Starting to play futsal for the first time? It’s not the easiest sport in the world to play but nor is it the hardest, regardless of your age it’s never too late to start a new sport including futsal.
Before you decide that it’s too hard or can’t be done have a read of our list of futsal drills that will help you become a better player and raise your level of fitness at the same time.
These are all basic drills for futsal beginners and provide a good base point to build upon.
The basic futsal drills we will cover to help you in your progression as a futsal player are:
- Two Cone Shuffle
- Cone Weave
- Two Cone Shuffle and Shoot
- Cone Weave And Shoot
- Circle Weave
- Return Pass & Shoot
- Boxed In
- Beat The Defender
- Penalty Shots
- Corner Drills
- Small and Big Goal Challenge
- Zone Passes
- Practice Shooting
Why Agility & Ball Control?
Agility drills are a great way to improve your physical fitness as well as improve on ball control and technique as they should be done as quickly as possible, at first it may seem enough to complete the drills without a futsal ball let alone while trying to keep one under control.
We assure you though, the more you practice the agility drills with and without the futsal ball the better you’ll get.
By incorporating ball control into your agility drills you’ll get the best of both worlds.
Adding timings and extra players to the mix is another sure fire way to improve your control of the ball while under pressure from other players.
1. Two Cone Shuttle
Set up two cones across one half of the futsal court as demonstrated in the example image. The goal here is to run between the cones.
Player’s shouldn’t cut across the cones and must go around the cones. This two cone shuttle is basic in nature but is great for getting players used to turning with and without the ball.
Tips:
- Do the drill as fast as you can with and without the ball, then work towards beating your time.
- Use both your weaker and preferred foot when doing the drill with the ball and see if you can get your weaker foot timing as good as the dominant foot timing.
- Run through the drill touching the ball with only the outside of your foot and then again with only the inside of your foot.
2. Cone Weave
A step up from the two cone shuffle, the cone weave assists players in improving agility and turning in tight spaces.
By helping players move left and right, you can expect to see an improvement on the futsal court come game day when surrounded by players in tight spaces.
Tips:
- Try doing this with both feet to weave in and out of the cones.
- Try using your dominant foot only and timing it, then try matching that time with your weaker foot.
- Use only the inside of your foot and then do the same with the the outside of your foot only.
- Set a personal best time and then seek to improve upon it weekly.
3. Two Cone Shuffle And Shoot
In this exercise set up two cones a distance apart, what you want to do here is weave between the two goals and follow it up with a shot on goal.
This is a basic step up from the two cone shuffle and will help you to start thinking of other things following your weaving between the goals.
As there is minimal pressure in this exercise you should be able to hit the target most times and if you aren’t then you should keep practicing until you are efficient.
Tips:
- Challenge yourself with different scoring methods i.e. shots in the air, shots on the floor lobbed shots etc. If you get really good aim for the crossbar or goal posts.
- Move the cones around the futsal court to ensure you are exposed to different areas.
- Focus on areas of the court that don’t feel natural and ensure your weaker foot is given as much opportunities on the drill as your dominant foot.
4. Cone Weave And Shoot
Another step up from the cone weave, this drill will require you to weave between a number of cones before shooting at the futsal goal.
This drill will help you come match day as you get used to weaving around players and moving in tight spaces before shooting at the futsal goal.
Tips:
- You can do this drill using both feet, weaker foot only and using only the outside and or inside of your foot.
- Ensure your time your drills so that you have a benchmark to which you can improve upon.
- If you have a teammate or friend have them jockey you at the end of the cones to add extra pressure to the drill.
5. Circle Weave
In this drill set up cones to form a circle, you can add as many as you like within reason. Use the centre circle as a guide as per the explainer image.
In this drill start in the middle as indicated by the red line, this will also be your ending point.
Aim to dribble between all of the cones using both your feet and insides and outsides of your boot only.
Tips:
- If you have a teammate have them commence the drill 20 seconds after you. Their goal should be to catch you while your goal is to finish the drill before they do. This will add some pressure to the drill and assist you in dribbling the futsal ball while under pressure.
- Once you complete the drill, reverse and head in the opposite direction, this well test your bearings and extra pressure on your body and mind.
6. Return Pass & Shoot
In this drill, you’ll need at least one other player and preferably a goalkeeper. If you don’t have a goalkeeper available then place a cone in the goals with the objective of hitting it with your shot.
Have your teammate stand near the touchline, right or left it doesn’t matter. Dribble the ball at speed and pass to your teammate. Your teammate will then play the ball back to you.
When the ball is played back to you take it under control with no more than two touches before shooting at goal.
Tips:
- To increase difficulty take the shot first time without breaking stride, this will help you get comfortable in situations where breaking stride isn’t an option.
- Try 5 times on your left foot and 5 times on your right foot, have your teammate swap sides to ensure you are getting exposure to the ball coming across your body from both sides.
