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Free activities · Dribbling and 1v1

Dribbling
and 1v1

Young players learn to dribble by dribbling, with a story to carry them and a defender arriving only when they are ready. These go from Soccer Island and 3 Speeds through knockout and dribbling gates to 1v1 games with a real defender and a goal at the end.

Soccer Island diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Soccer Island

Everyone dribbles inside the island while the sharks wait in the water outside the cones to steal any ball that floats away.

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Space Man diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Space Man

Players dribble anywhere in the grid and freeze with a foot on the ball when you shout.

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3 Speeds diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v13 Speeds

Turtle, dog, cheetah. Players dribble around while you call out speeds, switching often.

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Body Brakes diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Body Brakes

Everyone dribbles. Call a speed, then a body part, and players stop the ball with it: foot, knee, elbow, head.

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Cone Colors diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Cone Colors

Cones in two colors scattered around the grid.

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Cone Monster diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Cone Monster

The coach is the Cone Monster and carries a cone.

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1v1 Fields diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v11v1 Fields

Two small 1v1 fields side by side with pug or cone goals, one line attacking and one defending on each, with the coach standing between them.

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Sharks & Minnows diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Sharks & Minnows

The coach starts as the shark in the middle.

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See Ya Later, Coach! diagramAges 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1See Ya Later, Coach!

Players dribble at you, drag the ball back with the sole just before they reach you, shout “See ya later, Coach!” and speed away into space.

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Dribbling Gates diagramAges 7–8 · Dribbling and 1v1Dribbling Gates

Seven or eight three-yard gates around the island.

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Knockout diagramAges 7–8 · Dribbling and 1v1Knockout

Everyone dribbles on the island; on KNOCKOUT, protect your own ball while trying to kick everyone else’s off.

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1v1 to Cones diagramAges 7–8 · Dribbling and 1v11v1 to Cones

Pairs face each other across a line neither can cross, a cone at each end.

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1v1 Four-Goal Game diagramAges 7–8 · Dribbling and 1v11v1 Four-Goal Game

One attacking line and one defending line, each starting between two small goals.

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1v1 to Goal + Keeper diagramAges 7–8 · Attacking and finishing1v1 to Goal + Keeper

A short field with a goal and keeper at each end and teams of four at most.

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Gates Game diagramAges 7–8 · Dribbling and 1v1Gates Game

Two teams of three with two balls in play and small gates around the area. Score by dribbling through any gate past a defender.

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Beat the Levels diagramAges 7–8 · Attacking and finishingBeat the Levels

Two fields side by side, each split into two grids with a goal at the end.

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End Zone Game diagramAges 7–8 · Attacking and finishingEnd Zone Game

3v3 or 4v4 on a field with an end zone at each end.

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