Dribbling Techniques
Jonas T. Holdeman, Jr.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Draft 1/2/90
Introduction. In this unit we consider dribbling, the skills and tactics one player with the ball may use to advance the ball while maintaining possession, when faced with a single defender. Dribbling involves an element of risk, but when used wisely by a skillful player adds an unparalleled beauty and excitement to the game. Players who are skillful dribblers develop self confidence which enhances their enjoyment of the game.
In many respects the Under 10 age group is the best time to train the dribbling skills. Many of the players will have reached the level of physical maturity and body coordination which allows them to perform the needed body movements. Teammates have not yet developed the speed or reach to get to a moderately inaccurate pass, and have not yet developed the skills and tactical sense to take full advantage of passing to maintain possession. Given the spread in physical and mental maturity at this age, there will always be a number of opponents without the anticipation and reflexes to counter the dribble. Sometimes for the skillful young player, dribbling to beat opponents becomes an exciting game within the game; the dribbler is viewed as a "ball hog," a situation which should be channeled rather than discouraged.
In the under-12 age group, players are faster, larger, stronger, and more tactically aware so that passing while maintaining possession becomes increasingly important. With increasing emphasis by coaches on passing, dribbling skills fall into disuse. Then when the players move up to under-14 and have to use a heavier ball, they can't pass as far, while their dribbling skills have wasted away, and the game loses much of its excitement. We as coaches have the responsibility to encourage the improvement and of dribbling skills.
Teaching dribbling poses a number of problems for the parent coach. To demonstrate requires a great deal of practice. Until recently there was no organized method for teaching or learning dribbling. There was no language to describe or name the moves and variations. Pictures in books could not capture the balance and timing.
The situation was changed by the work of a Dutch coach named Weil Coerver. Coerver developed a language and used the medium of videotapes. Coerver's dribbling language is still evolving, and imitators have created their own languages, so there is no real standardization. Videotapes allow one to review a move and see it in slow motion and stop frame. Use in this manner of any of a number of tapes on the market is highly recommended.
Tactical Situations. The threat of a dribble opens the passing game. If the opponents know that the player with the ball cannot dribble, their defensive task is greatly simplified. They mark nearby passing targets man to man and one defender puts pressure on the attacker with the ball. The attacker then can't pass, can't beat the pressurizing defender, and so is forced to turn and shield or pass backwards. The man to man defense is vulnerable to dribbling. If the pressurizing defender is beaten, the attacker can advance the ball until another defender leaves his man to pressure the ball and stop the advance. This leaves his man open momentarily to receive a pass. Thus the defense is required to use two defenders around the ball, one to pressure and one to provide support. Using two defenders on the ball means there is an unmarked attacker somewhere who can move to receive a pass.
When a striker receives the ball in the attacking third, he is frequently the attacker closest to the goal. There is no teammate closer to the goal to receive a pass. If the attacker waits for support, the defense will have time to organize, making scoring more difficult. Thus the attacker with the ball must attempt to beat the nearest defender by dribbling.
In the defending third, an attacker with the ball under pressure from an opponent can turn and dribble away from the opponent (towards his own goal) temporarily relieving the pressure and creating the opportunity to look up for support from a teammate.
The better a team is at dribbling, the more opportunities they can create to advance the ball and to score.
We continue this unit by techniques to use in three tactical situations: carrying the ball to advance it when there is no close opposition, dribbling to beat an opponent, and shielding to maintain possession under pressure from an opponent.
Carrying, or Running With the Ball. When an attacker gains possession of the ball and there is no opponent goal side and there is no passing opportunity, a good tactic is to advance the ball quickly by "carrying" it. If no defender intervenes, he can carry the ball to within shooting range and shoot. More likely his advance will draw one or more defenders toward the ball. This creates space away from the ball into which teammates can move to receive a penetrating pass.
A player, free of the ball, can run faster than he can with the ball at his feet. The idea is then to push the ball into the empty space ahead, then momentarily free of the ball, to run to it. If there is still space then the ball is pushed again. The player is, in fact, making a series of passes to himself. Like all passes, these must be accurate, of the correct weight or pace, and well timed.
If there is room and the passes are long, the ball can be advanced more rapidly because fewer touches are required. Realize, though, that when the attacker has the ball near his feet his actions are less predictable because he can change the direction and speed of the ball at any time. When he plays the ball far ahead, his actions become, for the moment, very predictable: he is only going to run to the ball and he can't change the direction of attack until he gets there. Thus the attacker must weigh the advantages (and disadvantages) of speed versus control, and must develop judgement in this area.
To pass the ball accurately to himself while running at high speed on a bumpy field requires the use of a large flat surface on the foot. The inside of the foot must be avoided because turning the playing foot sideways to push the ball causes him to break stride and lose speed. Use of the toe, of course, should be avoided because of lack of control under these conditions. The better surface is the top of the foot below the shoelaces or the outside of the foot just to the side of the laces. In the first case the supporting foot should be near the ball, the knee bent and slightly over the ball and the toes pointing nearly straight down. In the latter case the toes should be turned inward and the ankle inverted to present the flat surface to the ball.
Contact with the ball should be on the center of the ball to avoid bouncing and should be more of a push or a slap to provide better control. As the ball is pushed ahead, the attacker lengthens his stride to catch up, and the stride is shortened when nearing the ball to prepare for the next touch. As the ball is touched, the attacker, momentarily free of the ball, has the opportunity to look up to observe the positions of supporting and opposing players and thus make the decision to continue the advance, stop quickly (creating space) or to pass to a teammate.
Teaching the Technique.
Training for Speed and Control.
Shielding to Maintain Possession.
Dribbling to Beat an Opponent.