Category: Ball control

There is nothing more impressive than scoring with an overhead kick.

It’s tough though. Once you master it, you’ll be able to get in a shot, even when you have your back to goal.

Or clear the ball when you are facing in the wrong direction.

Practice it on soft ground to prevent injuring your back, but don’t overdo it.

You won’t make clean contact every time and make sure you’re not just going for an overhead kick to try and impress!

Step One

Get into line with the flight of the ball and keep your eyes on it throughout.

This skill is all about timing.

Most of the time you will be attempting this trick, the ball will be coming at you fast from a tricky angle so a good connection is vital.

Don’t try and kick it hard, just kick it clean – the movement of your body will generate the power.

Step Two

Jump up leaving your kicking foot on the deck and using the foot that you will not be kicking the ball with to propel you upwards.

Begin to fall backwards, keeping your eyes on the ball.

As your body sinks towards the ground, your non-kicking leg will be rising into the air.

Your kicking leg may still be on the ground.

Step Three

When the ball is in ideal range, whip your kicking leg off the deck into the back of the ball bringing your other leg back down quickly.

At this point, your upper body should be almost horizontal to the ground.

If the ball is flying to high, your body is probably too upright. It is the scissor movement of your legs that creates the power.

Step Four

As you fall, stretch out your hand to steady your impact with the ground.

Twist your body sideways to avoid landing flat on your back. Use your arms to cushion your landing, but avoid landing on your elbows or your head.

Ages: 6+; Materials: Cones, bibs; Players: 4+

The laces kick (a.k.a. instep drive) and the driven pass are very similar in terms of technique. The primary difference is that, in the driven pass, the player typically will want to keep an eye on play and has less of a need for added power on the pass. As a result, the player usually will not run through the pass or add any type of snap to the pass.

On the other hand, when a player wants to take a very hard low, shot like a penalty kick, additional power is needed. Also, smaller players will often need to add a significant follow-through to most shots in order to get enough power. Some coaches opt to teach the laces kick and the driven pass in the same practice. This is fine, as long as you have enough time and as long as you are careful to distinguish for players when each technique will be most useful.

Individual Work

Start with players, each with a ball, seated on the ground. Point out the big bone that runs along the inside laces of the foot. This is the hardest surface of the foot, and is the area which they will use to make a laces kick. Have them toss the football up in the air, and try to hit the ball solidly in the centre with the big bone of the foot.

Now, put them in pairs. One player will bend over and hold the ball with the hands, while the other player works on the foot position needed to make the big bone of the foot come into contact with the centre of the ball. Players with big feet often have to turn the foot sharply to the side and turn the knee inward to get this optimal contact. Furthermore, as they continue to grow, they may need to periodically redo this exercise to find the correct foot position, so coaches should not overlook the need to do this if a player suddenly becomes unable to do a low shot after having prior success.

Next, work on the correct distance for the plant foot. One of the most common problems with young players is a tendency to put the foot too close to the ball, which makes it almost impossible to make good contact with the ball. Tell the players to leave plenty of room for their hips to swing, because they will get power from the swing of the hips/legs.

Finally, work on the proper approach to the ball. Put the player at an angle to the side of the ball, usually around 35 degrees, and back at a distance that he will need to take 3 steps to reach the ball . Note that a right-footed player will step L, R, and then put his L foot beside the ball. As the non-kicking foot is planted, the kicking leg is drawn back; the ankle of the kicking foot is locked with the toe down; and the knees of BOTH legs are bent so that the knee of the kicking foot comes over the ball as contact is made with the ball.

Coaching Note: Do not skip the phase of checking out the proper foot positioning. It is critical that the players be allowed to experiment with the positioning which feels “best” to them and they will automatically feel when they are making solid contact. The coach can make the rounds and to check each player while they are experimenting with their foot position.

Once both partners have tried this basic positioning, put partners across from one another at a distance of about 30 feet, each player with a ball, lining up the partners so you have two lines of players who are facing one another. Get some parents/assistants to shag errant balls and let the players work on their kicks. To maximize touches, allow both players to go at the same time and allow players on one side to use any ball which comes their way. While they are working on these skills, walk around and correct technique as necessary.

Common problems are:

• Erratic shots caused by failure to lock the ankle/foot.
  Tip: to get players to lock the ankle with the foot in the ‘down’ position, encourage them to curl their toes into the bottom of their boot.
• Shot not staying low, caused by foot position too low on the ball or by putting the plant foot too far behind the ball.
• No power on the shot, caused by poor leg swing or improper position of plant foot.
• Stubbed toe, caused by poor run angle and/or failure to bend leg of kicking foot and/or failure improper foot angle.
  Tip: cut the bottom off of a styrofoam cup and use the use the inverted upper half as a kicking tee); shorten the tee as the player improves
• Lifting the head, which causes the ball to become air-borne or the shot to be erratic.
  Tip: get the players to focus on a particular panel of the ball and “watch their foot hit the ball”.

