Home / Player side
I play.
Get better on your own time. All you need is a ball, a wall and a few cones, or a couple of jumpers.
Plan
A week of practice
Say how old you are, how many days you can train and what you have. Get a week of short sessions, each one a few drills long.
Make my weekMeasure
Skill check
Five simple tests: keepy-uppies, wall passes with each foot, a timed dribble and the cone weave. Do them once a month and watch the numbers move. Your results stay on your device.
Do the skill checkDrill of the week
Receive on the half-turn
Your friend passes to you from behind. Open your body, take the ball with your back foot and play forward through a gate.
On your own
Ten minutes of any of these, most days, will change how you play.
first touch · 10 min · Just you
Wall passes across the body
Pass against a wall, take the rebound across your body to the other cone, and pass again. The best way to practise passing and first touch on your own.
ball mastery · 10 min · Just you
The cone weave
Dribble in and out of a line of cones using every part of both feet. Small touches, ball close, eyes up.
turning · 12 min · Just you
Turn and go
Dribble to a line, turn sharply, and accelerate away. Learn four turns: the inside hook, the outside hook, the drag back and the Cruyff.
ball mastery · 8 min · Just you
Weaker-foot figure of eight
A figure of eight round two cones, using only your weaker foot. Ten minutes a day makes a real difference.
shooting · 15 min · Just you, or with a friend in goal
Strike the corners
Push the ball out of your feet and strike it low into a corner. Accuracy first, then power.
dribbling · 10 min · Just you
Run with the ball, then stop it dead
Run with the ball at speed over 20 m, then slow down and stop it on the line with the sole of your foot.
With a friend
Better still with two. Swap roles so you both get the work.
passing · 10 min · You and a friend
Two-touch through the gate
Pass to each other through a small gate. Control with one touch to the side, pass with the second.
dribbling · 12 min · You and a friend
1v1 to the line
One attacks, one defends. Score by stopping the ball on the end line. Swap after every go.
first touch · 12 min · You and a friend
Receive on the half-turn
Your friend passes to you from behind. Open your body, take the ball with your back foot and play forward through a gate.
Five habits of players who improve
- Touch it every day. Ten minutes a day beats an hour once a week.
- Use your weaker foot. It feels awful at first. It gets better faster than you think.
- Look before it arrives. Glance over your shoulder before every pass you receive.
- Practise at match speed once you have the move right, not before.
- Rest. Have at least one or two days a week off, sleep well, and stop if something hurts.