by I have been studying up on soccer dribbling and feinting on the
internet--I must have looked at at least a hundred pages on the
subject. Seems to me that 99% of the commentators are missing a key
point, which is: to what extent should dribbling/feinting with the
ball be planned in advance, with the plan adhered to, and to what
extent should it be spontaneous?
Is it wise to pre-plan what kind of move you are going to execute when
you next dribble the ball, or is it better to decide what move you are
going to use against the defender at the last second, on the spur of
the moment?
When a dribble/feint is executed, is it wise to pre-plan that you are
going to for example fake left and then cut right, and stick to the
plan, or is it better to note how the defender reacts to the fake to
the left and then decide whether to cut to the right depending upon
how the defender reacts to the feint?
You get the point of what I am trying to get at, what I am trying to
understand.
My understanding of this mystery as of now: the extent to which moves
should be pre-planned as opposed to spontaneous depends upon the
individual dribbler involved; the optimum is a combination of sticking
to a plan, and spontaneity.
For example, one could pre-plan to do X if the defender takes the
feint, and to do Y if the defender does not respond to the feint.
I studied USA-style tackle football (pads helmets etc) to see if I
could come up with anything applicable to soccer. In tackle football
players running with the ball, and players hoping to catch a pass
thrown by the quarterback, routinely feint left cut to the right etc.
What I found looking at tackle football is that although--again--most
commentators ignore this key issue, the consensus amongst the few who
address it is that in tackle football, the player on offense should
pre-plan what his feint will be and also what his subsequent actual
movement will be, because such gives him, compared to the defender,
the advantage of foreknowledge.
My soccer/football training log is at: http://www.angelfire.com/ma/vincemoon/soccairsix.htm