My First Try with Football Cones
So I grabbed some cheap plastic cones online the other day. Saw ’em used at the park and figured, why not try some simple beginner drills myself? Total rookie move, didn’t really know what I was doin’.
Step 1: Just Dribble Around ‘Em
First, I just slapped three cones in a straight line on my driveway, maybe 3 feet apart. Goal was real simple: dribble the ball close around each cone. Man, easier said than done! Felt super clumsy at first. Kept kickin’ the ball too far or hittin’ the cone. Focused on keepin’ the ball glued to my feet, using just the inside and outside of my foot. Took me a bunch of tries, sweatin’ like crazy, before I could weave through without sendin’ a cone flyin’. Key was takin’ it slower than I thought.
Step 2: The Figure-Eight Thing
Next, I put two cones kinda close together, like shoulder-width. Tried dribbling in a figure-eight pattern around ’em. Sounds easy? Hah! My feet felt like lead boots. Constantly tangled up, ball gettin’ stuck between the cones. I ended up practicin’ without the ball first, just walkin’ the figure-eight path, gettin’ my body used to twistin’. Added the ball back slow – like real slow touches with the outside of my foot. Felt weird, but eventually started flowin’ a tiny bit smoother.
Step 3: Passing Practice Solo
Felt kinda silly doin’ this alone, but whatever. Set up two cones about 5 steps apart. Stood behind one cone, aimed to pass the ball through the gap between the other cone pair I placed maybe a yard apart. Just wanted accuracy – hit the gap, trap the ball myself. First shots? Wild! Either whiffed the gap completely or kicked it way too hard. Focused on just a short, simple pass off the inside of my foot. Pointing my planted foot at the target helped loads. Repetition sucked, but my aim got way less terrible.
Step 4: Weaving While Walkin’
Set up maybe six cones in a zig-zag line, each cone spaced out about four of my feet lengths. Walked, just straight walked, while tryin’ to dribble the ball around each cone. Look, runnin’ it would’ve been a disaster show. Walkin’ forced me to control the ball and concentrate on where the next cone was. Kept losin’ the ball on the turns. Tip? Smaller touches right as I approached the cone, plant that outside foot hard, and push the ball around it. Wasn’t fast, felt awkward, but managed the path without lookin’ down at the ball constantly.
Step 5: Speed Touch Challenge (Okay, Slow Speed!)
Saw people do this fast drill with cones close together. Nope. Not me yet. I put three cones in a straight line, really close – maybe one step apart. Tried dribbling quickly between ’em using just one foot touch per gap. Used the inside of my right foot, tried to tap the ball straight forward into the gap, scoot after it quick, then tap again. Pure chaos at first. Either tapped it sideways into a cone or straight into the cone dead ahead. Dialed it down to barely a push, focusin’ on control over speed. Managed a couple shaky runs without a total collision.
Wrappin’ It Up
Honestly, felt pretty goofy out there on the driveway by myself. Made tons of mistakes, kicked cones over loads, chased my ball across the lawn too many times. But those plastic cones? Seriously, they make you see your bad habits. The messy touches, the lousy control when you gotta turn? They show ya right up. It ain’t fancy, just repetitive and kinda tedious, but stickin’ with these simple drills for a week already makes the ball feel a tiny bit less like it’s controllin’ me. Worth the hassle. Just start slow!
