Foot dribble moving forward

Equipment

For this task, you’ll need:

  • 2 pylons (5 metres apart)
  • Soccer ball (or similar)

Instruction

“I want you to dribble the ball from one pylon to the next. I want you to dribble the ball as best you can. Please try to dribble the ball as best you can from here to there. Ready? Go now.”

Rating System

Developing 

Initial 

Presence of numerous major gaps in execution
  • Ball control is absent or rudimentary
  • Ball is lost for majority of movement
  • Foot-eye control is disjointed

Emerging  

Limited number of major gaps, but able to execute basic sequencing of the task
  • Able to exhibit some ball control in a stuttering manner
  • Initiation and stopping of ball may be absent or very limited (ball travels past the second pylon)

Acquired 

Competent

     Basic level of execution with minor     sequencing errors
  • Ball in control through most of the distance
  • Starts and stops at lines
  • Body and ball separation varies through movement
  • May exhibit some control limitations during initiation and stopping of ball
  • Body may twist to allow the contact leg to lag and maintain contact with the ball
  • May not face forward the entire distance

Proficient  

     Overall proficiency is depicted by the     quality of the movements
  • Ball trajectory is in control for the entire distance
  • Body and ball separation is well maintained during each step
  • Ball start and stop is fluid and well controlled
  • Trunk faces forward the entire distance

Assessment Example

Now that Coach Betty has spent an adequate amount of time on her players' kicking, she wants to see how capable they are of dribbling the ball forward using their feet. Kim is one of the first girls to collect a ball and step up to the first pylon. She's confident to try the activity, and it doesn't take long for Betty to see why.

From the moment Kim pushes the ball forward for the first time, she keeps it well under control. She uses both feet so as to keep the ball at an appropriate distance from her body as she moves, and only rarely does she need to lunge forward or step out of line to control the ball. Even when she approaches the pylon and turns, she keeps the ball at a controlled distance.

Betty notices minor turning in Kim's body throughout the drill. Sometimes Kim twists so that she's no longer facing forward, and once or twice the leg with which she is dribbling the ball lags, causing the rest of her body to pull ahead. However, these moments are few, and Kim always seems able to pull the drill back together before she has fully lost control of the ball. Betty places a mark a little past the halfway mark under “Competent”.