Soccer Skills

Soccer Instep Kick - How To

Soccer instep kick can be used for shooting on goal or as a long accurate kick boom out
of your defense. The instep is the part of your foot where your shoelaces are tied. It can
also be used to make the ball swerve and dip.

Your non kicking foot is used as support and should also be little bent during the kicking
moment. By bending your body over the ball you will keep it low on the ground. Bending
your body back will add height to the ball.

The follow through should be long and smooth. Keep in mind also that you need to bend
your toes so that they are pointing straight at the ground.

The following is a list of problems you may face while practicing on your soccer
instep kick:

• Kicking the ball into ground – You have probably placed your support foot to far
forward from the ball. You have made contact with your instep; however it was on the
downward swing of your kicking leg. The result of this will usually mean a ball
compressed between your foot and the ground.

• The ball is flying too high – When planting your support foot too long back from the
ball, contact with your foot will be made on the upward swing of the leg. To get around
this you can lean your body backward.

• Backspin – This will usually occur when you kick the ball with your toe just below the
centerline of the ball.

• Poor velocity – If you don’t have the hip of your kicking leg completely extended prior
to landing on your plant foot, the velocity of your leg swing will be reduced. Improper
coordination and sequencing during the kick movement will reduce velocity of the ball.

• Using your toes - If you are new to soccer, you will probably try to kick the ball by
using your toes. This is pretty normal, but is completely inaccurate.

How to Perform a Swerve Shot

A swerve shot is a keeper’s worst nightmare because he will never be able to predict the
path of the ball. To save this type of shot, a goalie really needs to have the luck on his
side. With other words, you have a big advantage because if you do things right you will
be able to celebrate a scored goal. 

Before we start to look at how to perform this type of shot I want you to keep in mind
following; First of all, if you are left footed the ball will spin clockwise once you strike it.
However, if you are right footed the ball will spin counterclockwise. Add a little follow
through after you hit the ball. By doing so you will be able to add more swerve to the
ball. Keep your body relaxed as well because it will make it easier for you to get a clean
shot on the ball.

1. Approach the ball at a slight angle.

2. Place your nonkicking foot approximately 6 inches to the side of the ball and just
behind it.

3. Take a full backswing with your kicking leg.

4. Keep your ankle locked at a 90-degree angle.

5. Let your toes lead your foot to the ball.

6. Strike the ball with your instep on the edge of the ball farthest away from your
planted foot.

7. Keep your ankle locked as you follow through.

Judge which part of the ball you need to strike before kicking (eg. for right footers; opp
for left footers: bottom right corner for an in swerve, bottom left corner for an out
swerve and dead center for a shot, etc). Look at that part of the ball. Keep your eyes on
that part of the ball as you approach the ball and kick it. Only look away after you are
well into the follow through. Always keep your eyes on the ball when taking any kind of
kick!

Try to have as little a follow through as you can after you get a clean hit on the ball. This
will cause the ball to bend more, speed + mass = bend. So the quicker you hit the ball,
and the harder, the better.

Try jumping off your kicking leg before you plant your other foot on the ground. This will
make the ball go farther. Also, if you squeeze your toes together in your shoe, you will
get the ball to rise more.

Make sure you use your laces and not your toes as the ball will go out of control.

Corner Kick in Soccer

A corner kick in soccer is a great opportunity for scoring, especially if your teammates
pose good heading skills. A well performed corner kick can easily result in a goal. When
taking a corner kick you should generally try to direct the ball towards you opponents
first or second post. 

When performing a corner kick in soccer you will normally use your instep part of the
foot. You should generally try to kick the ball low down and also slightly across. This will
generate lift to the ball and also make it spin. Spin will produce swerve and the ball will
be harder to grip. 

Try also not to lift the ball more than 3-4 yards. My experience is that a high flying ball
is much easier to grip comparing to a lower flying one. It is also more difficult to get a
header on a high flying ball because you have to wait for the ball to land. 

When performing a corner kick, you could also use a swerve kick and try to bend the ball
near the first post. If you find this method being too hard, try then at least to curve the
ball toward your opponent’s goal. The chance that one of your teammates will get a head
or foot on the ball is big. 

Another method is to get a floater 5-11 yards out from your opponent’s goal line and
also about 5-11 yards past the goal. It will be very difficult for your opponent’s goalie to
judge. With this method you can often pull the goalie off the goal line and create a great
opportunity for a back post goal. You should generally try to get the ball in the front of
your opponent six yard box (not into the six yard box itself). Any ball inside the six yard
are will easily be picked up by an average goalie. 

The secret behind how to score from a corner kick is to be first one on the ball. You will
often need to jump to get your head on the ball and you must therefore get rid of your
defender because he/she will surely try to stop you. One way to do this is to move
constantly inside the 18 yard box during the corner kick. Don’t stand still and wait for
the ball. If you do so, defender will have no problem to mark you. 

How to Perform a Full Volley With Accuracy

The full volley is a useful weapon when you want to surprise the keeper with a quick
shot. It is great in situations when the ball is in the air and you have a lot of opponents
in front of you. To give you a hint on how to use it I will illustrate a real world example;
consider that you are standing about 5-10 yards outside the penalty box.

