Triple Elastico: Soccer technique, drills and fixes

The triple elastico is three elasticos in a row with the same foot: outside guides the ball a short way out, the foot wraps round, the inside brings it back, three times, and you leave on the last one. No coaching source teaches a triple by name, so this lesson repeats the sourced single-elastico technique, and no evidence shows three wraps beat a defender better than one; each extra wrap costs time, so use it when you have space. We read three out-and-in foot motions and your balance on the standing leg.

Set up

Get the single elastico clean first, on a still ball, slowly. Build speed only when every touch is exact, then link two, then three. Learn it on your strong foot, then your other foot.

slow and exact first. Speed comes later.

Stand with your knees soft and your weight low and near your midline. One foot does all the touches, so the other foot stays planted the whole time. Keeping your body weight centred is what lets you go into the next wrap straight away.

low and quiet through the hips, standing foot still.

Wraps

Wrap one: put the front part of the outside of your foot, near the toes, on the inside of the ball and guide it a short way out. Then wrap the front of the foot round the ball and bring it back with the inside. Use the front of the foot, not the instep. Guide it; don't kick it.

the ball rolls with your foot instead of leaving it.

Keep the inside touch small on wraps one and two, so the ball stays in front of the same foot. If the inside touch sends the ball across to your other foot, you can't start the next wrap. The ball should move only a short way each time.

outside, inside, outside, inside, all on one foot.

Go straight into wraps two and three, each the same size as the first. If a touch goes too far out, the wrap is late and the chain breaks. Small and even beats big and fast.

three identical wraps, no pause between them.

Sell each outside touch with your upper body. Drop your shoulder toward the outside touch while your hips stay near the middle. Good defenders read your hips and body weight rather than your shoulders and feet, so the shoulder dip only works if your weight stays home.

the shoulder dips, the hips don't follow.

Explode out

On the third inside touch, push the ball into the space on that side and change pace straight away. Keep your head up. Three wraps take longer than one, so start with more room than you would for a single elastico. The move opens the gap; your acceleration uses it.

the last touch goes, and so do you.

Feel it

Three small, even out-and-in wraps on the same foot, with the ball never more than a short way from your boot. The standing foot stays put. Your shoulder moves, your hips stay home, then the last touch and your speed-up happen together. If the wraps grow or the ball drifts by the third, slow down until all three match, then add speed.

Fix-its

The wraps get bigger and the ball runs away by the third You're kicking it. Guide each outside touch with the front of the outside of your foot and keep the ball close to your boot. Do it slowly on a still ball until all three wraps are the same size.
The ball ends up on your other foot after the first wrap Your inside touch is too big. Make the first two inside touches small, just enough to bring the ball back in front of the same foot, and save the bigger push for the third.
You can't control how hard you touch it You're using the instep or the middle of the foot. Move the contact to the front of the foot, near the toes, where it's easier to feel the ball.
Your body sways with each wrap and the standing leg wobbles Keep your weight low and near your midline. Sell with the shoulder only, so your hips stay balanced over the standing foot.
The defender closes you down during the wraps, or you stall after them Start with more space, or use a single elastico instead. When you do go for three, change pace the moment the last touch is done.

Drill

Warm up first. Ball mastery: a touch with the inside of the right foot, then back with the outside of the right foot, repeated; then the left foot.
Still ball, strong foot: one slow elastico, then two linked, then three. Add speed only when every wrap is clean, then do the same on your other foot.
On the move: walk, then jog into the three wraps, and accelerate out with your head up.
Cone defender: set 3 or 4 cones as a defender, run at them at speed with your head up, drop the shoulder on each wrap, and go past on the third.
With a partner giving light pressure, mix single and triple elasticos so you learn when you have the room for three. Stop if anything hurts.

By position

Wingers and attacking players: a 1v1 move for when you have space in front of a defender, best used with a change of pace. Even the single elastico takes a lot of technique and is mostly used in matches by top dribblers, so drill it before you rely on it. Defensive positions: low priority.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-31.