Individual Soccer Training

Soccer Training, Practice and Games During COVID-19: What’s Safe?

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted just about all aspects of our lives. And while the highest concern is of course reserved for ensuring that our families, friends and wider communities stay safe, it’s undeniable that we still want to be able to enjoy some of our favorite activities. And this brings us to soccer. The current status for the coming year is in flux for all levels of sports, and soccer hasn’t looked the same and likely still won’t for the upcoming year.

Looking ahead, numerous youth and adult leagues, as well as school districts, have cancelled their fall seasons, while others are intending to move forward with adjustments and safety protocols.

Is Soccer Safe to Play During the Coronavirus Outbreak?

With soccer as with other areas of society, you’ll hear people advocating for a return to normal as quickly as possible while others urge for restrictions in the name of caution. So what’s actually safe? This is a complex question as the guidelines and recommendations have changed over the past several months, but we can take some main conclusions from what has been said. First, there are distinctions to be made between low-risk sports where social distancing is easily implemented like golf and tennis, and higher-risk sports, like soccer, where contact between players is a part of the game.

The CDC breaks down activities for these sports on a continuum from least to most risky, which starts with training at home alone or with family and ends with competition against other teams requiring travel. There are other general recommendations too, such as frequently disinfecting shared surfaces, limiting shared equipment, and refraining from “unnecessary” contact between such as high fives and celebratory hugs.

US Soccer also has launched an initiative known as “Play On” that recommends a safe approach to continuing to play soccer with increased safety measures. (They also urge that all players, coaches and parents only implement them when their local authorities have authorized returning to play and practice. In many areas, this has not yet happened) Their plan also comes in phases with the first being “Individual and Small Group Training” followed by full team training, full team competitions (emphasizing single-day, local competitions with safety protocols), and finally a return to normal activity without restrictions. But all of these phased approaches are contingent on continuous monitoring of cases, spread, and other key virus indicators. Many local authorities are keeping relatively strict restrictions on such activities, or mandating quarantine periods for those who are traveling, which make things like interstate competitions impossible.

Despite all of these considerations, however, there’s one clear takeaway. At a time when competitions and even full team practices are iffy or altogether impossible, there’s nothing stopping players from continuing to play on their own (or in family or small groups with safety precautions).

All of the phased guidelines start with individual soccer training, and we’ve repeatedly shown why individual training is crucial to reach the next level even when you are regularly playing and practicing with a team. (We look at this question in more detail in our article Why Your Soccer Practices Aren’t Making You a Better Player)

Players, especially those who are still developing, can’t afford to fall behind during this period of uncertainty. So we strongly advocate getting out there a few times a week, be it at a local field or just in your backyard, and working on your game. What specifically should you work on? Take a look at a few of our popular individual training articles for some ideas:

5 Ways to Improve Your Soccer Skills in Your Backyard

How to Practice Shooting by Yourself at Home

5 Soccer Challenges That Will Help Hone Your Skills

Finally, you can also check out our Individual Soccer Training System for more detailed activities and training plans.

The Comprehensive List of Stop and Go Soccer Moves

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The stop and go is a great soccer move that incorporates the two elements you need to beat defenders off the dribble. In our article How to Beat Defenders off the Dribble, we wrote that these two crucial things are a change of pace and a change of direction. It doesn’t matter what move you use as long as the soccer move has these two aspects.

This is why we recommend the stop and go because, as the name implies, it is built on a change of pace, and it also incorporates a pseudo change of direction by manipulating your hips and or the ball. (You will see this below in the different stop and go variations.)

The stop and go is used to get a defender off balance which creates space for you dribble past or to get off a shot, cross, or pass. The move is generally used on the flanks because that is where most teams try to attack. In general, you should always be dribbling the ball with the foot furthest from your opponent.

There are many variations of the stop and go which use a different surface of the foot to complete the move. It’s your job to choose the stop and go variation that fits you best and then work perfect it.

