Shark Attack Soccer Drill
SHARK ATTACK SOCCER DRILL
Drill Equipment
Disc Cones/Markers, Scrimmage Vests
Drill Quick Glance
The Shark Attack drill is excellent for developing dribbling skills in a fun and engaging environment, encouraging young players to think and move quickly while maintaining control of the ball. This drill will help improve dribbling skills under pressure and to develop spatial awareness and agility.
Drill setup
- Create a large rectangular playing area, about 25X15 yards using cones.
- All players with a soccer ball start inside the area.
- Designate 1 or 2 players (depending on the group size) as the initial sharks. They do not have balls.
- Create 3 shark cages inside the playing area that are designated as safe zones.
Drill Coaching Points
- Encourage players to keep their heads up to observe the position of the sharks.
- Stress the importance of close ball control, especially when changing direction quickly.
- Teach players to use different parts of their feet to dribble and control the ball.
- Encourage creativity and fun in evasive maneuvers.
Drill Instructions
- The players are divers in a shark-infested area. They start by dribbling their soccer balls within the playing area.
- The sharks attempt to steal the diver's air supply, aka the ball. When a diver's tank is stolen, they leave their ball and become a shark.
- The divers can get a brief reprieve inside a shark cage but must move on quickly after a quick breath in the cage.
- The game continues until all divers have been turned into sharks.
- The last remaining diver can be celebrated as the winner.
Drill Variations
- Require the sharks to have their ball to keep up with while trying to get the air supplies of other divers.
- Diver Skills - require the divers to perform a specific skill before leaving the shark cages.
- Time Challenge - have the game run for a set time and see how many fish survive until the end.
Drill Focus
Dribbling, Warm-up, FUN