Once the players have learned the basic mechanics of the shot itself, they are ready for the next stage, which is to teach the follow-through. In order to impart the maximum power to the ball, the player must continue to run through the shot, ending in a high-kick worthy of a can-can dancer, with his head/nose almost coming into contact with his kicking leg. To do this, it is easiest to practice the move without the ball. Simply put the players on the field and tell them to select a spot which represents the ball such as a mound of grass or a spot marked on the dirt. Have them start their run so that their foot will go over the spot; and then practice leaping through the contact with the ball so that they go over the spot and land on their kicking foot.

Coaching Note: Some players who are worried about stubbing their toes may be afraid of an exaggerated follow-through. For these players, it is sufficient initially if you can get them to run through the kick and land on their kicking foot.

Now, put the players back into their two lines. Because of the increased power, and the need to run forward, have the two lines alternate on doing these kicks and leave plenty of space so that nobody gets hit by a shot, Let the players see how much extra power is achieved by the follow-through.
Small Group Work

Of course, in an actual game, there will be very few situations where the player actually can take the time to place the ball and then take a careful run-up. As a result, players need to learn to control and shoot balls that are coming in from the front, from the side, or from behind them.

Divide the players into groups of 3, and put players in a long grid about 30 feet by 40 feet. Make two narrow cone goals at one end to imitate the corners of the net with a “keeper” stationed several yards behind the goals so that he can more easily shag balls which come through the goals. Have one player as a shooter and one with 3-4 balls as a server. Start with service of a ball coming from behind the shooter by having the server about 15 feet to one side and slightly deeper than the shooter. Server rolls the ball so that it will cross the path of the incoming shooter about midway to the goals. The shooter must take one touch to control the ball and then take a laces shot at either of the cone goals. After 3-4 shots, the players rotate positions.

Repeat, with balls coming in square by putting server about 20 feet wide of the shooter and about midway to the goals, and have him roll the ball out as the shooter starts his run. Again, the shooter tries to control with one touch and put the ball into position to make a laces shot with his second touch. Rotate after 3-4 shots.

Repeat, with balls coming in from the front by putting put server about 20 feet wide of the goals on the goal-line and have him roll the ball so that it intersects his path about midway to the goals. Rotate after3-4 shots.

Now, repeat the entire exercise again with the server becoming a lazy defender who just jogs slowly towards the shooter to add a bit of extra pressure on him after the serve. Rotate players after each sequence of balls (back, side, front) has been completed. Finally, end with shooters dribbling their own balls in, and the extra player acting as a lazy defender to apply some minimal pressure.

Coaching Note: If players are having difficulty, the coach may opt to delay square and front-coming balls for a later date. This is especially true of younger players, who may not have the ability to accurately judge or time these balls, either from the service or shooting sides of the equation. If you run into this problem, limit your initial drill to balls passed in from behind recruit parents to help as servers when you are going to work on other types of service at a future practice. When the slight-pressure rotations have been completed, turn the drill into a contest. To prevent sabotage by poor service, have the contest between the shooter and the keeper. Then put the servers into their own groups for their own contest, using the others as shaggers and servers. See how many goals can be scored in X tries, perhaps around 9-10 each, divided into the types that you’ve practiced.

Now, divide the groups up so that the top scorers are in one group; the middle ones in another; and the lower ones in the last group. Run the contests again, making a mental note of strength levels of the various shooters.
Large Group Work

Divide the players into 2-4 evenly balanced teams (good/average/poor shooters) and run some relay races or have some contests. Use your imagination about conditions. Ideas include:

Put players in 2 lines about 40 feet out from goal. On your shout of “go”, first player dribbles and shoots with laces kick. If he misses, and shooting high counts as a miss, he must run and tag the goalpost before running back to tag hand of next player on team. If his shot goes in, he can run back and tag hand of next teammate in line. If you do not have even numbers, let one member of the team run twice. First team to finish wins.
Create distance lanes, and see which team has the most balls that land in the farthest lane out.

Have a penalty kick contest.

Play for points. Teams are in two lines, about 40 feet out from goal, and will alternate shooting. Coach has all balls, and teams take turns in shooting on balls served by coach. Team with most points wins.
Similar to last drill, except players have balls. Coach stands in between the groups; players serve balls into coach, who lays them back out to the incoming player for a shot.

