Drysdale Supercoach Session 4: Shielding the ball

21 Jun 2019 by Marty Bluml

Every soccer player should learn how to shield the ball if they want to become a complete player. It allows a player who has been closed down quickly by the opposition to retain possession and find time to pass to a team mate. Below you will find the basic steps to shielding the ball and links to a good YouTube video.

1. Put Your Body Between the Ball and the Defender

Once you have the ball at your feet and you need to buy a few seconds, turn away from the defender and get your body low. Ideally you want to turn side on with your shoulder pointing into the defender. This will allow you to hold the ball further away from the defender.

2. Make Yourself as Big as You Can
One thing that you never want to do is keep your arms and legs close together while you’re shielding, “Make yourself big”. This means putting your arms out into the defenders chest and getting your hips wide. This will give you great balance and allow you to conceal the ball better.

3. Upper Body Strength is Key
Shielding is one of the most physical parts of the game because you often have to lean in hard against an aggressive defender. This is necessary to buy you those precious few seconds to get your head up and find a pass or beat the defender.

4. Don’t Stop Moving
If you stand still the defender will have a much better chance of stealing the ball, if you continue to move your body and the ball, use step-overs and drags, this will provide great opportunities to pass or beat the defender.

Try these YouTube videos:
https://youtu.be/kJwlfOqpByY
https://youtu.be/A3heCK6nK-s

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