Dribbling Warm-Up Drill

Attackers Defenders Neutral Goalkeeper Pass Run Dribble Shot

This dribbling warm-up drill piles up ball touches faster than almost any other soccer dribbling drill for U6–U12 players. Small groups keep everyone moving continuously, and rotating through eight different ball-mastery skills builds comfort with every surface of both feet.

Browse the full dribbling drills library for more like this, or explore every soccer drill for U9 players.

Setup

• Split the squad into groups of 3–4 players, each group in a short line.
• Plant a flag or training stick 10 yards in front of each line.
• Give every player their own ball.

How It Works

1. The first player in each line dribbles to the flag using the assigned skill, rounds the flag, and dribbles back to the line.
2. The next player starts as soon as the player ahead is halfway to the flag, so the whole group stays moving.
3. Work each skill for 3–5 minutes: bell touches (side-to-side) moving forward, bell touches moving backward, sole taps moving forward, sole taps moving backward, sole rolls while facing left, sole rolls while facing right, outside-inside dribble (outside right, inside right, outside left, inside left), and outside-outside-inside (same pattern with two outside touches).

Coaching Points

• Keep the ball close - control beats speed early on.
• Demand quality on every touch, not just quantity.
• Watch for balanced, controlled body movement.
• Get heads up: players should glance at the ball, not stare at it.

Variations

• Turn the final round of each skill into a relay race between groups.
• Call out skill changes mid-repetition so players must react.
• Run a round using only the weaker foot.