Stop and Go Variations

As you can see there are three main types of stop and go moves depending on what surface of your foot you use to stop the ball. Some use the sole, others the inside of your foot, and still others the outside of your foot. It’s a good idea to become comfortable using all three surfaces before you decide which variation you want to perfect.

Stop the ball with the sole of your foot; push forward with the laces of the same foot.
Stop the ball with the sole; push forward with the inside of your opposite foot quickly.
Stop the ball with the sole; step over the ball with the same foot so the ball is between your legs. Then square up (turn your hips 90 degrees) to face your opponent and drag the ball with the inside of your opposite foot.
Stop the ball with the sole; step over the ball with the same foot so the ball is between your legs. Then square up (turn your hips 90 degrees) to face your opponent and do the Double Touch (La Croqueta) move (to do this move, use the inside of your foot to quickly drag the ball across your body to push it forward with the inside of your other foot).
Stop the ball with the inside of your foot, square up (turn your hips 90 degrees) to face your opponent, and push the ball forward with the laces of the same foot.
Stop the ball with the inside of your foot, square up (turn your hips 90 degrees) to face your opponent, and push the ball forward with the inside of your opposite foot.
Stop the ball with the inside of your foot, square up (turn your hips 90 degrees) to face your opponent, then perform the Double Touch (La Croqueta) move.
Stop the ball with the outside of your foot; push the ball forward with the inside of the same foot.
Stop the ball with the outside of your foot, square up (turn your hips 90 degrees) to face your opponent, then perform the Double Touch (La Croqueta) move.
Stop the ball with the outside of your foot, feint like you are going to dribble backwards, then use the laces of your opposite foot to push the ball forward.

Perfecting a stop and go variation will allow you to easily add a counter move, which is a move allowing you to go in the opposite direction of your stop and go. The counter move can be a simple faint or step over to allow you to dribble in the other direction.

Simply put, the stop and go is a move that works! Choose one or two stop and go variations, and then keep practicing until you perfect them. This move will put defenders on skates making them unbalanced and letting you add them to your highlight real.

Where is the Best Place to Shoot the Soccer Ball?

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Scoring goals is the most important objective for forwards.

Although it may seem simple enough, it actually requires a combination of skills including shooting with proper form, being in sync with your teammates, and taking up correct positions so that you maximize your opportunities.

But when it comes time to shoot the ball, is there a particular area of the goal that can be considered the “sweet spot”? What are the best places for soccer players to shoot?

There is no single easy answer, but rather a variety of factors to consider, along with some general principles you’ll want to keep in mind.

Proper Shooting: To the Corners!

This recommendation likely won’t come as a surprise to many who have any experience shooting (or trying to save) the ball.

A shot aimed at the corners rather than the middle of the goal has a much better chance of avoiding the keeper.

But with the corners obviously comes a greater risk of missing the target, so let’s break this down further taking into account things like height, power, and control.

Your Shooting Technique and Aiming Low

When shooting you are balancing two things: power, which you get more of by using your instep, and accuracy, which you get more of with using the inside of your foot.

Both of these have implications for the location of your shot: keeping the ball low makes it more difficult for the goalkeeper to save because it takes much more effort to get down as opposed to jumping up.

Due to this principle, it’s recommended to sacrifice some power for added control (plus it’s easy to lean back too much on an instep shot which lofts the ball) in order to keep it on the ground.

You don’t need to smash the cover off the ball, and even a modest amount of power is enough to see a well-placed low shot nestle into the corner of the net.

Observe the Goalkeeper’s Positioning

You as the shooter aren’t the only player who matters in this discussion.

The opposition goalkeeper, of course, is important too, as we’ve already mentioned. But your thinking, however, should go beyond just aiming for the corners.

Instead, your observation of the keeper is also important. You want to determine if they have left an open gap that you can take advantage of.

Have they overcompensated to one side?

Shooting across the goalkeeper’s body is also advantageous because it is a more awkward position from which to make a save and can also help with generating rebounds.

A More Scientific Shooting Location Analysis

Beyond these general points, some research has actually looked into where to shoot the ball. And their findings confirm the principles we’ve already explored.

