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Home/Training Drills/Dribbling Drills/Running with the Ball
DribblingBeginner

Running with the Ball

Cover ground fast with the ball under control. Push the ball into the space ahead with the front of the foot, accelerate onto it, keep your head up, and settle it to finish at the end of the run.

Create your own drill
Live animationDRI
Duration
13 min
Total drill time
Players
2
Recommended
Pitch
52 × 20 m
Setup space
Level
Beginner
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U6-U8
Any format

Setup & instructions

Set a channel with a couple of gates and a goal at the end. The player pushes the ball into space and drives through the gates at speed, then steadies and finishes. Big touches into space when the path is clear, shorter touches to steady before the strike. Keep the head up. Time the run and finish, and rotate.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

Running with the ball and dribbling are different skills, and conflating them produces players who are bad at both. Dribbling keeps the ball within a stride so it can be protected and manipulated in tight space. Running with the ball pushes it five or ten yards into space and sprints onto it, because the objective is covering ground rather than keeping it away from anybody.

The touch that separates them is where and how the ball is struck. A dribbling touch uses the inside and outside of the foot to nudge. A travelling touch uses the laces or the front of the foot to push the ball forward with real intent, and it should be firm enough that the player has to accelerate to catch it. A player taking small touches while trying to run fast is fighting the ball the whole way.

How far to push it is a judgement about space and pressure. Alone on a counter with forty yards ahead, the touch can be enormous. With a defender recovering across, it shrinks. Teaching the extremes and letting players find the middle is more useful than prescribing a distance.

The head is the other half. A travelling touch buys three or four strides in which the player does not need to look at the ball at all, and those strides are exactly when he should be reading what is ahead. Players who look down between every touch waste the one advantage this technique creates.

Settling it at the end is worth coaching too, since a run that ends with the ball out of control has achieved nothing.

How to run this drill

  1. Push the ball into space, not to your feet. Five or ten yards ahead, firm enough that you have to accelerate onto it. Small touches while sprinting means fighting the ball the whole way.
  2. Use the laces or front of the foot. A travelling touch is a push with intent, not the nudge used to dribble in tight space. The surface is different because the job is different.
  3. Judge the distance by the pressure. Alone on a counter the touch can be enormous. With a defender recovering across it shrinks. Teach both extremes rather than prescribing a number.
  4. Use the free strides to look up. A big touch buys three or four strides where the ball needs no attention. Looking down through them wastes the only advantage the technique creates.
  5. Change pace, do not just run fast. Acceleration onto the ball is what beats a recovering defender. A constant speed, however quick, is something a defender can simply run alongside.
  6. Settle it at the end of the run. Bring the ball under control before the final action. A carry that finishes with the ball running away has covered ground and achieved nothing.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Big first touch to push the ball into the space ahead
  • Use the laces or front of the foot to drive the ball forward
  • Explode onto the ball: pace and change of pace, not just speed
  • Head up with brief glances, do not fix your eyes on the ball
  • Shorten the touches to steady the ball before the finish
  • Finish composed at the end of the run, not out of control

Common mistakes

  • Touches too short, so the player never gets up to full speed
  • Touches too big, so the ball runs away or to the keeper
  • Head down on the ball, unaware of the goal and the keeper
  • Arriving out of control and snatching at the finish

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Add a recovering defender chasing to force a faster carry
  • Vary the gates so the player must change direction at speed
  • Start with a pass to receive on the move before the drive

Regressions

  • Walk-jog the channel to groove the touch and the gates
  • Remove the finish and focus on the carry through the gates
  • Widen the gates so the path is easier at speed
Equipment
Cones×5
Full Goals×1
Tactical principles
running with the balltravelling with the ballcarrying the balldribbling at speedbig touchesdribbling drillcounter attack carryingyouth dribbling drillball carrying techniqueu8 dribbling drill
Audience
U6-U8

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All Dribbling drillsAll drill collectionsDribbling for U6-U8

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