Drills / On your own

Ten-minute ball mastery

Five short moves, 45 seconds each with a 15 second rest, done twice. Thousands of touches in ten minutes, with both feet.

Players
Just you
Space
A 5 × 3 m patch, even indoors on a hard floor
Kit
1 ball, 2 cones
Time
10 minutes
Age
All ages
You
  • Us
  • Them
  • Pass
  • Run
  • Dribble

Set up

  • Put two cones about 4 m apart.
  • Use a timer on a phone, or count 45 slowly in your head.

How it works

  1. Toe taps: tap the top of the ball with alternate soles, like running on the spot.
  2. Sole rolls: roll the ball sideways under one sole, then back with the other, moving along the cones.
  3. Inside-inside: tap the ball between the insides of your feet, left-right, as fast as you can control it.
  4. Drag and push: drag back with the sole, push forward with the laces, then swap feet.
  5. Cone weave: dribble round the two cones in a figure of eight, using only the outside of your foot.
  6. Rest, then do all five again.

What to work on

  • Light touches. The ball should never get away from you.
  • Head up between touches. Try to see the cones without looking down.
  • Same number of touches with each foot.
  • Quality first, then speed.

Easier

30 seconds per move, and do each move slowly.

Harder

Speed up, and do every move while looking at something above the far cone.

Especially good for: attacking midfielder.

Try next

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