According to one study, an overwhelming 62% of goals were scored low.

They break down as follows: Bottom Left: 22 percent; Bottom Center: 21 percent; Bottom Right: 19 percent.

(So you can see that it’s most important to factor in the goalkeeper’s position when shooting, since there’s an even breakdown between both corners and the center–not a single “sweet spot.”)

The middle of the goal, typically where the goalkeeper can most easily reach shots to save them, saw 21% of goals.

The top of the goal, then, accounted for just 17% of goals, including 8% in the top left and 5% in the top right.

A shot in the upper 90 is almost impossible to save, but these statistics demonstrate the difficulty of hitting this spot without having your shot sail over the goal or too wide.

Overall, keeping it low is your best chance at scoring.

Ultimately, you also want to make sure you are practicing and honing your shooting form, so that you are able to maximize the concepts shared in this article. Best of luck finding the net in your own matches.

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How to Practice Shooting by Yourself at Home

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Practicing your shooting regularly is crucial to developing the right technique so you can make the most of your goal scoring opportunities.

And this isn’t just for strikers. You can even argue that it’s even more important for midfielders and defenders to practice their shooting since they might only get one opportunity in a game so they want to be sure to take advantage.

Forwards, being closer to the goal all game, have chances to score many different ways, including tap ins, goalmouth scrambles and other situations.

But the bottom line is that all players need to learn good shooting form.

Individual Shooting Drills Without a Goal or Goalie

If you don’t have access to a teammate or goal to shoot at, don’t worry. There are still ways you can work on your shooting.

These will naturally be simpler drills, but it’s not the setting that matters as much as the repetitions you put in.

First, there’s one crucial aspect to practicing your shooting: you want to mimic a game-realistic situation by striking a moving ball.

If you don’t have a goal to shoot at, try to find another appropriate target like a fence or wall with plenty of space in front of it.

Here are a few different shooting exercises that you can try:

Set up a target on your shooting “goal” (This could be anything from making a mark on a wall to sticking a sock in a fence.) Practice shooting to hit your target, and be sure to alternate left and right feet.

Work on different variations of dribbling before taking your shot. Take a touch with both the inside and outside of your feet.

Use your sole to roll the ball forward, then run up to strike it at your target.

Set up a series of cones (or any small objects if you don’t have any available). Take several touches dribbling in between the cones or obstacles before taking your shot. As you become more comfortable, increase your speed while maintaining close control and good form.

Face away from your “goal.” Take a touch to one side and take a first time shot. (Then alternate direction and foot.)

Work in fitness by setting up a ball and a cone or object a good distance away. Start at the ball, but sprint to the cone, touch it, and sprint back to the ball. Take a touch and shoot. If you have access to more than one ball, you can also set them up around in different spots and sprint to each one before shooting.

Another variation: set up two targets to represent the left and right post. Now you can shoot at both “corners.”

With all of these drills, you want to keep proper shooting form in mind, so work on locking your ankle, keeping your head down, and landing on your shooting foot. Also experiment with more and less power to get a better grasp on the balance between power and control.

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Backyard Drills: Receiving the Ball on the Short Hop and Dribbling

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For our first ever blog post, we shared 5 Ways to Improve Your Skills in Your Backyard. In that article, the second way to improve your skill was working on your trapping. Trapping the soccer ball is actually an older term that’s fallen out of fashion; the updated term is receiving.

There are four ways to receive the ball out of the air: sole inside, outside, and laces. The previous post discussed how to use your laces. This article will give you some ways to improve your skill of receiving the soccer ball out of the air on the short hop, as well as a couple of additional practice exercises.

Receiving the ball on the short hop means that the ball actually hits the ground and you receive the ball just as it hit off the ground on its way up.