Scrimmage

Because you’ve already made balanced teams, you can proceed to a regular scrimmage at the end of the contests. Alternatively, you can allow the winning team to decide how to end the practice, and let them choose the ending game. Periodically, repeat this practice during the seasons to continue to work on shooting balls which are coming in from various angles.

Almost all players enjoy shooting work, so these sessions are good to include after several hard practices.

I am often asked for advice on how to strike a ball properly, especially to hit the ball over a long distance, or to shoot it really hard.

Here is a progression that I like to do with practically any aged player. I have recently used variations of this with a group of U-10 players as well as with the U-16 National Team.

Being able to drive a ball over distance, so that the ball reaches its destination with pace and accuracy is a skill that is necessary to compete at the higher levels. There is nothing like seeing a ball “crashing” in to the back of the net, or a pass being made to a wide open player that is waiting 50 – 60 yards away from the play.

So, listed below is a progression to follow to teach you the fundamentals of this skill.

Emphasis is placed on getting the proper “surface” of your foot involved in the process… the “laces”. Once a player establishes the proper “feel” for the ball with this part of his or her foot, then the rest is just a matter of practice and developing strength and timing. This comes from hours of work, alone with the ball.

Start way back with the basics….

Take off your shoe and sock. Sit on the floor, with both feet on the floor… knees inside your arms…start by kicking the ball out of your hands (like a punt).

But, just do it lightly so that the ball only goes up about 2 feet or so.

Make sure that your toe is pointed and that you keep your ankle “locked”. Strike the ball with the “laces” part of the foot. If your ball goes up without any spin…or with a little “top” spin… then you are doing it correctly. If the ball comes back towards your face…then try again. Keep doing this over and over…it will develop a good feel for what it is like to hit the ball with your laces. After you have managed that…try hitting the ball twice with the foot. But, make sure that there is still a proper spin…ankle locked…toe pointed.

When you get good control it is time to stand up.

Now, do the same thing… kick the ball out of your hands (like a punt) but have the ball only go up in the air about 6-7 feet high. Look for the ball going up with no spin again. Keep your foot in that good position. Your knee needs to be slightly bent as well. Kick the ball straight up in the air. Again, you are just trying to get a good feel for the ball. The ball’s spin tells you if you are doing it correctly.

Then, try to do it with a bounce between each kick. But, still only have the ball go up about 6-7 feet high. It is important that you do this with control instead of power. This is almost like juggling, but let the ball bounce each time. Then, can you do two touches…(each one going up without backspin) between each bounce?

Now…progress where you are letting the ball bounce on the ground, then kick it to a friend or against some wall. Still with bare feet! Make sure that you strike the ball when it is on the way down. Hit it with your “laces”. Toe pointed, ankle locked. Now, the ball should have “top spin”…and should not go higher than your head. Keep working on this for MANY times. See if you can now work on accuracy and some power. Again, you should be getting a real feel for the ball with your laces.

After you do this…it is time to put your shoes back on and try from the ground again. See if there is any improvement… there should be. You should have a real feel for the ball by now!

One warning…this takes time!!! Some players that I have worked with on this need a whole season to work things out. Practice correctly!!! It is more important to “practice perfectly” than to kill yourself working frantically and too hard. Take your time.

My last suggestion is to watch high level games. Watch how the real good players strike the ball. Watch them, then try to copy them!

How to strike the ball

There are two general types of kicks based on the position of the ball, ground kicks and volleys.

Ground kicks
In order to produce a quality kick you’ll need balance and composure. The placement of your supporting foot is just as important as your other, kicking foot. To control the height of your shot or pass, be aware of where your supporting foot is, in relation to the ball. By placing your supporting foot in line with the ball, you will achieve power while keeping your kick low. By placing it slightly behind, you will produce a rising or lofted ball. Your upper body also plays a role when kicking the ball. When you lean back, the ball will rise and if you lean forward your kick remain low and hard.
In order to get the maximum power from a strike, the knee of your kicking leg has to be above or in line with the ball at the exact moment you make contact. Follow-through in a sweeping motion in direction of your target. If you have trouble understanding this concept, try landing on your kicking foot after you strike the ball.

Volleys
When striking the ball in the air, proper balance is essential. Therefore, you need to adapt to the path of the ball by making quick adjustments in your footing. You are ready to swing only after you have positioned yourself at a proper distance from the ball. You should not attempt a volley, if you feel that you are reaching out too far or when the ball is too close to your body for a good swing.
Some situations may require jumping and volleying at the same time. Stay composed and concentrate on timing your leap.

