Simple Dodge and Roll-Back Drill
Use this easy Dodging Drill to practice a key individual athletic skill that players from youth to college and pro will use multiple times in every game!
We watched Notre Dame practice tons of Split Dodges and "Roll-Backs" this spring before their game against Team USA. This is one of the first skills top coaches teach to players handling the ball. A quick Roll-Back is a great way to lose a Defender or get out of a defensive Double Team. Get away, get your hands free, and move the ball.
Notre Dame calls this "Robbie!" It's a little shorter and quicker to say than "Roll Back!" Other coaches call it "Escape!" or "Bounce!", like bouncing off the Double Team. Call it whatever you want with your team. Just make sure your players know exactly what move they need to do when they hear this call.
This drill is a great way to give your players tons of reps for building muscle memory for dodging, carrying, rolling back, passing and catching, even turn it into a shooting drill! These are the exact moves and passes your players will use in game situations!
HERE'S THE DRILL:
Figure 1.) Set up your players in two lines up top like in a standard 2-3-1 Formation. Put your players at the correct locations on the field where they will Dodge so they learn field spacing. Put cones down where you want them to Dodge, then Roll Back around the cone. Keep it simple! Go to the cone and do the move.
Blue 1, Left-to-Right Split Dodge! This is a move College and Pro players use all the time. Make the first move into the middle, second move down the Alley towards the Goal! Sell the Fake to the left. Focus on Change of Speed and Direction.
