There are many different ways to shoot the ball in soccer. Like passing, some of them are basic and some more advanced. You can shoot with the instep, with the inside of the foot, the outside, and yes, even the toe. You can drive the ball out flat, make it curve in or out, chip it, loft it etc.
What we’ll be concerned with here initially are the fundamentals of basic shooting what you would teach to a 7 year old (and up) to build a foundation for more advanced techniques.
The basic coaching points for basic instep drive shooting , From the Nose to the Toes are:
1. Head down – eye on the ball
2. Plant non-kicking foot along side the ball
3. Pick a spot near the center of the ball, strike ball at, or slightly above, this spot.
4. Knee of kicking leg is over the ball
5. Instep is “locked” Toe down and ankle flexed up in direction of calf
6. Approach is slightly from the side.. not dead on
7. Follow through Sounds simple right? Well lets break them down one by one and then suggest ways and means of teaching this technique.
First, head down, just like in passing The “head up” component of shooting precedes the actual execution of the skill. In other words the player must already have his target picked out before he executes the shot. Why head down? Because your eyes cannot affect the flight of the ball. It is more important that you strike the ball correctly and that is done by eye-foot coordination. In the best case, and with a lot of practice, the head is down for only a split second. As the players get older, peripheral vision comes into play and only the eyes move.
Second... the plant foot. Important because if you plant your foot behind the ball your kicking foot is coming up as you strike leading to undercutting the ball. Now in advanced shooting that is sometimes what you want to do but when we’re teaching the younger ages we just want the ball to travel in a straight line with some “weight” on it.
Third.. picking a spot on the ball. Again if you kick too low you’ll undercut the ball, pick too high and you’ll “top” it. With a lot of practice a child will automatically pick the sweet spot on the ball.
Fourth.. the knee of the kicking leg is over the ball. This technique determines the correct body position. If the knee is forward of the ball (which rarely happens) the weight is too far forward and the ball is mis-kicked. If the knee is behind the ball, a far more common occurrence, the player tends to arch their back away from the ball. This results in too little power.
Fifth.. instep is locked. A wobbly foot leads to inaccurate and low power shots. Locking the instep (sometimes referred to as locking the ankle) is not a natural thing for the kids to do. You have to break this down into steps and be vigilant when they shoot. It is very easy to back slide after this technique is taught.
Sixth… approach from the side. The biggest fault in the instep drive is coming straight at the ball. This leads to toe kicking. At the younger ages toe kicking is quite common and natural. They will enjoy more success kicking with their toes than with their instep. They will seem to get more power on the ball. This is illusionary. It is a simple matter of physics. The more surface area applied to the ball (instep) all other things being equal, the more accurate and the more powerful will be the shot.
But the biggest reason not to let them toe kick is that it is a bad habit that is extremely difficult to break in later years. Teach them the right way now and there will be far less problems in the future. By moving in slightly from the side you naturally tend to want to kick with the instep instead of the toe
Last.. follow through. A common mistake made at the younger ages is the lack of a follow through…kick through the ball. They tend to jerk back as they strike the ball and consequently do not get a lot of power on the pass.
What we’ll be concerned with here initially are the fundamentals of basic shooting what you would teach to a 7 year old (and up) to build a foundation for more advanced techniques.
The basic coaching points for basic instep drive shooting , From the Nose to the Toes are:
1. Head down – eye on the ball
2. Plant non-kicking foot along side the ball
3. Pick a spot near the center of the ball, strike ball at, or slightly above, this spot.
4. Knee of kicking leg is over the ball
5. Instep is “locked” Toe down and ankle flexed up in direction of calf
6. Approach is slightly from the side.. not dead on
7. Follow through Sounds simple right? Well lets break them down one by one and then suggest ways and means of teaching this technique.
First, head down, just like in passing The “head up” component of shooting precedes the actual execution of the skill. In other words the player must already have his target picked out before he executes the shot. Why head down? Because your eyes cannot affect the flight of the ball. It is more important that you strike the ball correctly and that is done by eye-foot coordination. In the best case, and with a lot of practice, the head is down for only a split second. As the players get older, peripheral vision comes into play and only the eyes move.
Second... the plant foot. Important because if you plant your foot behind the ball your kicking foot is coming up as you strike leading to undercutting the ball. Now in advanced shooting that is sometimes what you want to do but when we’re teaching the younger ages we just want the ball to travel in a straight line with some “weight” on it.
Third.. picking a spot on the ball. Again if you kick too low you’ll undercut the ball, pick too high and you’ll “top” it. With a lot of practice a child will automatically pick the sweet spot on the ball.
Fourth.. the knee of the kicking leg is over the ball. This technique determines the correct body position. If the knee is forward of the ball (which rarely happens) the weight is too far forward and the ball is mis-kicked. If the knee is behind the ball, a far more common occurrence, the player tends to arch their back away from the ball. This results in too little power.
Fifth.. instep is locked. A wobbly foot leads to inaccurate and low power shots. Locking the instep (sometimes referred to as locking the ankle) is not a natural thing for the kids to do. You have to break this down into steps and be vigilant when they shoot. It is very easy to back slide after this technique is taught.
Sixth… approach from the side. The biggest fault in the instep drive is coming straight at the ball. This leads to toe kicking. At the younger ages toe kicking is quite common and natural. They will enjoy more success kicking with their toes than with their instep. They will seem to get more power on the ball. This is illusionary. It is a simple matter of physics. The more surface area applied to the ball (instep) all other things being equal, the more accurate and the more powerful will be the shot.
But the biggest reason not to let them toe kick is that it is a bad habit that is extremely difficult to break in later years. Teach them the right way now and there will be far less problems in the future. By moving in slightly from the side you naturally tend to want to kick with the instep instead of the toe
Last.. follow through. A common mistake made at the younger ages is the lack of a follow through…kick through the ball. They tend to jerk back as they strike the ball and consequently do not get a lot of power on the pass.
Comments
Post a Comment