How to practice kicking
The best way to practice your technique is against a keeper (or a friend) who consistently serves the ball back to you. If that is rarely an option, then any regular wall, ledge or flat surface can work as a replacement. Beginners should work on kicking dead balls (meaning they must trap it before kicking) while advanced players can practice striking the ball without settling it first. Many variations and drills available, such as aiming at a target on the wall or dribbling (in random directions) before you kick. Being able to strike the ball from any situation will improve all aspects of your game which include kicking, for example passing, finishing, clearing and so on. In order to learn the proper mechanics, practice with as few interruptions as possible. Also, look at better or more experienced players and study their technique.

A friend can be very useful when you’re working on your volleys. Ask him to throw the ball at your feet and try to hit it back to his hands. Practicing volleys is slightly more of a hassle when you’re alone, but it can be done. Simply toss the ball (or kick it) upwards and strike as it drops down. Stay composed and adjust to it its path. Don’t swing desperately if the ball is out of your reach.

Different methods of striking the ball

Inside of the foot (push pass)

Put your supporting foot about 10 cm to the side of the ball with your toes pointed in direction of your target. With your ankle locked at about 90 degrees, bring your kicking leg back and swing through the equator of the ball. Your kicking ankle must be perpendicular to your supporting foot. Contact the ball with the arch of your foot and follow-through in the direction of your target. When well executed, the ball will roll smoothly rather than bounce or skip along the ground.
push pass

Outside of the foot

When planting your supporting foot next to the ball, your toes have to be directed about 15-30 degrees outward from your target. This will let you drive your other foot straight at the target, hitting the ball with the outside of your laces.
outside of the foot.

Instep drive

Place your supporting foot in line with the ball and toes aimed at your target. Bring your kicking foot back and swing it forward in one swift motion. Don’t pause between retracting and extending your leg. Accelerate your foot through the ball, as if it doesn’t exist. The toes and the ankle of your kicking foot should be stretched and locked. To keep the shot low, meet the ball at the equator or slighly above it. Lean forward and keep your shoulders over the ball. Strike it with the inside of your shoelaces and follow through in the direction of your target.

Inside curve

Position your supporting foot to the side of the ball with toes aimed at your target or slightly to the side of it. Swing forward with your kicking foot and meet the ball with the upper part of your big toe. “Slice” the ball not in the center but low on the outside, so that a spin will be produced. Follow through in the direction of your swing, not directly towards your target.
inside curve pass

Outside curve

If you’re kicking the ball with your right foot put your supporting foot on the left side of the ball or vice versa. The toes of your supporting foot should be aimed at your target or slightly to the side, in the direction of the curve. Bring your kicking foot back and swing forward aiming for the inside part of the ball. Again, if you’re kicking with your left foot, aim for the right side of the ball. Contact the ball with the outside, lower part of your shoelaces. Remember to follow-through.

Chip

Your supporting foot should be planted next to the ball with toes pointed at your target. Quickly thrust your kicking foot back and then forward without moving your thigh too much. Sharply cut the ball from the bottom with the the tip of your toes. This will produce a lofted ball, spinning vertically towards you.

The volley is a kick used when the ball is above ground. In terms of technique, it follows the same principles as the instep drive. Producing a good volley is largely determined by your timing. Concentrate on when to swing rather than where to contact the ball. Don’t try to hit the ball really hard. If you strike it at the right time, it will have enough power and you’ll get more control over its direction. Make small adjustments in your footing so that you are well balanced prior to actually swinging at it.

Steps:

1. Understand that a ‘chip’ is when the football travels in a tall arc. Usually a quick kick is used to send the ball up and over a short distance, rather than in a long, soaring flight.

2. Approach the football at a slight angle.

3. Place your non-kicking foot approximately 6 inches to the side of the ball and slightly behind it.

4. Take a back swing with your kicking leg, keeping in mind that a shorter back swing will allow you more control and better placement.

5. Angle your toe down – imagine your foot to be wedgelike – as you make contact with the ball below its centre.

6. Lean your body back as you kick to increase the lift of the ball. The farther you lean back, the greater the ball’s arc.

Tips:

A proper chip should have backspin, which makes it easy for your teammate to control. A ball spinning backward is less likely to run away from the receiver once contact is made.

Use a chip as a shot on goal if you wish. If the goalkeeper has come out to cut down the angle of your shot, chipping the ball over his head is a good technique for scoring a goal.

Be comfortable chipping with both feet, and chipping dead balls as well as moving ones.

Chipping vs. lifting

Chipping a ball is using your foot as a wedge to strike the ball low with the toe of the striking foot contacting the ball low imparting arc and backspin. The knee is locked at impact.

Lifting the ball at rest is accomplished by placing the toes of the striking foot as close as possible to the bottom of the ball, sliding the foot under the ball, and lifting the ball up and out with the instep of the foot. As the ball is lifted up he knee straightens to direct or loft the ball in the desired direction.