Soccer Practice Drills

Practice is the key to success in soccer and if you look at most of the top players in today’s game, they’re people who work hard for the skills they show on the pitch, often taking training to levels beyond the team’s sessions.

David Beckham said that he spent (and probably still spends) several hours per week beyond training, practicing his brilliant free kicks. Juninho Pernambucano, one of today’s best long range snipers practices shots after hours, from various ranges. And don’t think that Ronaldinho or Cristiano Ronaldo’s superb dribbling skills were all obtained during team practice, they’re also the result of long hours spent with the ball outside of the normal program.

So if you’re striving to better yourself and become a quality soccer player, it’s mandatory that you practice using soccer drills, either individually, pairing up with a teammate, or with a group of friends or teammates. I’ve prepared 3 fun soccer practice drills for each of these setups, hopefully you’ll find them useful in your training plan.

1. Soccer Drill for Individual Practice – Juggling

Juggling the ball may not have any accurate use in a match, because you’ll rarely (if ever) find yourself the space, time and need to juggle a ball more than twice during a game. However, soccer juggling affects a lot of other base soccer skills and it’s also one of the easiest and fun soccer practice drills to try out individually.

Soccer juggling affects your ball control ability, since by constantly keeping the ball in the air, you get to naturally understand how hard or soft the ball needs to be hit in order to control it. In-game, this affects your ability to stop and receive balls, as well as your dribbling skills, which often rely on how well you judge the strength and timing of your touch.

Other skills that soccer juggling has a positive effect on include balance, concentration and the ability to control the ball with both feet. Of all soccer drills for individual practice, juggling has the most benefic effects, so it’s well worth saving up a few minutes every day to juggle, either after practice, or even in your back yard.

2. Soccer Practice Drills for Pairs – One on One Dribbling

One on one dribbles work especially well when practiced in a pair. During a match, there will be countless occasions where you’ll need to take on an opponent one by one and the only way to practice this is with the help of a friend or a teammate.

It’s best if your training pair plays on a complementary position, as in someone that you would usually have to dribble against in a match. If you’re an attacker or offensive midfielder, you’ll want to practice one on ones with a defender, or defensive midfielder. Same concept goes the other way around.

It could also be a good idea to switch sides every now and then. After you play the attacker and try to get the ball past your pair, switch positions so that you’re the defender and he has the ball. This allows you to develop your attacking and defensive skills as you practice.

Also, in order to make this soccer practice drills more fun, you could keep a score. Whenever the attacker passes the ball past the defender, he gets a point. If the defender takes the ball away or stops the attack, he gets a point. Whoever reaches 10 points wins and you get to switch sides and start over.

3. Soccer Practice Drills for Groups – One Touch Passing

If you can find 3 or more teammates to get this soccer practice drill going, it will soon work out wonders to your passing, ball control and agility skills during matches. Here’s how it works (I’ll assume you have 5 more teammates to work with):

Split yourselves into 2 groups of 3, aligned face to face at a distance of a few yards. Group A starts, with the first player in the line passing the ball to the first player in Group B. After delivering the pass, the first player in Group A moves to the back of the line. The player in Group B receives the ball and one-touches it back to what should now be the second player in Group A and then moves to the back of his own line.

Do this as fast as possible and as accurate as possible, without needing more than one touch. You can play with different distances between the groups and once you get accustomed to the system, you can try passing the ball in mid-air, without allowing it to touch the ball and without the need for a stop. This is harder, as the passes need to be more accurate in order for the soccer practice drill to work.

More Practice for Soccer

As an athlete and sports buff most of my life that I get sick of hearing people to a point outstanding athlete and say: “He has the genetic” or “He was born to play like that” . Really, to OJ Simpson who has suffered from being bowlegged because of deficiencies in vitamin is born to be one of the best running backs in American football?

The truth is that the only thing that makes every great athlete a great athlete is practical. Soccer is no different; greatest Pele, Ronaldo and Beckham all have this in common. They practiced constantly to the point of exhaustion and beyond. It is a practice that gives you both the competence and confidence to be able to make the passes and shots that make a difference in a match. If you want to be a great soccer player then you must commit to daily practice from now.

The aspect of being in excellent physical condition is another crucial element of soccer with aerobic conditioning to be the vanguard. If you are tired and can not be run at your peak for an entire game, then you need a better packaging. Soccer practice focuses on developing your skills and technology. Your competence is identified as your ability to execute techniques that are taught as a trap, throw or kick. It is a regimented and consistent practice that a player is able to develop skills and confidence to play at a higher level.

Always have a plan to achieve the goals you want to meet before starting your practice sessions. Having an exact format and plan your time to stop wasting time and not knowing what to do next. Have objectives to be achieved, once you reach all the highest. It is better to have a friend or someone who shares your zeal for the sport to practice with you, especially when you try to improve your technique of kicking. If you are unable to find someone to practice with you focus kicking a specific area of the ball and make it where you want. You can also hit the ball in a particular place on a wall if you do not have a buddy to kick.

Another important aspect of soccer is control. A good way to practice ball is put in place cones and zigzag through the dribble the ball and try not to stop or even slow down. This exercise will help you when it comes to having to dribble a soccer pitch in a real game where you dodge other players.

As with any sport, you can also learn a lot by watching other players closely. If you have a preferred position, watching a game and focus on this player and learn how he executes his technique. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to become a great soccer player.

Want To Be A Great Soccer Player? Practice Makes Perfect

As an athlete and sports buff most of my life I get sick of hearing people point out an outstanding athlete and say, “He has genetics” or “He was born being able to play like that”. Really, so O.J. Simpson who was suffered from being bowlegged due to vitamin deficiencies was born to be one of the best running backs in American football?

The truth of the matter is that the single thing that makes every great athlete a great athlete is practice. Soccer is no different; the greats Pele, Ronaldo, and Beckham all have this in common. They practiced constantly to the point of exhaustion and beyond. It is practice that gives you both the skill and the confidence to be able to make the passes and the shots that make all the difference in a game. If you want to be a great soccer player then you must commit yourself to daily practice from now on.

The aspect of being in excellent physical condition is another crucial part of soccer with aerobic conditioning being the forefront. If you become tired and cannot run at your peak for an entire game then you need better conditioning. Soccer practice focuses on developing your skill and technique. Your skill is identified as your ability to execute particular techniques which are taught such as a trap, throw, or kick. It is through consistent and regimented practicing that a player is able to develop the skill and confidence to play at a superior level.

Always have a plan for the objectives that you want to meet before you begin your practice sessions. Having an exact format and plan for your time will keep you from wasting time and not knowing what to do next. Have goals that have to be attained, once you attain them set them higher. It is best to have a friend or someone who shares your zeal for the sport to practice with you, especially when you are trying to improve your kicking technique. If you are unable to get someone to practice with you focus kicking a specific area of the ball to make it go where you want. You can also kick the ball into a particular spot on a wall if you don’t have a buddy to kick to.

Another important aspect of soccer is ball control. One good way to practice ball control is to set up cones and zigzag your way through them dribbling the ball and try not to stop or even slow down. This drill will help you when it comes to having to dribble down a soccer field in an actual game where you have to dodge other players.

As with any sport you can also learn quite a lot by watching other players closely. If you have a favorite position, watch a game and focus on that player and learn how he executes his technique. Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to becoming a great soccer player.