Mohammad Zarrabi-Kashani served as a National Referee for the United States Soccer Federation for 10 years. Recently retired, Zarrabi-Kashani continues his passion for the game by working as a National Assessor and coach/mentor for the Federation. He has been involved with soccer as a player and referee for over 40 years. He shares his thoughts on “the beautiful game” below.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. The reason being the game’s simplicity. In most third world countries, facilities such as basketball courts, baseball diamonds and football fields are rare. Due to those restrictions, soccer makes the most sense. All it takes is a ball and some open space. Each day around the world, kids get together to kick around a soccer ball, working on their passing and dribbling skills. As simple as it may seem, that is how the greatest soccer players began their careers. By going outdoors and kicking a ball around with a friend, parent or against a wall. In fact, the greatest player in soccer history, Pele, grew up so poor, he couldn’t afford a soccer ball so he and his friends would make their own from socks stuffed with old newspaper.

Fortunately, we don’t have to go to such lengths but the simplicity of soccer remains. There is a standard formula to becoming better: practice. To do so, you need to essentially understand how to kick and dribble the ball.

Dribbling-

Dribbling is the toughest aspect of soccer to teach. It takes a great deal of repetition as well as natural artistic skill. The best soccer ball handlers have what many refer to as remarkable “foot skills”. The easiest way to improve dribbling is by setting up cones or objects and trying to dribble continuously through them. Start slow. The goal is ball control. Ball control is everything in soccer. There is no magic recipe to master dribbling. It is all repetition. After you have set up cones or objects in open space, start by moving forward with the ball at your feet—parents should remind their kids to always keep their eye on the ball while they dribble. Eventually after they become more comfortable with the ball, they can begin to look up while they dribble or protect the ball. Similar to the best dribblers in basketball, it takes constant practice to become consistent. Slowly dribble through cones or obstacles and raise the degree of difficulty gradually.

Another key aspect to dribbling for beginners is the use of both feet. It is natural for young soccer players to avoid using their off-foot. Kicking and dribbling with one’s dominant foot is much easier, but in soccer it is critical to be able to use both feet effectively. While dribbling through cones, try different variations. Try it with both feet, the left foot only and the right foot only. During a youth soccer game, the kids who usually standout possess supreme ball control and dribbling ability. It takes a great deal of repetition to become a good ball handler. Overall, the only way to get better at soccer is to go out and play! The kids that want to become exceptional at the beautiful game must put in extra time outside of team practices and games to work on dribbling and passing. If finding a partner to kick with is difficult, find a concrete wall and practice kicking to yourself. Just make sure its not a garage door or near any windows—the last thing we want to do is break anything when we practice!