More 1v1 moves, EXPERT skill required...

[NOTE: In 3v3 soccer, your last player (defender) should refrain from risky moves unless they are very practiced. I constantly encourage the forwards to have fun with these fancy moves.]

Here are more, advanced moves my players had fun with. I'm not going to explain these moves because there are many tutorials on youtube that can show you how to do them, but this puts a name for the move if you want to find more examples:

1) Rabona, a cross-under kick that can allow you to be 45 degrees in front of the ball and still kick the ball forward.

My son showing a Rabona, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, Pelé and Maradona...



2) Hocus Pocus, similar to the Rabona except a sharper cut that keeps the ball close to your body. Keeping your foot pointed toward the ground can help.

My son showing the Hocus Pocus, followed by Ronaldinho and Ronaldo...



3) Sombrero, a juggle that goes over your opponent’s head and you run around your opponent and collect the ball behind him or her. We practice this move by tossing the ball at the player while another player runs in.

My son showing a sombrero, followed by Robinho and Pelé...



4) Rainbow [Really cool if you can rainbow the ball over the defender and into a goal!]

Ilhan Mansiz rainbows...



5) Cow, a pass around the defender where the ball goes one way and the player runs around his opponent the opposite way to collect the ball behind his opponent. While this is a fairly simple move, the way Ronaldinho does it, receiving a pass and one touching the ball so it goes one way while he goes the other, that's beautiful...



6) Bicycle Kick

Maradona setting up his own bicycle kick and Pelé performing a common bicycle kick...



7) Scorpion Kick

Here’s a clip of René Higuita, the famous Columbian goalie, performing a scorpion kick as a ‘cheeky’ defensive maneuver, however this can be used anywhere on the field, including to score a goal...

Chaos dribbling drill...

This is another fun drill. It teaches keeping the ball close while dribbling through traffic.

Required: All players, the more, the better. Each player should have a ball. Parents can join in as well.

Setup: Make a square small enough to fit everyone in the drill (four cones will work). All players line up along the outside of the square, with all four sides having players.

Drill: When the coach says go, everyone dribbles through the square at the same time, weaving through traffic, to the other side and back again. You try to avoid all other players or balls. The first one back to where he or she started, with their ball, wins.

Variation: Instead of dribbling just once, you can have players dribble back and forth several times.

Hint: Players should keep the ball close, using all their dribbling skills, i.e. inside, outside, brushing, cuts, etc...

Running/throwing/dribbling drill...

This drill is one of the easiest, most fun, and effective drills you can run. Players absolutely love this drill and it teaches them to dribble without looking at the ball and running backwards.

Required: Two players and two balls.

Setup: The two players face each other, somewhat apart. The player who will start running backwards holds his ball while the other player will dribble his ball with his feet towards the backward running player.

Drill: When the player starts backwards, he tosses his ball at the dribbling player (like a basketball pass to the chest), who must catch the ball and toss it back while continuing to dribble after the player running backwards. Once they cross the field, the players run back in their same path and position, except now the player who started backwards is now the dribbler while the other player is only catching and tossing the ball.

This drill is even more fun when the players race against other teammates. I usually switch players around so they run with different teammates.

My sons showing the running/throwing/dribbling drill...