1v1 Soccer Drills For Beginners
If you want to beat more defenders when you play this article / video contains some extremely effective 1v1 soccer drills for beginners.
There is no worse feeling…
You get into a 1v1 situation, you hesitate, freeze, stumble on your own feet, and lose the ball. Your teammates and coaches drop their heads in disappointment. You feel foolish.
That doesn’t have to be your reality anymore. You can beat defenders with confidence every time you play, if you use the 1v1 soccer attacking strategies I’m about to share with you. Combined with these fun 1v1 soccer drills you can do by yourself.
You’ll be beating players with confidence and excited to receive the ball in 1v1 situations so you can show off your effective new soccer moves.
Let’s go!
1v1 Soccer Drills For Beginners
Regardless of your position you should develop the ability to beat defenders with your soccer skills. If you lack confidence in this area you will become a very predictable player who can only pass the ball to teammates.
However, if you’re serious about developing this part of your game you must take advantage of individual training. Team sessions are great but they don’t give you the necessary time to focus on yourself.
Practicing good 1v1 soccer drills on your own time will allow you to fix your mistakes, pay attention to the details, and build the confidence necessary to perform these easy to use 1v1 soccer moves in matches.
If you’ve struggled in 1v1 situations in the past, those days are done. With the proper mindset, plan of action, and practice you’ll be beating more defenders in your very next match.
Easy 1v1 Soccer Drills That Work!
Before you get ahead of yourself, please understand something very important:
Even the best 1v1 soccer drills will be a waste of your time if you don’t have the proper mentality to get past defenders. This skill starts with your mindset. If you skip this step, you will be the type of player who can perform soccer moves in practice but not in games!
Don’t be that type of player.
Believe you can. If you think you are going to get tackled, you will. Before you can beat a defender, you must believe it’s possible. Don’t let your past failures define you. This is something you can figure out. If other players can beat defenders, so can you.
Be in the present. Most players are never in the present moment. They are either thinking about the future (what if I get tackled) or the past (what about the last time I lost the ball). In order for you to execute the skills effectively, you need to bring full focus into the present moment. Don’t think about the past or the future. Focus on this 1v1 opportunity.
Think about what you can control. You can’t change the past and you can only create a positive outcome in the future by focusing on what you can control in this moment. What can you control? Your touches, the moves you use, the space you want to dribble into.
Stop worrying about what could go wrong.
Start focusing on how you are going to make it go right!
Best Soccer Drills For Beginners
Your mindset is good to go. Believe in yourself. Be present. Don’t focus on past mistakes or possible failures in the future. Think about what you are going to do to succeed.
Now what are you going to do?
Most players get into 1v1 situations and they focus on the defender. I want you to focus on the space. Where is the open space? Where do you want to attack?
In many situations, you don’t even need to beat the defender. Instead of beating defenders, think about attacking space. The best dribblers in the world are very direct and use simple effective soccer moves.
Ideally, you want to sprint in a straight line to goal as fast as you can with the ball. You only need to use soccer moves when players get in the way. Take this mindset and use it when you play in your next match.
Before the ball gets to you, you already know where the space is. Don’t wait for the defender. Attack the space. If the defender beats you to the space, then you can use some of the easy 1v1 soccer moves demonstrated in the video below.
1v1 Soccer Tips For Success
I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information because the best dribblers keep things simple. They even use the same moves again and again. But because they play so direct, with so much confidence and self belief, even if the defender knows where they are going – they still can’t stop them!
Here are 5 simple steps to think about when you are dribbling:
#1 – Identify the space before the ball gets to you. As the ball is traveling to you, you should already have recognized where the open space is. Remember, ideally you want to go straight to goal. Don’t receive the ball, get your head up, and make a decision. This will be too slow. Identify your route to goal before the ball gets to you.
#2 – Be direct. Don’t hesitate. Hesitation is the #1 reason players fail in 1v1 situations. Just go. Even if your touches are poor but your style of play is direct, you will most likely be successful in 1v1 soccer dribbling situations.
#3 – Shift the defender. If you need to beat the defender, use simple 1v1 soccer moves to shift his/her weight in the opposite direction that you want to go. A simple body feint or stepover can trick the defender into thinking you are going one way, when you actually want to go the other.
#4 – Attack the created space. Once you’ve shifted the defender, dribbling into the space you’ve created. The whole purpose of 1v1 soccer moves are to beat defenders. You don’t want to have to beat the same defender multiple times if you don’t have to.
#5 – Change your pace. This is why it’s so important for you to accelerate after you make your move. If you don’t increase your speed the defender will catch up to you and you’ll be stuck in the same situation. Be direct, use your moves, shift the defender, and then explode into the space you’ve created!
