How to Kick a Soccer Ball
Kicking a soccer ball isn't as easy as it looks! A powerful, accurate kick can mean the difference between winning and losing a soccer match. This information provides you with some basics for 'kicking' your season off to a great start.
Kicking a soccer ball isn't as easy as it looks! A powerful, accurate kick can mean the difference between winning and losing a soccer match. This information provides you with some basics for 'kicking' your season off to a great start.
Learning to kick a soccer ball begins with mastering a few easy passes; a 'basic pass', the 'chip', and a 'driven shot'.
- Basic pass. Players new to soccer should be able to perform this correctly before learning more difficult kicks.
How it's done. Basic passes are made from the inside of the foot, at the base of the ankle where there is more surface area and more power. Lock your ankle and drive through the ball. Your foot stays behind the ball.
- Chip. This pass is not a power shot but a strategic kick used when an opponent is in front of you preventing you from shooting a straight pass to your teammate. Chipping lifts the ball up over the opponent's head in an arc motion so your teammate can receive it.
How it's done. Place your kicking foot underneath the ball, tilt your foot up while leaning back a little and scoop the ball from the toes giving it a quick lift to create a backspin, and drive through the ball.
- Driven shot. This power pass moves the ball quickly through the air in a straight line.
How it's done. Draw an imaginary line between the ball's center and the goal. When running toward the ball, plant the non-kicking foot next to the ball in the direction of the shot. Using the top mid-section of the kicking foot, strike downwards on the ball to create backspin. Follow through, maintaining power on the ball. Leave the ground on your planted foot, land on your kicking foot.
Every great soccer player will tell you that power and accuracy are the two most important elements of a successful soccer kick. When you first start to learn, break down the moves and do them a few times slowly. Then, speed up the moves and practice the steps at a normal speed until you've mastered them.
Basic steps:
- Set your planting foot next to the ball pointed in the direction you want the ball to go
- Lean forward, look at the ball
- Point your kicking toe to the ground in front of the ball
- Take a few steps back
- Run up to the ball, strike it with the laces, and follow through with the whole body
- Land on your striking foot
Practice tips:
- When learning the mechanics of a new kick, break it down and work on it slowly
- Work on shots with both feet
- Good kicks are about mechanics and accuracy, not about kicking as hard as you can
- Practice kicking while sitting down
- Don't take a long running start at the ball; take only a few steps back
- Before kicking, line your planting foot up with the ball
- Set your planting foot in the direction you want the ball to go
- Use your arms for balance
- Keep the body upright and drive the power from your core
- Don't kick squarely with your toe
- Look at the ball before you kick, not at your target
- For ground passes, follow through with the foot close to the ground
- For air passes, lean back and follow through with the foot in the air
It takes many hours of training and hard work to kick a soccer ball like the pros. Once perfected, a powerful, well-executed soccer kick can take you to the top. But it isn't enough to have a great kick. Mastering the art of soccer requires excellent footing, conditioning, timing, training, and high quality soccer equipment. We have it all at Epic Sports, at prices you can afford! Check out our complete soccer menu, and visit our resources page to get totally outfitted and prepared for a great soccer season.
More Soccer Resources
- Common Soccer Injuries
Although safe compared to many sports, soccer carries risks. Athletes run the chance of sustaining a minor, major, or even debilitating long-term injury. It's the price we pay for having the confidence and courage to go for the goal, while enjoying the exercise the sport provides. Simple awareness and prevention can help you balance soccer's benefits with its risks.
- How to be a Soccer Goalie
Soccer goalies are a team's last defense, and the final score can literally rest in their hands. Every soccer player has an important role on the field, but teams ultimately depend on their soccer goalies to be on their game at all times.
- How to Head a Soccer Ball
Heading the ball is unique to soccer. Since soccer players cannot pass the ball with their hands and arms, they often play the ball off their heads, and it's kind of flashy and fun to watch! Ultimately, a good header begins with your mental frame of mind, and being willing to go for it. However, done incorrectly may not only cause you to foul the ball, it can lead to serious head or neck injury.
- Indoor Soccer History
Indoor, or 'arena' soccer, inspired by association football, is a type of soccer played on a smaller, indoor arena-style field covered by artificial turf. And because so, the sport is a little faster-paced and presents its own unique set of challenges. Indoor soccer partly came about as a way for outdoor soccer athletes to train during the cold winter months. Unlike outdoor soccer, indoor soccer is a winter sport.
- Soccer Equipment History
In the earliest days of soccer, it seems that all a team needed was a ball to kick around and shoes that protected. That's changed. Soccer equipment today includes much more: shin guards, goalie equipment, soccer referee equipment, football kit bag, and soccer training equipment, such as flags, cones, agility ladders, and slalom poles. All this equipment used for soccer can be found at discount prices at Epic Sports.
- Soccer FAQ
Soccer is an outdoor ball game played on a rectangular playing field between two goals, and two teams comprised of 11 players each. The ball can be contacted by any part of the body except the hands and arms while the ball is in play. Goalies are allowed to use their hands to block the ball. Teams score points by passing the ball into the opponent's goal.
