Social sports club in Wimbledon, London

Basic football skills.

Dribbling

Dribbling is one of the most important skills in football. Dribbling is manoeuvring the ball through short skilful taps or kicks with your feet. The purpose is to bring the ball past defenders and to create opportunities to score.

There are several keys to successful dribbling:

• Get control of the ball quickly. The more time you need to touch the ball to gain control, the more time it will take you, and so will be easier for your opponents to reach you and try to steal the ball.
• Keep control of the ball.
• Keep your eyes in a position where both the field and the ball can be seen.
• Don't let the ball get more than 2 feet in front you when defenders are nearby.
• Shield the ball by keeping your body between opponents and the ball.
• When defenders are far away, 'drive' the ball farther from you and run to it.
• Fake or feint to dribble around opponents.

Passing

Keeping possession of the ball is critical for success in football. Obviously this can't be achieved by 1 player alone. You need to work as a team, with quick and accurate passing between players, giving the opposition fewer opportunities to steal the ball.

The instep or push pass is a common method of passing the ball. To do a push pass, use the inside of your foot (along the arch) to push the ball forward towards your team-mate.

Shooting

When shooting the ball at your opponents' goal you need to control the power, height, and direction.

Remember the differences between shooting and passing. When passing you're concerned with delivering the ball in a manner the receiving player can control it. With shooting, just nail it as you don't want your opponents to be able to control the ball.

It's a good idea for your team to shoot often, and to take advantage of rebounds.

Trapping

Trapping is using your body to receive and gain control of the ball. The key here is 'cushion'. Treat the ball like an egg. Almost any part of your body may be used to trap the ball, except the hands of course. The objective of trapping the ball is to stop the ball and keep it near your body and within distance to control it.

There are 3 common areas of the body used to trap the ball:

• Foot
• Thigh
• Chest

Headers

Heading can be used to shoot goals and by defensive players to clear the ball. Headers don't occur much in 5-a-side football games as the ball must stay below head height.

Tips:

• Keep your eyes on the ball and keep your mouth closed. You don't want to damage your teeth or bite your tongue.
• Keep your feet apart, stay balanced, be relaxed, and cushion the impact of the ball.
• Drive the ball forward to your chosen target.

Tackling

Tackling is any effort to steal the ball or knock it away from your opponent.

Watch the ball. Remember that it's easier to tackle when your opponent pushes the ball away from his feet.

Goalkeeping

The "ready position" is the stance that the goalkeeper should adopt anytime they prepare to stop a shot. The ready position involves being balanced on the balls (or front) of the feet, bending comfortably at the knees, and having the hands relaxed through the fingertips. You should shift your weight from foot to foot at speed in order to increase your reaction time and jumping ability.

When catching the ball, the goalie should pull the ball tightly into the body.