7. Boxed In
In this exercise, set up a box that is 2.5 metres x 2.5 metres. In this exercise you can have a teammate pass you the ball in the air with the objective of controlling the ball within the 5 square meters of the box.
This will improve your ball control and technique in confined spaces, and it will get easier the more times that your practice it.
Tips:
- To make it more difficult consider closing the space of the box.
- Have the ball come in from different sides and at different heights.
- Have balls come in in quick sequence.
- If you don’t have a teammate to practice with then simply play the ball up in the air to yourself, the higher it goes the harder it will be to control on the way down.
8. Beat The Defender
In this drill, you’ll need a defender and goalkeeper. Start inside your defensive half dribbling through a set of cones. Once you transition into the offensive half you’ll be faced with a defender.
You’re goal is to beat the defender and go one on one versus the goalkeeper while seeking to score a goal. This drill is a little bit more strenuous than what we have been doing so far.
It will get you use to carrying the ball from inside your defensive half and transitioning into attack while trying to score a goal.
This drill ends when one of two things happen:
- The defender wins the ball or,
- You take a shot on goal
You should run through this exercise and ensure, you guessed it, both feet are used to control and shoot the ball.
9. Penalty Shots
If you decide on playing futsal for any serious period of time odds are sooner or later you will be asked to take a penalty.
Unlike soccer there are two penalty spots in futsal and it’s important that you are comfortable with taking penalties from both of them.
You should focus on using medium power with an emphasis on placement to begin with, there’s no point striking the ball as hard as you can if you can’t accurately place it.
Once you’re comfortable with taking penalties and you can do so with accuracy then consider using more power as come match day you will need powerful and accurate shots if you want to stand any chance of beating the goalkeeper.
Remember, this isn’t soccer, try giving a “toe punt” a try and see how you go.
10. Corner Drills
It’s important that beginners are familiar with all aspect of the futsal court, to ensure that you are then you’ll need to practice your corner taking.
Corners are important as they offer an attacking advantage when played right and within a teams tactics and plans. For now though we are just going to focus on the aspect of taking a corner and doing it with accuracy.
Ideally you’ll want a teammate who you can target, but if not don’t worry you can still carry out this drill on your own. Set up cones around the goal and try to hit them with a corner cross.
Tips:
- Hit the cones all once with ground passes.
- Hit the cones with balls played in the air.
- Number the cones and hit them in sequential order, then do it backwards.
If you can do all of the above-listed exercises then once it comes to game day you’re team will do well to entrust you with the corner taking responsibilities.
11. Small and Big Goal Challenge
In this drill, players will line up in their defensive half with a ball each. In the middle of the pitch there will be a goal to the left or right it, doesn’t matter which side at this stage. There will also be a defender located at the goal.
The objective here is for the attacker to beat the defender and score, after scoring the attacker should continue running into the offensive half where a teammate will pass them the ball.
The player will then take a shot on goal at the “big” futsal goals.
Tips:
- To increase difficulty players should only take one shot on goal.
- Make it so the balls are passed on the ground and in the air to make it more challenging for the attacking player.
- If the defender wins the ball then they should swap with the attacker straight away
12. Zone Passes
Although the futsal court is much smaller than a soccer field, there will be instances when players will be required to play long balls across the court to teammates in order to take advantage of situations.
It’s ideal if you have players that you can pass to for this drill, you can however set it up on your own and have cones to pass to represent different zones.
You’ll should rotate positions across the futsal court so you are accustomed to playing the ball from all angles to the various areas of the court.
Tips:
- If you find this easy try changing out the cones for bins and only consider the zone hit if the ball hits or enter the bin.
- Go through all zones with both feet.
- Play ground balls and lobbed balls to all zones.
- If a team mate is available have them call out the zone numbers for you to keep you on your toes.
- Time how long it takes you to hit each zone, try and beat this time in future training session.
Once you can master this drill you will be well on your way to mastering the navigation of the futsal court.
13. Practice Shooting
While familiarising yourself with the futsal court, be sure to take some time to practice free shooting, with or without a goalkeeper.
Your aim here is to become so familiar with the futsal goal and where it is located that you’ll be able to shoot without looking, well sometimes, and be comfortable with your bearings on the court.
Don’t worry too much about setting up different cones or a defender to beat only worry about beating the goalkeeper.
Tips:
- Try for placed shots initially with a focus on hitting the back of the net in an area you visualize
- Add power once you find your shots are accurate enough
- Make sure you try shots across the ground as well as lifted ones
- Don’t forget to use both feet evenly
Practice Makes Perfect
The 13 beginner futsal drills listed above, are just that baseline beginner drills. They are not the most basic of introductory futsal drills but are designed to test you and improve your skills and fitness.
Don’t be disheartened if you struggle with the drills at first, remember that the more you practice the drills the better you will become and your fitness and ball skills will improve dramatically as a result.
You can always add extra variants to the drills to make them more challenging, once you are comfortable with them however it will be time to move on to intermediate and advanced drills to ensure you continue to improve on your futsal journey.