1v1 Soccer Drills To Avoid
Sadly, many players get caught up with complex drills that require too much setup and unnecessary equipment. You want to use simple soccer drills you can perform anywhere at any time.
The most advanced soccer drills are not always the best. Basic drills that are easy to perform are more likely to get completed. You can perform these drills anywhere – at the park, on the field, even in your own home or backyard.
In fact, it’s best to perform these in a small space. The smaller the space the quicker your touches and change of direction will have to be in order to be successful. Don’t look at a small space as an obstacle. It’s actually an advantage.
Focus on staying light on your toes. Improving the quality of your movement as well as the quality of your touches. The more you practice these basic 1v1 drills, the better you will become.
Train hard in private so you can dominate in public!
1v1 Soccer Moves CHECKLIST
Before we dive into this video demonstrating how to practice 1v1 soccer skills by yourself, let’s recap exactly what you are going to do.
We’ve addressed the proper mindset, style of play, training habits, and effective strategies to beat more defenders the next time you play.
To simplify this I’ve created a graphic you may want to save. You can also share this image with your teammates, friends, or anyone else you would like to help become more confident in 1v1 situations on the soccer field.
Right click (save image) – please feel free to share on social media!
How To Beat More Defenders In 1v1 Soccer Situations
“I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. More important than that, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve, not only to please the coach and the fans but also to feel satisfied with myself. It is my conviction that there are no limits to learning and that it can never stop, no matter what our age.” – Cristiano Ronaldo
How To Practice 1v1 Soccer Drills By Yourself
This video is great for players of all ages to use on their own time:
– 1v1 soccer drills u12
– 1v1 soccer drills u10
– even 1v1 soccer drills u8
Understand that knowledge is only power when it’s put into action. Make the necessary changes to your mindset, technique, training, and start to fall in love with your training. Be consistent and you will develop the improvements you desire.
If you want to improve your soccer juggling skills, improve your ball control, and have better touches during matches – this should be obsession you keep with you for the rest of your soccer career.
1v1 Soccer Drills For Beginners (VIDEO)
Hopefully you found this article / video about 1v1 soccer drills for beginners helpful. If you use these soccer drills to train by yourself, you’ll start to have more success when dribbling against defenders in practice.
If you have any questions related to this topic please comment below.
You have the ability to improve all of your skills! You’ve learned how to improve your soccer 1v1 skills but you can also become faster, stronger, and mentally tougher. I’d love to see you achieve great things in soccer and life. But that’s only possible if you become the best version of yourself. Stumbling across this content is a great start!
If you really want to take another strong step in the right direction…
Continue training with me.
Become A Better Soccer Player
If you don’t know about me…
I used to be a player who struggled with confidence. I was slow, I was weak, and lazy. My coaches overlooked me, my friends laughed at me, and at one point I became so depressed I even quit soccer.
But…
Just like you…
I went on a quest to learn how to become a better soccer player and it took me down an incredible path of self-development.
Not only did I improve all my soccer skills, fitness, and confidence. I went on to win leagues & goal scoring titles, earn awards, lift trophies, get a college scholarship, and even receive international caps for my country.
In the process of this self-development, I started teaching others what to do to become the greatest soccer player they can be. My youtube channel grew to 500,000+ subscribers and I’ve helped players all around the world improve at the game they love.
In my local city I coached for several youth clubs, before starting my own soccer training company. Then I went on to coach the most prestigious men’s club in my city for several years.
But enough about me…
Back to you!
If you want to improve, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take some serious action towards becoming a better player. I want your coaches, teammates, and opponents to notice a change in you. A new mentality, a new style of play, a new type of player.
I’d love to help you achieve your goals in soccer.
If you found this advice about how to be a better soccer player helpful, I would encourage you take the next recommended steps. I can help you improve faster & achieve more in this sport but I won’t force you. However, if you want to take the next step. Here’s what I suggest you do…
1) Take the Soccer Training Masterclass (Free)
2) Download the FREE pre-match success guide
3) Join the Online Soccer Academy
Really serious about improvement? I’ve put together this mini masterclass of “how to become a better soccer player” with helpful lessons to speed up your development – free soccer masterclass
If you’re nervous about your next game / practice you might benefit from the “prematch success guide” – 10 principles to eliminate nerves and improve the quality of your game day performances.
Develop the skills necessary to earn your starting position, become the “go-to” player during, and dominate your opponents every match day click this link – online soccer academy
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Progressive Soccer
Thank you for reading this article: 1v1 Soccer Drills For Beginners
