Coaching Soccer Drills: Discover Ways To Effective 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 opening pose for just about all types of kicks. The acceleration of the foot from below the knee creates a powerful 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 chipped very high, driven low, swerved left, or swung right.
In soccer, the three critical passes are the instep drive, a side foot pass, and the outside of the foot pass. Let’s discuss them further.
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.
In coaching soccer drills, players should know that their body need not be tense during the movement with the ball. This is by far the most critical rule applicable to all types of kicking actions. 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. A contact is made with the ball between the laces and outside edge of the foot with the foot extended and turned inward. The pass is then transformed into a quick throw for short distances by using the foot.
Throughout the coaching drills session, the posture of the players 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 the players are confident in executing it, make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass” by introducing some changes in it. Since 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, go ahead and teach your players these basic kicking techniques with variations to make the ball do slightly different things.
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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 Tips
Tags: coaching drills, Coaching soccer drills, soccer coach, Soccer practice, teaching soccer