Take Juggling to New Heights

The object of juggling is to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible without having it hit the ground. You can use any part of your body (feet, thighs, head, shoulders, etc.) except for your hands.

Every player on your team should have a ball. They should start this soccer drill by simply

After they are comfortable and ready, start laying down height restrictions on their touches. For example, the first restriction should be to use your only your feet keep the ball below your knees.

The second should be to use only your feet keep the ball below your waist. Third should be using only your feet keep the ball below your head and finally you should have your athletes keep the ball above their heads using only their feet.

This drill is very challenging and should be used with older athletes or extremely talented youngsters. You can use other body parts with commands as well. For example, use your thighs only keep the soccer ball below your head. After that you would ask them to keep it above their head. This drill is great for building touch and concentration.

What Coaches Should Look For

Your athletes should be trying their hardest to keep every touch in the appropriate height zone. This is not a drill where you hit one ball under the knee level and then the next above and so on. Every touch should be under or over the specified area.

To increase difficulty put all of your athletes into a grid. This puts some more pressure on them to stay inside and avoid their fellow teammates. This is a great drill to start practices with. It gets your athletes focused and warms up their touch.