KICKING THE HABIT

In youth football coaching drills, it is vitally important that every member of your team can kick a soccer ball. Most kids and even 16 year old players develop the habit of toe punching the ball, as they find that they lack the power if they try another kicking technique. Soccer is all about kicking and unless your players can kick properly, you are going to struggle to win matches and score goals. Many coaches tend to rely on those players in their team who can kick a ball and ignore the players who can’t.

Take the time to teach all of your players how to kick a soccer ball. Repeat this youth football coaching drill until it becomes instinctive to each of your youngsters. Even if it takes months to get it right, believe me it will be worth your while.

Yesterdays Youtube video gave you a visual understanding of how to kick. Listed below is the basic method of how to kick a ball properly. 

1)      The right position of your kicking leg: The higher you bring your kicking leg back behind you the more powerful kick you will get.

2)      Lock the ankle of the kicking leg: Keep the ankle of your kicking foot locked.

3)      The position of the knee: The knee of the supporting leg must be slightly bent. This will make it easier to kick the ball with the instep part of the foot. Remember that the more you bend the knee the easier it will be to kick the ball with the instep.

4)      Where does the supporting leg stand? The foot of the supporting leg should be at least a foot from the ball. This will allow the kicker to strike the ball from a 45 degree angle which will increase the power of the kick. Remember that the direction of the supporting foot determines the direction that the ball will travel.

5)      The body position: By leaning the body forward the shot will stay low to the ground. If you lean your body back the ball will become airborne.

An easy but effective youth football coaching drill regarding kicking the ball is to line your players in a straight line, each with their own soccer ball facing a target (3 or 4 cones) at least 30 - 40 meters in front of them. Each player takes a turn at shooting at the target, with the objective of hitting the target. Once the player has taken the shot they line up on the other side of the target ready to take another shot. Reward those players that hit the target. An incentive always creates a buzz and makes the drill fun to do.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. I will continue with shooting in my next post.