Would you be surprised if I let you know that it’s really tricky for the young players to kick the ball with a straight leg? In coaching soccer drills, this is the trickiest part as far as the players and the coaches are concerned. The player keeps overall balance and the leg to be used to kick the ball is bent at the knee. Both poise and power to kick the ball comes from below the knee.
This is the preliminary position in soccer practice for almost all kinds of kicks. The rushing of the foot from below the knee creates an immense impact on the ball. This gives players the power to execute a variety of kicks. Nevertheless, it depends upon the type of contact that the ball has with the foot which concludes the kick’s style.
For example; it could be thumped very high, driven low, turn sharply to the left, or move to the right.
In soccer, the three critical passes are the instep drive, a side foot pass, and the outside of the foot pass. Let’s now discuss them some more.
The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, this pass is considered as the most extensively used and the simplest. It is generally used for making short distance passes. While this pass can be easily predicted and is a little slow, it is extremely simple to learn and easy to carry out. The foot turned outward, ball comes into contact on the outside of the ankle and the foot.
In coaching soccer drills, guide the players to keep their bodies totally relaxed throughout the entire movement. When it comes to different kicking actions, this rule is the truly indispensable. The ankle and the foot should be stiffened only at the time of contact with the ball.
After the players are confident in it’s execution, their action should appear comfortable, smooth, and natural.
Outside of the foot pass: This is a little difficult to learn but is extremely important to master because it is accurate, quick, and cannot be predicted. The ball gets in touch between the outside edge of the foot and the laces with the foot extended and turned inwards. With the use of a foot, the pass is transformed into a speedy throw for short distances.
In coaching drills, it’s imperative that the players maintain a comfortable posture.
The Instep Drive: Both the versions of the instep drive namely, lofted version and the low driven version are applied to pass the ball to longer distances. Once mastered, this style can also be modified to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. The approach of the instep drive is slightly angled and the non kicking foot is placed about 12 inches to the side of and behind the ball.
Here, the ball gets into contact in between the inside of the foot and the laces which is extended and very firm.
So now coach your kids the various techniques of kicking the ball and with variations to let them do different things with the ball.
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Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Training Drills.
Tags: coaching drills, coaching soccer drills, Soccer practice, teaching soccer