Football Technique Training: 6 Drills to Genuinely Improve

Why technique is the foundation of everything

Speed, strength and tactics matter — but without technique you can’t use those qualities in a match. A player who controls the ball cleanly, passes accurately and keeps the ball close under pressure buys time and space. That’s why technique training is at the heart of every session at our football school in Almere.

You don’t build technique in one go. It’s repetition with attention: the same movement, hundreds of times, a little sharper each time. Here are six drills we use ourselves, from beginner to advanced.

1. Receive and carry

Let the ball arrive and take it in one movement, away from the “defender” (a cone). The first touch decides everything: take it into space and you have time; take it onto your foot and you’re standing still. Practise with the inside, outside and sole.

2. Passing with a target

Pass against a wall or to a partner, but always with intent: aim at a specific point. Alternate short, firm passes with soft, curled balls. Technique isn’t only striking cleanly — it’s choosing the right pass.

3. Dribbling with small touches

Set up a cone course and dribble through as tightly as possible. The rule: small touches, ball close. Big kicks look flashy but cost control. Build up speed once it’s clean.

4. Feints (1-v-1)

The chop, the Cruyff turn, the drag-back, the scissors. Practise them slowly and without a defender first, then faster, then in a real 1-v-1 duel. In a match, these moves make the difference.

5. Finishing with technique

Placement over power — especially for youth. Aim for the corners, use the inside for precision and the laces for power. Also practise touch-and-finish: receive, carry, finish in two moves.

6. Both feet

The biggest technical gains sit in the weaker foot. Deliberately do every drill on the left (or right) too. At a young age this is the moment to become two-footed — later it’s far harder.

Tips from our coaches

• Quality over speed. Clean first, fast later. Speed without control trains bad habits.
• Short, frequent blocks. 15 minutes of technique a day beats one long weekly session.
• Filming helps. Record a drill on your phone — kids instantly see what to improve.
• Match form. Build the drill up into a real duel so the technique keeps working under pressure.

Training technique with guidance

Practising at home lays the foundation, but the fastest growth comes with feedback: a coach who sees what’s going wrong and corrects it right away. At Rise With Talent, a football school in Almere, we train technique in small groups, duos and private sessions — with plenty of ball contacts and personal attention per player.

Want your child to really progress? Book a free trial session and come train with us.