Sole of the foot

Kick the ball up in the air out in front of you so that you have to chase after it for a couple yards and still get to it. You will need to reach out with the sole of your foot to receive the ball on the short hop to push the ball back down on the ground. You don’t want to kick the ball away from you. You want to make sure it is close enough to you to get another touch on it. Also, make sure you don’t stomp on the ball, but rather make it a more smooth motion

Inside of the foot

When receiving the ball on the short hop with the inside of your foot, you can kick the ball straight up in the air. I would recommend kicking ball up slightly to one side or the other because it will be easier to receive. If the ball is slightly to your right, then you will want to use your right foot to cut the ball to the left just as is bounces off the turf, and vice versa.

Outside of the foot

Similar to receiving using the sole of your foot, when using the outside you will need to kick the ball a couple yards away from you so that you can still get to it. You will want to reach out for the ball so that you receive the ball just as it comes off the ground with the outside of your foot. Remember, don’t reach too far or else you will be sniped. You will be cutting the ball back in the direction you just ran from.

Remember to make sure you are using both feet for each surface you are receiving the ball.

Figure 8

sole dribbling soccer drill For this exercise, you will need two cones about two yards apart. Start with the ball outside of the right cone at a 45 degree angle. You will need to pull the ball with sole of your right foot back below and between the two cones. With your the inside of your left foot, push the ball between the two cones. With the sole of your right foot, roll the ball outside the cone. Next, use the sole of your left foot to pull the ball back below and between the two cones. Use the inside of your right foot to push the ball between the two cones. Finally, with the sole of your left foot, roll the ball outside the cone. Now you are back to the beginning. Perform the Figure 8 dribbling drill for 30 seconds to 1 minute. You may want to start out slow to get a rhythm, but make sure you quickly pick up the pace to perform this exercise as fast as possible. Remember, you will always alternate using your right foot and then left foot.

Inside Cut, Outside Push

Set up four cones in a rectangle. Start in the middle and outside the right two cones. Cut the ball with the inside of your right foot to the middle of the cones. Next, use the outside of your left foot to push the ball outside of the box of cones. Cut the ball with the inside of your left foot to the middle of the cones. Use the outside of your right foot to push the ball outside the box. You want to keep the ball dribble the ball on a straight line side to side. Make sure you cut the ball right underneath you. This will help keep the ball on a straight line and not allow a defender to poke it away.

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How to Boost Confidence When Playing Soccer

By Parker & Walsh 3 Comments

soccer dribbling confidence skill

Confidence is an important ingredient of becoming a better soccer player. Without believing in yourself and your abilities, it will be much more difficult to achieve your potential on the pitch.

But what does that mean in a practical sense? What can you actually do to improve your confidence in your own game?

This article will focus on four things to work on that we’ve found to most significantly improve your confidence in soccer: improving fitness, completing passes, juggling, and building the habit of dribbling a soccer ball everywhere.

One of the best ways to boost your confidence in being fit in soccer. Fitness improves your touch, your communication skills, and your overall enjoyment of the game. First, fitness improves your touch because when you are fit you are better able to move your feet to get yourself in the correct position to receive the soccer ball, which is across your body. Receiving the ball across your body means that if the pass is coming from your left, you receive the ball with your right foot facing the direction you are attacking. Receiving the ball across your body allows for you to see the entire field and pick out the right pass to complete every time, which in turn will give you confidence.

Fitness improves your communication because you will have the energy to communicate with your teammates. Talking on the soccer field takes a lot of work and energy. You and your teammates should be communicating the entire match because the game is free-flowing and the ball is constantly moving. When you are tired, your energy is spent on running and trying to focus on your touch instead of communicating with your teammates to break down the opposing team or stop the other team from scoring.

Fitness also improves your overall enjoyment of the game. The average professional soccer player runs between 7 and 9 1/2 miles in a single, 90 minutes match. This a lot of running, so if you are not fit to complete this amount of running, soccer is going to be hard and not as fun for you. Struggling make runs late in games or keep up with your mark can be extremely frustrating.

