't move. THEY ARE FOCUSED on the waist.If youcan't see the ball, move it in six inch increments out in front of you until it becomes barely visible.Have them cross and uncross their hands at waist level while you call out "crossed" or "uncrossed" while tapping the ball back and forth.

Get's tougher.Dribble at them while they retreat while you do the sequences above watching their waist, depending on what you see while your doing the sequences again call out "crossed" or "uncrossed".

The above builds your touch in perparation for attacking an opponent on the dribble. You have to be able to control the ball, and see the opponents weight shifts when doing your moves.

Get some Corver tapes with moves. Practice using 5-6 foot stakes and focusing on the stakes "waist" while doing the move. Some fields have trash cans. Move one out as a static opponent and attack it.

The eye position above is for dribbling. Now get's get it for "running with the ball" where there is no or light pressure.

Dribble the ball across the field with the top of the instep of either foot, touching the ball with each step. Keep it close so you can stop it with your knee if your helper signals to do so. Try and keep your head up so you can see a distant target. Go across the field and return at a higher speed, still touching the ball with each step. These should be about 30 yard increments, maybe 50 if you feel like working hard.

Repeat with the opposite foot. For variation try and peek right or left to see another target like a tree or person walking by, etc. You don't want to be looking down at the ball. You want your head as far up as you can get it trying to scan the field as you go. You'll quickly relaize this head position is higher than when dribbling and your focal point is further.

Now go accross the field pushing the ball further out in front so you take two steps inbetween touches.

Go back to one step between touches . Go as fast as you can. Then "explode" pushing the ball out in front for two steps per touch no more than three, going full speed. Go 5-10 yards at this accelerated rate. Get the ball back under control and go one touch per step.

As you get the hang of it see if you can scan the field right after you take the explosion step.

Then combine running with the ball followed by the sequence drill for dribbling. Attack your helper from 30 yards out running with the ball one step per touch, exploding and scanning and as you approach , slowing to one step per push and then your sequences as she retreats. Or end with an actual dribbling move.Needless to say your conditioning will improve if you work hard at this.

More later if you want it.

OK

More juggling challenges.

I'm sure you have done this, but how good are you? Can you keep it going up to ten times and switch feet back & forth? Start by sitting on the ground knees up. Juggle the ball with your toes extended and your ankle locked down. Try & keep the ball from going higher than 12 inches or so, lower the better. You can do this barefoot in the living room while watching TV to get more practice in..

Now stand up and do it. Don't let the ball rise more than knee high. Experiment by lifting your knee straight up to create the foot taps.

Back to field ball work.

Repeat all in the first post.

Let's work on DECEPTION. Deception should be big part of your game. But don't overdo it. When the obvious is called for don't give away your tricks.

The idea is to make most things look alike, and do something different.

Dribble with the top of the instep across the field touching the ball every step. Keep it close.

Now turn a players bench on it's side or a barrel you can use as a rebounder.
Dribble past it, and as you do so make an outside of the foot pass off the rebound object to yourself. Experiment with the dribble a little more toward the outside of your foot. What your looking for is a dribbling movent of the foot that ends up as an outside of the foot pass. The initial leg action is the same.

Let's add in another movement that starts the SAME way.

The move is scissors around the ball, which you probably have done. Most players do it wrong.

Start statically so we both are communicating here. {Post if you have questions or I'm going to slow}

Stand with the ball just forward of your right leg. Move your right foot around the ball from the inside to the outside. Ball doesn't move. Now repeat keeping you toe pointed straight down. In fact make it touch or drag on the ground to get the hang of it. Most players give this move away by having their toe up and letting the foot rise. What your trying to duplicate is the dribble touch or outside of the foot touch on the initial movement. The toe is down for these movements, so should be for the scissors also.Experiment.

Now dribble with the instep and do the scissors. after our right foot goes around the ball, take it away to the left with a #1 touch (outside of the left) EXPLODING as you do so.Try and keep the ball close though. Dribble with left a few steps. Do a left scissors, take the ball away with a #4 touch, etc.

Now dribble by your rebounder. Make an outside of the foot pass. Come back, but instead of passing do the scissors move. See if in your own way you can make them look the same.

Get your helper to watch and see if they can guess when your going to dribble, pass, or scissors.

We will do more with the scissors move latter. In the meantime think about a double scisors. You should be able to figure out how to practice it.

And dream about deception.

I need to know something about your practice area. Does it have goals? Are benches for rebounding or a wall type rebounder available? How about practice poles? Or can you get a bunch of corner flags. Do you have something called Dutch gates? If not I'll tell you how to make them.