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Two turns, the drag-back and the sole roll, once the outside touch feels easy.
Read about turningTeach a Child to Dribble With the Outside of the Foot: Three Steps and Two Games
Skill-Building Games
The outside touch is the one that lets a child steer the ball without stopping.
This page shows where the touch lands, three small steps to practise it and two garden games that need no cones, plus what to try when it goes wrong.
To teach a child to dribble with the outside of the foot, show where the touch lands, then go in three small steps. Start at walking pace with one foot, switch feet on the second go, then curve the ball round a marker. The outside touch uses the outer edge of the foot, near the little toe, to nudge the ball sideways or forward. An England Football dribbling session lists the outside of the foot among the surfaces children can explore, but no source read tests this in young children. Everything below is a game to try, not a proven method.
For a long time I thought dribbling was a string of little pushes with the inside of the foot, until I watched a ball roll straight past the wheelie bin because there was no other touch on offer.
Where the touch lands
Outside Foot Dribbling for Kids: Find the Spot
The outside touch is made with the outer edge of the foot, near the little toe. The ball goes away from the body side of the foot instead of across it, so a child can keep moving while steering.
Compare that with the inside touch, which is the slow, small taps of an easy beginner dribbling game. The toes are different again: for a toe-poke, start with a different place on the foot.
Here is a quick check to run from the side. Ask your child to stand still and roll a ball gently sideways with the outer edge of the foot, toes turned in a little. Crouch to the side and look: the little toe side of the foot should meet the ball. This check is my own, not from a source.
The same England Football session asks players to "explore different parts of their feet (laces, inside, outside etc.)" (England Football session plan). A US coaching drill that uses the outside of each foot pushes the ball right with the outside of the right foot and left with the outside of the left.
One limit matters. The first is a coach session plan and the second a US group drill, and neither tests the outside touch in children aged 5 to 9.
Slow first, then switch
Three Steps, One Small Touch at a Time
These three steps are my own progression and untested. Let the ball escape sometimes, and let your child try again.
- 1
Walk it, one foot. Walk along a straight line, tapping the ball forward with the outer edge of one foot, small touches only. Let the ball escape sometimes. Pause, collect it, go again.
- 2
Switch feet. Same walk, but change foot every few touches. The outside of the right foot sends the ball a little right and the outside of the left sends it a little left (SoccerHelp drill). This is the dribbling with both sides of the foot step, and it echoes the slow-first idea of the easy beginner dribbling game.
- 3
Curve it. Walk a gentle curve round a marker, such as a shoe. The outside touch lets the ball bend round without a stop. When the curve works, the turning moves on change of direction dribbling are the next step.
"Shall we try the outer edge of your foot, a little touch each step?"
Do not ask for eyes up in step 1. For the head-up cue, see the head-up cue. England Football notes that children aged 6 to 8 naturally focus on "me and the ball" (an England Football article on dribbling).
No cones needed
Two Outside of the Foot Touch Games
Both games need only shoes, a bin or a bucket and a patch of grass. Try each one yourself first.
Shoe Lane
Lay two rows of shoes or rolled socks, a stride apart, to make a lane about six strides long. Use outside touches only and keep the ball in the lane. Go down the lane with the right foot and back with the left. Collect any wanderer and try again. Count nothing.
Round the Bin
Put one marker, such as the recycling bin or a bucket, in open grass. Walk the ball round it in a circle. The foot nearest the bin does the steering: with the bin on the left, the outside of the left foot pushes the ball left (SoccerHelp drill). Then change direction and let the other foot do it. If the ball drifts off, start the circle again.
Once both games feel easy, a fixed course to try is the next step.
Stiff, slow or toe-led
Why the Outside Touch Goes Wrong, and What to Try
I used to say "use the outside" and watch the toe go straight into the ball, and I only found out the foot needed a different shape, not a louder instruction.
| What you see | What to try |
|---|---|
| The ball goes too far ahead | Walk and tap smaller. The ball only needs to travel a foot-length. |
| The toe pokes the ball | Turn the toes in a little and aim for the outer edge. See a toe-poke needs a different place on the foot. |
| The same foot every time | Play step 2 again. See a two-minute rule for the other foot. |
| The child stares at the ball | Fine at this stage. The head-up cue can wait. |
| The ball squirts across the body | The touch is landing too far back on the foot. Slow down and check the spot above. |
Not before it feels easy
When to Move On
Move on when the ball stays within a couple of strides for a whole lane in both directions. Then try the turns on change of direction dribbling.
If your child is bored first, go to a fixed course to try. Count no touches. No source says how long this takes.
What is known and what is not
What the Sources Say, and Where They Stop
England Football's session plan from 8 November 2022 has players "explore different parts of their feet (laces, inside, outside etc.)" (England Football dribbling session). It names the outside of the foot only inside a list of surfaces.
A SoccerHelp drill uses the outside of the right foot to push the ball right and the outside of the left to push it left (SoccerHelp Driving School). It is a US coaching site.
An England Football article by Vinny Halsall says children aged 6 to 8 focus on "me and the ball" (England Football article on dribbling).
These are one coach session plan, one coach article and one US drill. None is a study of teaching the outside touch to children aged 5 to 9, and none says how long it takes. The three steps and the fix list are my own, built from how coaches describe the touch, and untested.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Dribbling With the Outside of the Foot
How do I teach my child to dribble with the outside of the foot?
Show where the touch lands, then walk it with one foot, switch feet, then curve round a marker. The steps are my own and untested.
Which part of the foot is the outside touch?
The outer edge, near the little toe. A side-on check is in find the spot.
What is a good outside of the foot touch game?
Shoe Lane and Round the Bin, both in the two games.
Should my child use both sides of the foot?
England Football's coaching session lists inside and outside among the surfaces children explore (England Football session). Step 2 switches feet.
Why does my child keep poking the ball with their toes?
See the fix list and a toe-poke needs a different place on the foot.
Does the outside touch hurt the ankle?
No source read says so. Keep to flat ground and stop if an ankle is sore.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next, depending on what your child needs.
Is your child staring at the ball?
A counting cue and three head-up games, for when the eyes stay glued down.
Read about head-up dribblingIs one foot doing all the work?
A two-minute rule that gives the other foot its turn.
Read about the weak footTonight's five minutes
Lay a shoe lane and walk it twice.
Set out two rows of shoes, walk the ball down with the outer edge of one foot and back with the other. Collect any wanderer and go again.