Another way to boost your confidence is to complete your passes, especially your first pass. The secret to completing your first pass to play a simple pass the way you are facing. A simple pass is a short pass on the ground where there are no defenders between the ball and your teammate. If you play the way you face, you will not have to turn and find a pass: you should already have a passing option in your line of sight. Completing passes is a big confidence-booster and allows your team to keep possession. Trying to force a difficult pass right off the bat can lead to a lost ball and frustration among you and your teammates.

Juggling can boost your confidence because it’s another tried and true way to improve your touch. Juggling helps you concentrate on each touch and make sure it’s a good one because you need to keep your ankle locked and kick the ball appropriately. Also, juggling helps put a little pressure on you with each touch as you reach a goal or personal record, and dealing with that pressure in a casual situation will help once you’re out in the pitch. Being comfortable manipulating the ball is very important and juggling helps that greatly.

Lastly, working on dribbling a soccer ball everywhere you can will also boost your confidence. Building a habit of dribbling in your backyard, around the local park, or even in your house will help you learn to manipulate the ball in tighter spaces without having to think about it. The more you are comfortable with the ball at your feet without having to look down and stare at it, the better you will be. Your head will be up allowing you to find your open teammates and see defenders coming. This is advice that goes beyond your formal soccer practices and games: by dedicating yourself to working on your dribbling when you have a few spare minutes can help take you to the next level, and after the habit is ingrained in you you’ll see a significant improvement in your confidence level.

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A Trick to Scoring Goals: How to Score More in Soccer

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Goals in soccer are cherished because they come so far and few between. In fact, the most common final scores in soccer are 1-0, 1-1, and 0-0.

Scoring goals is tough and everyone wants to be the hero who scores the game winning goal, but knowing just one simple fact will help you score more goals.

The fact is that over 90% of all goals are scored from inside the 18-yard box.

This fact leads to two important points. One, you need to be fit enough to get into the penalty box, and two, you need to practice shooting and scoring from inside and around the penalty box.

The Effect of Fitness on Scoring More Goals

First, we know soccer players need to be fit, which is why many teams require players to pass various fitness tests.

But it’s for good reason, as fitness helps with a player’s touch and communication. Additionally, fitness helps you score more goals! How does this happen?

By getting yourself into the correct scoring position, which means making runs inside your defender.

You will need to be in an all out sprint to beat your defender to the ball allowing you a chance to score your goal.

Most goals are scored by strikers and wingers compared to midfielders and defenders.

So if you are midfielder or a defender, you need to be fit to get up the field into the penalty box to make a run inside your defender to score a goal.

Of course, you also need to get back to defend your penalty box by not letting a forward make a run inside of you.

If you are a forward or winger, you need to be fit in order to continue making runs inside of your defender.

Goal scorers have determination, grit, and make a concentrated effort to get into the right position, making runs inside your defender.

When you scrimmage, make the effort every time to make runs inside your defender. This concentrated effort will help with your fitness.

How to Practice So You Can Score More

soccer kicking

Also practice shooting and scoring goals inside and around the penalty box. Practice scoring goals with the instep or laces, inside of the foot and your head because these are the surfaces used to score the most goals. When practicing, always hit a moving ball.

Overall, there are a couple of good ways practice shooting. One is to shoot inside the penalty box but outside the six yard box. Another is to have the ball move parallel to the penalty box.

When inside the penalty box but outside the six yard box, your first touch needs to be towards the near post and your shot needs to be to the far post.

This way if you shot doesn’t go in, then your teammate has a chance to tap it in.

When having the ball move parallel to the penalty box, practice curling the ball to the far post and hitting an instep shot to the near post.

If you get your hips all the way around, then you may get the ball to start outside the near post and come back to slide right inside the post.

Want to score more goals? If you’re like most players and say “yes,” there are some things that you need to consistently do on the field. You need to get into penalty box while making runs inside your defender.

You also need to be prepared to score with your instep, inside of your foot, or even your head. No matter how the ball falls to you, you need to be comfortable using whatever part of your body is in the best position to send it into the net.

Best of luck with applying these techniques and (hopefully) scoring more goals.

