 So it's like shaking him with your body. Okay, so you need to get in the habit of sprinting with the ball And you can see I'm up here. My balance is taking me away from the ball I'm just not as sharp and explosive as if I was focused on being down here One thing that I used to do was when I was really focused on improving my dribbling I wanted to dribble more like messy. I wanted to be more direct. I wanted to create more chances If you don't know about me I used to be a huge underachiever, but through obsessive self-improvement. I found my success earned a college scholarship Played for my national futsal team a YouTube channel with over 100 million views I've helped players worldwide and I'd love to help you improve faster and achieve more Little touches every stride. He's basically touching the ball Especially when there are defenders around can see these little touches because the closer he has the ball to his foot He can always manipulate it if you have these big heavy touches, especially when defenders are around It's gonna give them more opportunity to win the ball The next thing is his ability to run at top speed, but a lot of players when we get the ball for some reason We dribble or we run with the ball much slower than we do When we don't have the ball when we're just sprinting Okay, so you need to get in the habit of sprinting with the ball Okay, you want to be able to dribble to run with the ball at top speed and this starts with more of a mental shift than an actual physical one Yes, you're gonna be a little bit slower when you have the ball your feet as compared to when you don't have the ball your feet However, you need that mental switch that when I get the ball and there's space. I'm sprinting with that ball I'm not jogging I'm sprinting as fast as I can Maybe it's something he does naturally, but it is an aspect of his dribbling is low center of gravity Okay, so yes, he's a small guy naturally He's closer to the ground and you'll see this with a lot of small players I will send the better in one day soccer blueprint to anyone who comments hashtag soccer on this video Low center of gravity. Why is it so important? Well when I'm lower to the ground You see my knees are bent more. I'm more athletic. I'm more explosive. So I can push up. I can change direction quicker If I am about to be tackled I can be stronger I can be more physical in this position if I have to block players off the ball But as far as dribbling it's really gonna help you with your change of direction So for example if I am cutting and I'm lower to the ground I'm gonna be able to change direction sharper as opposed to if I'm up here So let's say for example. I'm up here and you can see I'm up here. My balance is taking me away from the ball I'm just not as sharp and explosive as if I was focused on being down here Okay, so really focus on Staying low to the ground Low center of gravity Instead of being up here because then I touch it and I'm heavy someone comes in bodies me puts a shoulder into me. I'm gonna fall over Okay, so really focus on getting low to the ground especially when you're changing direction Another thing you have to think about and look at when Messi dribbles is The way he beats defenders. Where are the moves? Where are the tricks? Is he trying to do flicks and hocus pocuses and all this stuff? No, he uses cuts and changes of direction. He doesn't waste time on that He knows that all he has to do is Get a player on his back foot What I mean by that is if a defender is like this you have him beat all you have to do is get past him So be aware of his body positioning if he's flat-footed and stuck like this you have him beat All you have to do is go don't worry about making a move just go and Messi does that so well How does he be players? Usually a skip to the outside or a cut Inside he might do from his left to his right Okay, but it's a lot of cuts a lot of changes of direction So really simplify your one-on-one dribbling and take advice from Messi use those quick cuts Those quick changes of direction a little body faint here and there To get away from defenders Uses his body really well. So again, this does come back to what I just talked about low center of gravity It's gonna help you do that But still you have to be aware of where your body is and not just focus on your touches So if this is a defender, I don't just want to focus on My skills to beat him. I want to use my body to beat him. So for example, instead of just Touching it away from him like that Maybe I'm coming like this So my body gets between him and the ball if you want to improve faster and achieve more this season Use the soccer success planner. It's 100% free players all around the world have already used it to improve You can download it right now. There's a link in the description below Well, and he'll also use a lot of body feints for example something like that So it's like shaking him with your body low center of gravity, but if he's trying to get the ball I'm gonna keep the ball as far away from him as I can. I'm not gonna put it on this foot I'm gonna put it on this foot So he's gonna have to go through me to get the ball. So think about using your body So for example, let's just dribble around a bit here. If these are defenders Okay, I'm cutting players off. I'm putting my body between the ball. Messi does this so well If you watch him Okay, it's about body control as much as it is about touches Most times the Messi plays he is the smallest player on the pitch But if you watch him, he never gets knocked down if he does it's because he got fouled But as far as individual battles or shielding and protecting the ball, he is very strong So size does not matter if you're a small player size is not an excuse You need to be strong when you're on the ball. So just because you're strong doesn't mean you're actually using your strength There's a lot of big strong guys who are easy to knock off the ball because they don't use their strength So especially when you're dribbling you have to be strong any time there is body contact Or I'm trying to get between two players. I have to be strong Okay, I have to use my strength and you're gonna have an advantage by coming back to that lower center of gravity The lower you are the more strength the more power you produce if you're up here You're easy to knock over if you're down here I'm harder to knock off the ball be aware that the contact is coming and don't be afraid to put your shoulder into someone Expecting that contact and being willing to take it Yes, he does favor his left foot a lot so a lot of people say oh he has no right Well, he still has the ability to use his right if he has to he can still take a shot with his right He can still dribble he can still have a good first touch with his right foot So favor your left if you want to but have the ability to use both feet One thing that I used to do was when I was really focused on improve my dribbling I wanted to dribble more like messy I wanted to be more direct. I wanted to create more chances The thing I would do was I would wash one of his compilations before I went out and played So this would inspire me but also subconsciously it would put little things in my mind So I would find myself in the same situation and I'd find myself doing what messy did From moving up divisions to making national teams players who use the online soccer Academy get results Access elite level coaching and training become a complete player Make a difference on the field and get noticed when you play limited spots available apply today start improving tomorrow Link in the description below