Coaching Soccer Drills: 5 Sure-fire Ways To Improve Kicking
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 by far the biggest problem that a coach and the players face. 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.
In soccer practice, this is the starting position for almost all types of kicks. The acceleration of the foot from below the knee creates a powerful impact on the ball. This provides the players with a lot of power to act upon a range of kicks. Yet, it is the kind of contact of the ball with the foot that decides what type of kick would originate.
For example; it could be knocked very high, driven low, turn left, or sway to the right.
There are three vital passes in soccer i.e. a side foot pass, the outside of the foot pass, and the instep drive. We’ll now chat about them further.
The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, the simplest and the most commonly used pass is this. Normally, it is used to make short distance passes. Despite the fact that this is somewhat slow and predictable, it’s easy to learn and simple to execute. The foot turned outward, ball comes into contact on the outside of the ankle and the foot.
When you are in the midst of coaching soccer drills, teach the players to be at ease with respect to their body. This is the most basic rule with all types of kicking actions. The ankle and the foot should be stiffened only at the time of contact with the ball.
Subsequently, as players are convinced of their ability to perform it, the action should come out smooth, natural, and relaxed.
Outside of the foot pass: This pass is a little complex to teach and learn but it must be learnt well as it’s the quickest, most accurate, and unpredictable pass. The ball gets into contact between the outside edge of the foot and the laces with the foot turned inward and extended. With the help of the foot, the pass is modified into a quick flick for short distances.
During all these coaching drills, the body posture should be relaxed.
The Instep Drive: Both the lofted version and the low driven version of the instep drive are used to pass the ball over longer distances. Once mastered, this style can also be modified to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. Because the approach of the instep drive is angled to some extent, the non kicking foot is positioned about 12 inches toward 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, go ahead and teach your players these basic kicking techniques with variations to make the ball do slightly different things.
If you would like to enhance your knowledge on coaching soccer drills for kids, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that has a huge amount of information in form of articles, newsletters and videos.
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.
No Comments