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See the full collectionChange of Direction Dribbling for Kids
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Change of direction dribbling isn't stopping the ball and choosing a new way to go.
It's turning with the ball, staying in motion the whole time, rather than stopping it dead first and picking a new way to go on the next touch. I used to think a good dribbler just ran fast in a straight line and stopped when they hit something, and it turns out the actual skill is what happens the moment before that. I only noticed it once I watched for it properly, in a small garden with nothing more than a lawn and a fence to work around. This page teaches two moves for it, the drag-back turn and the sole-roll turn. Both are covered as a five-minute garden skill instead of a full agility-ladder session built for a squad of players, using nothing more than a bit of grass and a ball already at your child's feet.
Learn this one first
The Drag-Back Turn, Step by Step
The drag-back turn is worth learning first because it works from a standing start. There's no run-up to time and no approach speed to judge, so there's nothing to get wrong before the turn even begins, which makes it the natural first move to show in a small garden or on any open patch of lawn.
- 1
The foot. The sole of the kicking foot goes on top of the ball, not behind it. That's the part most first attempts get backwards, and it's worth checking before anything else, because the whole turn depends on the foot starting in the right place.
- 2
The roll. Roll the ball backward past the standing foot while turning the body, about half a circle, in one continuous movement, not a stop and a restart. The body and the ball turn together, not one after the other, and the hips lead the way the foot then follows.
- 3
The go. As the ball comes round, tap it away with the same foot into the new direction and go. No pause to admire the turn, just straight into the next touch, with the same confidence as the first stride of a run.
The quicker option
The Sole Roll, for When There's No Time to Stop
The sole roll turn is a second, quicker option for when a child is already moving and a full drag-back would cost too much time. Instead of one big roll back, the lead sole rolls the ball diagonally across the body onto a new line while the hips turn to face it, then the trailing foot takes the very next touch already travelling that new way, so the whole move flows straight through without a break in the ball's motion.
It's the honest trade worth naming: a sole roll is less dramatic than a drag-back, but it's faster to repeat, so it earns its place once the drag-back is comfortable and a child wants to change direction without losing any speed at all. It suits the moment a child wants to change direction quickly without slowing down, in the same clear, obstacle-free space the drag-back needs.
One study, honestly hedged
Look at the Space, Not Your Feet
The one coaching cue this page actually gives during the turn is simple: say where to go, not what the foot is doing. That comes from a 2020 study of attentional focus and change-of-direction performance (McNicholas and Comyns), which found that in a timed cutting-and-turning task, players told to focus on the space around them turned significantly faster than players told to focus on their own body. A follow-up check on the same players found they actually held that outward focus most of the time when told to use it, and far less often when told to focus inward on their own feet.
Applied honestly, that supports one plain in-the-moment line, "go there" while pointing, rather than a joint-by-joint checklist repeated after every attempt. The study used 17 college-age men doing a marked sprint-cutting test, not children and not a football turn with a ball. It supports the general idea that pointing attention outward helps a change-of-direction movement, nothing more specific about football, dribbling or this site's 5-to-9 age range, and it is offered here with that limitation stated plainly rather than glossed over. See how Our Kickabout researches its pages.
When it's not quite there yet
When the Turn Looks More Like a Stop
The common beginner failure is stopping the ball dead, looking up, then picking a new direction on the next touch instead of turning with it. That's not wrong exactly, it's just a different, earlier skill, and the actual turn is what comes after it clicks. Most children go through a stopping phase before a turning phase, and there's no shortcut worth forcing through it. Naming the difference out loud, once, tends to do more than a dozen silent repeats of the same failed attempt.
Before you head outside
Try It on Screen First
The game below is rehearsal for reading the cue and turning quickly, not a replacement for practising the actual footwork on the grass. It gives the same "watch for the signal, then turn" timing this page has been building toward, just without a ball underfoot yet, and it rewards a clean, quick turn the same way the garden version does. Miss one and the next cue simply gets a little more forgiving, so there's nothing to lose by trying it a few times indoors first. Once the turn feels familiar on screen, a small taped course to practise it in is a good next step for repeating it for real, once a grown-up has checked the space around it is clear.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Change of Direction Dribbling
What is change of direction dribbling?
Turning with the ball still under control, in one continuous movement, instead of stopping the ball dead and picking a new direction on the next touch.
What's the easiest turn to teach first?
The drag-back turn, sole on the ball, roll it back past the standing foot, turn and go. It works from a standing start, so there's no timing to get wrong with a run-up.
Is a sole roll turn different from a drag-back turn?
Yes, a sole roll carries the ball straight onto a new line without the drag-back's bigger roll back first, so it costs less time when a child is already on the move.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three routes out of here, depending on what you're after tonight.
Want a two-person skill instead of a solo one?
The one-two passing game, a simple give-and-go for two people and one ball.
See the passing gameNew to all this?
Start here for how this whole site works and what to try first.
Start hereTonight's five minutes
One turn, practised properly.
Watch the space, roll it back, go. Then do it again.