Kicking Techniques

Soccer kicking techniques range from basic shooting and passing skills to advanced techniques, such as bending the ball around a wall and overhead kicks. We start with coaching the basic skill of using the instep for kicking and passing the soccer ball.

The instep, the part of the foot where the laces are, provides both power and control. The most common mistake made by beginners is to use the toe. Not only is this painful if somebody tackles hard when you are trying to kick, but it is terribly inaccurate. The advantage of the instep is that it presents a flat surface to the ball, and can also be used to make the ball swerve and dip.

The non-kicking foot provides support, and should be bent as you kick. When we want to keep the ball on the ground, the head is down, over the ball. The follow-through should be long and smooth, and another useful tip is to approach the kick slightly from the side whenever possible.

This basic soccer kicking technique is often overlooked, because it is so simple. The real skill is being able to kick accurately whilst under pressure, and it is far more important to consistently excel at this basic skill than to be able to perform fancy tricks. Useful drills for beginners include passing the ball in pairs over 10 to 20 yards within a narrow corridor, and for sole training, kicking at targets on a wall.

Volley technique is a difficult soccer skill to master, but volleys have produced many spectacular goals. As well as goal scoring, volleys can be used for passing, and kicking the ball away from danger in your own area. In tight situations, it is often better for a defender to volley the ball away than to try to control the ball at a difficult height. The kicking techniques used for the full volley is different from the half volley, and the side volley pass.

One of the secrets of great volleys is the swivel motion. Start from a square position with both feet a comfortable distance apart. Then, without moving your feet twist your upper body to the right until your left shoulder is facing directly in front of you. Next, twist back to the right until your right shoulder is facing in front of you. This is the swivel motion that can improve your volleying technique, and it can be practised without a ball. Another way of thinking of this twisting motion is as a corkscrew. For a left-footed volley twist first to the right, and then to the left.

Keeping the ball down is one of the worst problems with volleying technique. As with all kicking skills watching the ball, and keeping the head down helps, but it is important to try to keep the knee over the ball.

The wall pass, or one-two is a great football tactic for working the ball through the defense, beating the offside trap, for creating space in midfield, and for avoiding tight marking. The wall pass can even be played in defense. The move is simple, player one passes the football to player two, who immediately passes it back to player one. It's important that both players keep moving, and especially that player one runs into space as soon as he has played the ball.

An effective one-two requires team work: an understanding with your team mate. The key elements are accuracy in passing, timing and speed. Both passes should be weighted and timed so that the player receiving the ball does not have to alter stride.

An understanding between players is vital when playing the wall pass. Instead of running to the outside, player one might decide to cut inside round the back of the defender. Obviously, the player making the return pass must see which way he runs. Even more embarassing and costly is the situation where the return pass is sent straight back to a player who has already started his run.

The chip is a football kicking technique used to quickly lift the ball over short distances, for example, to pass the ball over an opponent to one of your team players, or to lift the ball into the penalty area from a few metres away. The disadvantage of the chip over the lofted kicking technique is that it lacks power. The advantages are that lift can be produced quickly, and that the backspin generated from this method causes the ball to slow down on hitting the ground. This is especially useful when the ball is passed into a confined area, such as near the touchline.

The chip uses a stabbing or chopping motion in which the lower part of the foot, but not the toe, makes contact low down on the ball. The knee of the kicking foot is bent, and high at the end of the follow-through. As for the lofted kick, it is best to lean back slightly, but with the head down looking at the ball. A useful tip is to place the non-kicking foot slightly behind the ball.

There are many useful practice drills for the chip. One of the simplest is to place hoops or create circular areas on the ground to aim for. Another is to aim at targets on a wall. There are also competitive small group drills, such as chipping the ball into the box for another player to head the ball at goal.

Bending or swerving the ball is one of the most exciting soccer kicking techniques. Brazilians, such as Pele, were famous for making the ball bend around a defensive wall, and this is one of the hallmarks of David Beckham. This skill is important in many areas of football, such as shots at goal around defenders that are obscured from the goalkeeper's view, corner kicks, crosses into the box, and passing the ball around opponents.

There are two main methods, namely using the outside of the foot to swerve the ball away from you, or using the inside of the foot to bend the ball inwards. Swerve is produced by kicking the ball off centre on the opposite side to the side you want the ball to swerve to. For example, if you want to bend the ball from right to left with your right foot into the goal, you make contact with the ball on the right side using the inside of your foot. To make the ball bend away from you from left to right, kick the ball on the left side using the outside of your foot. A tip for improving your skill using the inside of the foot is to swivel on your non-kicking foot as you kick the ball, but this movement should not be exagerated.

Heading Techniques

Soccer heading techniques are vital for air power in the game of football. The team that dominates in the air can win the ball in the vital danger zone in front of the six yard box both when defending and attacking, and that team can win the ball from long goal kicks. Heading skills also enable a team to use the long ball tactic bombarding the opposition with long passes towards their penalty area.

The correct part of the head to use is the forehead. This is the hardest and flattest part of your head, and it will give you better control over where you want to make the ball go as well as giving greater power.

You often see youngsters playing football who can play the ball well on the ground, but are clueless when the ball is played in the air. Often the problem is a fear of getting hurt, but once they learn to head the ball properly using your forehead, there is no danger. It's advisable for young children to start heading by using a soft ball rather than a leather one.

