The First Touch

"The first touch is arguably the most important skill in soccer. Without a good one, you won’t ever have the opportunities to use your other skills because a defender will have already closed in.

Unfortunately, the first touch is also one of the most difficult skills to learn — it makes the difference between good players and great ones."

Straight from here - http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/skillsandtactics/ss/First_Touch.htm

Cesc Fabregas showing off on live TV his amazing touches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRflEbYF2iI


natural talent or acquired skill? I think only a select few are born with the natural talent. If it is an acquired skill, who is supposed to teach our kids first touches? Youth academy, select league, PA, DA, ODP? Dads?

talent can be "natural" but skill is "aquired" and accumulated over time. A person with natural talent make require less repititions but PRACTICE is definately required. I suggest that more important than a "coach, academy, pa, da, odp" are dads. Have your child spend more time with the ball than others his/her age and they will likely have a better first touch. I believe if you dropped off a kid on a remote island somewhere with a WALL and a Ball he/she would return with top notch "first touch" abilities. But what do I know? I'm just the Dad of an exceptional U14 lad that has been spending a ton of time in odp and with some really good coaches while my sond first touch has deminished somewhat. Back the WALL we have gone.....

I think sometimes we parents over think this crucial aspect of the game. It really is very simple, have your kid take a ball, go outside and pass the ball off the wall A LOT with both feet. Do this consistently. AND JUGGLE! This truly works especially if the kid is younger. Boring, sometimes. Dry, sometimes. But it works.

Along with this only have them play small side and Futsal. Worked for my boy. Good luck to you!

1

Bend your body on one side. By bending the body on one side the defender thinks that you are going in that direction but you have to push the ball on the other direction and sprint to get the ball.

2

Practice with a smaller ball. One of the best processes to get good at dribbling is to play soccer with a tennis ball, or another small ball. You will get used to the constant adjustments needed and dribbling a full sized soccer ball will seem much easier.

3

Make sure to use all the surfaces of your foot. Most often you will be using the front part of your instep, especially when you are dribbling at speed. However, to become a good dribbler of the ball, make sure that you are adept at using the outside and inside of both feet. This way you can cut the ball away from pressure and keep control of the ball no matter where the defensive pressure comes from. You can also use both sides of your foot, like a hockey player's stick.

4

Touch the ball with each step you take with the ball. In very quick succession, touch the ball a little bit ahead of you when you dribble. This will create both good control and increase your dribbling speed with the ball. With this kind of control you can elude defenders when they try to reach in and steal the ball, you can just cut the ball away since it is always so close to you. It is almost as if you are trying to get as many touches in as you dribble forward with the ball. Go slowly and exaggerate this at the beginning when you are practicing, to ensure you are getting a touch on the ball with each step.

5

Change the pace. This is the key to going by a player on the dribble. You don't necessarily need to be extremely fast to beat someone on the dribble; rather, you need to lull the defender to sleep for a second and then break past the opponent with a burst of speed.

6

Lift up your eyes. Subtly be aware of your surroundings as you still maintain focus on the ball while dribbling. Lift your eyes slightly so you know if someone is making a run, another defender is approaching, or there is space to attack.

7

Improve your weak foot. The best advice is just to use it. If you continue to strike the ball against a wall with your bad foot, slowly but steadily you will see improvement. Have patience. However, there are always exceptions; if you look at one of the best players in the world Renaldo de Seta, he only uses his left foot, simply because his left foot is so incredibly powerful and he positions his body so well to protect the ball. He is a player who is so experienced and so skilled with his left foot, that he can get away with it. In your spare time, play around with a soccer ball. Sit down, take a ball and just roll it back and forth with the weaker foot. The more you do this, the more control you maintain with the ball, that way it becomes easier and stronger to use in matches and practices.

8

Use your body to protect the ball. Shield the ball with your body when a defender gets close. Try to keep the ball on the foot that is furthest from the defender and your body protects the ball.

9

Be unexpected and surprising. An example is to dribble in one direction, fake a shot while dribbling, and suddenly cut to the other direction.