Did you know that Lionel Messi practices twice a day for a total of 5 hours? It's this dedication to his craft and agility level that has so many people calling him the best in the game.
For most players, this amount of training is impossible to sustain. It's hard on the body and difficult to schedule around work and school. But, you can take inspiration from his consistency and use it in your own training regiment.
If you want to improve as a soccer player, you need to put in the hours doing soccer drills. It's that simple. In this article, we'll be going over the best drills you can use to bring your game to the next level. Read on to learn how to do it!
Where to start
The following drills will address different soccer skills, including passing, dribbling, shooting, defending, and general agility.
It can be a good idea, to begin with, a weakness. Watch some game footage of your last few matches and identify things you consistently struggle with. Then, pick the drills that will be most useful for you, and get to work.
1. Cone Dribble Drill
The wall makes a great training partner, and you can spend hours passing to the wall and catching the rebounds. To work on your high ball skills, chip the ball into the wall and control it when it comes back to you. Try catching it on your chest and controlling it before volleying it back. You can also try volleying the ball back to the wall without taking a touch.
2. Random Cone Dribble Drill
Setting up cones in regular intervals can be too simple. Remember, in a game, your opponents won't be perfectly lined up. To force you to get better at making quick turns and rapid adjustments, set up some cones around the field randomly and irregularly. Dribble quickly around the cones. If you have a partner, they should be encouraging you to speed up. The goal here is to work on your concentration and ball control while making quick decisions on where to move.
3. One-On-One Dribble Drill
After improving your footwork with dribbling, add a teammate to simulate an opposing player. Set up a small pitch about 20 meters by 20 meters with small goals on either side. Begin in the middle, and dribble the ball through the other player before attempting to score. Once you score, switch roles. Now you will be the defender, and your teammate will be the attacker.
4. Basic Square Passing Drill
Drilling passing will work on your communication and trust with your teammates. The more you trust each other, the more games you'll win. Start by setting up four cones in a square. Have one player at each cone. Start by passing the ball either to the left or the right. The receiver can use either their left or right foot to catch the ball, then quickly pass it to the next receiver. You can jazz this drill up by switching directions randomly and switching between your left and right feet. You can also reduce the number of players by standing in a triangle rather than a square. This will make for faster-paced play.
5. Solo Passing Drill
If you want to improve your passing on your own, try these simple passing exercises. Set up a few pairs of cones to make small goals around the field. You'll also need a wall on one edge. Decide before you start which goal you'll aim at. Kick the ball to the wall, and catch it on the rebound. Then, take a quick glance at the goal, and kick the ball through it. This should help you work on catching the ball and passing it off quickly. It will also improve your ability to glance at a teammate and kick the ball directly to them.
6. Agility Obstacle Course
Improving your fitness and agility will transfer all over to all aspects of your game and help you get better at soccer. Begin by setting up a line of 6 to 10 cones that are fairly close together. Then, set up several plastic rings in no specific pattern. They should form a random field of circles. Then, layout an agility ladder. You will begin the course by weaving through the cones then sprinting to the rings. Step in the rings in no specific order, sprint to the agility ladder, and run through it. Jog back to the beginning and repeat. This will improve your footwork and agility. You can push yourself by timing each run and shooting to set a record. You can also incorporate hurdles or any other agility equipment you might have.
7. Simple Shooting Drill
You often have to shoot under pressure, which can impact your shot. For that reason, it's important to drill it as much as possible, so it becomes a reflex. Drill your shooting by setting up small targets to shoot at or aim at the corners of the goal. You can also kick to a wall and catch the ball on a rebound before shooting it. This will help improve your speed for catching and shooting the ball immediately when it's passed to you.
8. One-On-One Defensive Drill
Quite similar to the "One-on-One drill," but this time is seen from the defender's side. Make a small 10-meter square outlined by cones. Add two small goals on either end. Take turns with a teammate working on attacking and defending. This will improve both your offensive and defensive soccer skills. Try to work on baiting your opponent, stealing the ball, and blocking the goal from them.
9. Basic Juggling
This one's a great drill for youth soccer teams or players who are still newer to soccer. You'll learn how to position your foot under the ball and control its speed.
Simply take your ball and juggle it several times on each foot, trying to keep the ball from touching the floor. Try to do 10 kicks on each foot or switch back and forth between feet.
You can make it more difficult by using a tennis ball instead of a soccer.
10. Wall Volleys
The wall makes a great training partner, and you can spend hours passing to the wall and catching the rebounds. To work on your high ball skills, chip the ball into the wall and control it when it comes back to you. Try catching it on your chest and controlling it before volleying it back. You can also try volleying the ball back to the wall without taking a touch.
Use These Soccer Drills to Level Up
With these soccer drills, you'll be able to improve your weaknesses and start winning more games. But, to get the complete picture of your performance and your team dynamic, you'll need game footage. That's where Veo come in.
At Veo, we are *passionate* about helping sports teams reach their full potential by using cutting-edge video technology.
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