The glancing header technique provides versatility, and disguise in the air. When it isn't possible to face the direction in which you want to head the ball, or you want to disguise your intentions, you can deflect the football off the forehead. This soccer skill is important in front of goal to direct the ball past the goalkeeper, and anywhere on the field for passing to another player.

The ball should be struck off the center of the forehead, not the side of the head. Deflection is produced by turning the head just before impact, and the amount of deflection depends on the angle that the head is turned. A potential error is to allow the head to sway to the side instead of keeping it inline with the ball.

A simple, but effective, soccer drill for the glancing header is for three players to form a triangle. The first player chips the ball for the second player to head to the side for player three. Next player three chips the ball, and player one heads the ball. Each player gets an equal turn at heading, chipping and receiving the ball. If the quality of the kicks are poor, then it is best to throw the ball.

Adding the flick-on (back header) to your repertoire of heading skills enables you to play the ball in any direction off the head. The flick-on technique is often used in front of the near post when the ball is crossed from the wing, or on corner kicks. The ball is helped on its way into the danger zone, and it is very difficult for the goalkeeper to cut out this type of cross.

The flick-on does not require a lot of power; the idea is to use the speed of the ball. We simply flick the head back to deflect the ball behind us off the centre of the forehead. Don't use the side or top of the head. When you finish the flick, you should be looking directly at the sky.

When learning the flick-on, the ball must be thrown or kicked with reasonable force so that the player can use the speed of the ball. In the drill illustrated here, the ball is flicked over a defender, who is allowed to jump to try to intercept the ball, but does not directly challenge for the ball.

Dribbling Techniques

The soccer body swerve is a close control, dribbling skill used for running at and beating defenders, and creating space to shoot or pass the ball. The aim of the body swerve is to dummy the defender into moving the wrong way. In the game of soccer the body swerve is one of the most effective dribbling tricks.

The body swerve builds upon basic turning skills, and coaches should make sure that young players are able to turn with the ball under close contrl to the left and right. With the ball on your right foot, dip your left shoulder, and start to transfer your body weight as if you are going to the left. However, instead of turning to the left, quickly lean to the right transferring your weight to the right, and use your left foot as a springboard to accelerate away to the right. Acceleration is of great importance when dribbling, and trying to beat opponents. Speed is important, but it is often sudden changes in speed that beats the defender.

The movement is in reverse with your left foot. First dip your right shoulder, and transfer your weight to your right side. Then move your foot to the outside of the ball, transfer your weight to the left and accelerate away on your left.

Training drills for the body swerve include one-against-one exercises in front of goal. The object need not always be to go past the defender, but could be just to make space to shoot. The slallom is a good exercise for training when you are on your own, remembering to dip the shoulder.

Football juggling skills and tricks are not just a means of showing off. They are excellent training methods for improving ball control, first touch and general technique. Many coaches recommend starting a coaching session, whether it be for youth or adult players, with five minutes juggling the ball. Juggling helps a player to develop a sensitive touch for the ball, that is, being able to control the ball coming at varying speeds and directions. It also helps to develop relexes and concentration.

In soccer, juglling can be done using the top of the foot, the sides of the foot, the thigh, or the head. There are also a number of tricks that involve throwing the ball up and catching it. The ball can be caught using the top of the foot, the thigh and stomach, and even the back of the neck. All of these skills take a lot of training.

The goal with juggling is simple - always try to beat your personal best score of how many touches you can make without letting the ball fall to the floor. Beginners can start by juggling with the foot, and allowing the football to bounce once between touches. They should progress quickly to not allowing the ball to bounce at all.

Dribbling flicks and tricks in football or soccer are fun to do, and great for getting past defenders, creating space and showing off to your friends and coach. Many of these skills require hours of training and all of these soccer skills must be perfected before trying them in a game.

A selection of tricks is presented here.  Instead of deliberately missing the backheel by moving the foot over the ball, the backheel is played, but the other foot is positioned behind the ball, so that it richochets forwards off the foot. The skill is to be able to control the ball so that it goes forward in front of you rather than at an acute angle, especially at speed.

Another stop-start move is to step on the ball with the sole of one foot, and then kick the ball forward with the other foot. The aim is to do this as one movement without actually stopping. Hopefully, the defender will try to stop, and be caught off balance.

The next trick is to trap the ball between your legs, and jump over your opponent with the ball between your feet. Be sure to grip the ball tightly. A variation on this is to move your legs towards your opponent and flick the ball out into the air over him. Don't use this trick if there is a second defender behind the first one, and it is difficult to control how far forward the ball goes.

The Cryuff turn in football is named after the Dutch international Johan Cryuff, who made the move famous. This turn and other turning skills are presented here, and they should form an essential part of any soccer coaching programme.

In the Cryuff turn, the football is played between the legs, so that the ball ends up on the opposite side to that which the defender expects. With the ball on your right foot, position yourself as if you are going to turn to the left, or to pass or cross the ball to the left. Then flick the ball between your legs, and make a quick turn to the right. Meanwhile the defender is left flat-footed and surprised. Starting with the left foot, the move is reversed; shape to turn or pass to the right, flick the ball between your legs, and turn to the left. In both cases, the turn should be a quick pivot.

Remember that the Cryuff turn is a type of dummy, so don't overuse it during a soccer game. If the defender "reads" the move, he will be able to take the ball quite easily.