Your team is currently performing a corner kick but one of your opponents is first on the
ball and he manages to clear it away. Suddenly, you realize that the ball is bouncing
toward you while several opponents are rushing in your direction. 

In this type of situation you will need to react fast. My advice to you is to shoot as soon
as possible. Sure, you could receive the ball and pass it to another teammate. However,
several of your teammates will probably stand in offside and if the opponents manage to
conquer the ball they will have a great opportunity to perform a contra attack. So, even
if the ball ends up 20 yards behind the goal, you should go for it because if you never
shoot, you will never score. 

Here is how to perform a full volley; 

1. Start by moving to the area where the ball is likely to land. 

2. Your shoulders need to be squared when facing the ball. 

3. To keep a good balance you will need to extend your arms at the sides. 

4. Now, strike the ball just before it touches the ground. 

5. Finish with completing the follow through movement. 

How to Shoot With a Half Volley

Before we start to look at how to perform a half volley I will first mention something
important: in soccer, time is everything. The more time you have to put the ball under
control, set it up and then fire a shot the more likely you will be able to hit the goal (and
score or course). However, once you play in a higher league you will rarely have that
time.

This is what separates amateurs from professionals; simply, the professionals are able to
perform all type of soccer skills in high tempo while amateurs need a lot more time. With
other words, if you want to play in a higher competition then you need also to learn the
half volley.

How to perform it:

1. Start by moving to the area where the ball is about to land. 

2. Extend your arms at the sides to create more balance. 

3. Hit the ball as soon as it bounces off the ground. 

4. Complete the shot with a follow through movement. 

Summary
This type of volley is easier to perform than a full volley. The reason is that you will first
receive the ball, set it up and then fire a shot. With a full volley you will need to strike
the ball on first touch which is more difficult and harder to learn. This type of volley is
also ideal for long range shoots and it should be an obvious part of your scoring arsenal.
Keep in mind; In order to learn a soccer skill, you will need to put a lot of extra effort
into it.

The Side Volley – How To

The side volley is ideal when the ball arrives at the height just above your knee but
below your waist. To master it you will need to learn first how to perform it without a
ball. This is recommend, as you will be able to learn the acrobatic movement properly
before involving a ball.

When performing this type of volley you will need to lean your body forward in order to
keep the ball low. Many players seem to forget this and that is why many volley
attempts ends up 30 yards above the goal. Make also sure to point your supporting foot
in the direction where you want the ball to go. 

Here is how to perform this spectacular volley in 6 steps:

1. Start by raising your kicking leg by the side (it should be parallel to the ground). 

2. Draw it back and bend it at the knee. 

3. Now try to extend your kicking leg and keep the weight on your supporting foot. 

4. Your front shoulder needs to be in direction of your target. 

5. You should strike the top of the ball with your instep. 

6. Follow through 

Some other points you should keep in mind:

- Your weight should be firmly on your supporting foot. 

- Use your hips to boost your swing with power. 

- Make sure to follow through once you hit the ball. 

- Your arms should be stretched to increase your balance. 

Learn the Flying Volley

The flying volley is the most spectacular type of shot (together with the bicycle kick). It
is ideal in situations where the ball is too high for a side volley and too low for a header.
Before you start to practice on this impressive shot I want you to keep in mind following;
First of all, the hardest thing with this type of volley is to get an accurate touch on the
ball. Second, the jump needs to be timed perfectly. If you jump too earlier or too late
you will miss the whole ball. 

Third and the most important thing is that you should never and I really mean "never"
perform it in tight situations. If you miss the ball and hit an opponent’s head you could
actually injure someone really seriously. The ultimate situation for a flying volley is when
you have about 5 yards (or more) radius of free space.

Now, let’s check out how to perform one of the most impressive skills in
soccer…

1. Approach the ball at low speed. 

2. Keep your eyes on the ball and try to predict its speed and path. 

3. Once you feel that time is in, jump with your supporting leg and swing your kicking
leg backwards. 

4. You should be lying in the air while charging your kicking leg with power.

5. Strike the ball with power and follow through. 

6. Try to land on your side to cushion the contact with ground. 

Summary
If you have never performed this type of shot before I strongly recommend you to use a
mattress or anything that can help you cushion the landing. On this way you will be able
to learn how to land softly without pain which will speed up the learning process. 

Dribbling
Do a Pullback, aka a "Drag Back", by putting the bottom of the foot on top of ball to
stop it & then pull it back in the direction you came from. Do a Hook Turn by pulling the
toes up & turning the foot so the outside of the foot can "hook" the ball, stop it & pull it
back. A Cutback uses the inside of the foot to hook the ball.

"Control Dribbling" - When in traffic, keep the ball close to your feet so you can protect
it ("shield" it) and learn how to look up while dribbling by keeping the ball close to your
feet so you know where it is.

"Speed Dribbling" - Keep the ball near your feet when you are in traffic, but look for
Open Space and when you get "open", kick the ball into the Open Space using the inside
of foot or the "laces" and run to it so you can go faster, but you must still keep it under
control so you can turn, so don't kick it too hard. To Speed Dribble, you kick the ball
forward using the outside top of the front of the foot (not the inside of the foot).