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What if I told you that young players find it really hard to kick a soccer ball using a straight leg? In Coaching soccer drills, it’d not just the players but also the coaches who have a problem here. The player has to be in total balance and the leg used for kicking the ball is bent at the knee. Both posture and strength to kick the ball comes out from below the knee.

This is the preliminary position in soccer practice for almost all kinds of kicks. The increase of rate of the foot from below the knee puts together a powerful blow on the ball. The players get immense power from this to perform several styles of kicks. Still, the style of kick that would emerge would depend upon the nature of contact of the ball with the foot.

For example; it could be knocked very high, driven low, turn left, or sway to the right.

The three essential passes in soccer are a side foot pass, instep drive, and the outside of the foot pass. Let’s talk about them further.

Coaching soccer drills

The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, this is the most widely used and the simplest pass. This is by and large applied to make 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 ball touches the inside of the foot and the ankle with the foot turned outwards.

When you are in the midst of coaching soccer drills, teach the players to be at ease with respect to their body. When it comes to different kicking actions, this rule is the truly indispensable. Players should strengthen the ankle and the foot only at the time of making 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. The pass is then transformed into a quick throw for short distances by using the foot.

In coaching drills, it’s imperative that the players maintain a comfortable posture.

The Instep Drive: Here, the two versions; lofted versions and the low driven version are utilized 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”. As 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.

The contact with the ball is made between the laces and the inside of the foot and it should be stiff and extended.

So, go forward and make the kids try different things with the ball by teaching them the basic kicking techniques as well its variations.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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

Filed under: Recreation and Sports on May 22nd, 2010