2 Dribbling Drills to Improve Your Skill in Your Backyard

By Parker & Walsh 1 Comment

Here at Soccer Training Solutions, we’ve already given you some helpful tips for how you can improve your soccer skills in your backyard.

But today we’ll focus on dribbling, one of the best skills for anyone trying to play at a high level, and show you how you can improve your skills in your backyard with only one cone.

(And if you don’t have a cone handy, you can substitute any small object like a shoe or soccer ball. Ditto for any nearby grassy area if you don’t have a backyard or if it isn’t set up for soccer practice.)

The following two drills will help you work on your change of pace and change of direction, which are the only two elements you need to beat a defender on the dribble.

Pair these two elements together, and you will be extremely difficult to stop on the dribble.

The first drill below works on change of pace, and the second drill works on both a change of direction and a change of pace.

Drill 1: Change of Pace Dribbling

Set a cone on the ground and start about 15 yards away with a soccer ball at your feet. Make sure there is about 15 yards of open space past the cone too for you to dribble into.

To begin the drill, dribble at a medium pace toward the cone. When you pass the cone, sprint dribble for another 15 yards after the cone.

Try to run as fast as you can after the change of pace while still keeping the ball under your control. The change of pace is crucial.

At the end, use the sole of your foot to stop the ball. (And make sure you switch up which foot you use.)

Once completed, turn around and do the exercise again. Try to do it 10 times in a row, which will also help you get fitter.

Drill 2: 1 v Cone Dribbling

For this next drill, use the same basic setup at the previous drill, but this time you will dribble at your cone which acts as a defender for you to beat.

In order to beat your “defender,” you will perform a move, which can be anything from a step over to a 360 spin.

Practice each move 10 times slowly and then 10 times at a faster pace. You should complete your move about a yard away from the cone. Here are some moves that you’ll want to try.

Rake – Use the sole (bottom) of one foot to pull the ball across your body and slightly backwards to the inside of your other foot.

In a game situation the pull would take the ball just out of reach of a defender, and pushing the ball with your other foot would allow you to accelerate past.

Step Over – Move one foot around the front of the ball and slightly over the top so your heel passes across the top third of the ball.

At the same time drop your shoulder to make it look like you are going to take off in that direction. Then you use the outside of your opposite foot to accelerate the other way.

Inside Out – Use the inside of one foot to touch the ball slightly inside as if you were going to knock it to your other foot or continue dribbling inside.

Then use the outside of the same foot to move the ball back to your original direction and past your defender.

These are just a few of the drills that you’ll want to try for the 1 v Cone drill. There are also other dribbling drills you can try.

For even more training ideas, as well as complete training plans, take a look at our Individual Soccer Training System.

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How to Beat Defenders off the Dribble

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Just about every player wants to know the secret to dribbling past opponents, and this article will shed some light on it. Two questions typically get asked. First, what is the best move to use when dribbling? And second, how do you beat someone 1 vs. 1?

What is the best move to use?

You can debate the merits of various 1v1 moves endlessly. There are step-overs, cuts, drags, stop-and-gos, 360s, and much more: in short, plenty of options. But in reality, it does not matter much which move you use. You do not need a particular special move to beat your opponent, and different players are more effective with some than others.

Perfecting particular soccer moves is not the most important aspect of beating a defender with dribbling. Instead, you only need to know two things, which leads us into the second question!

How do you beat someone 1v1?

You most likely have heard these two things I am going to tell you, but they are crucial to take to heart, especially if you can do both of them together.

The two things in order to beat someone off the dribble are change of pace and change of direction. This is it.

The best coaches I’ve ever had drilled these two things into me, and got me to a point where I could do both. My game improved significantly as a result.

The most vital component to beating a defender 1v1 is achieving separation. A change of pace or a change of direction can get you a little separation on their own, but pairing them together yields greater separation and allows you to get around your opponent.

We’ve said that the particular move you use doesn’t matter. But I would recommend perfecting two to three moves of your choice for your arsenal, so you don’t become predictable with the same one over and over again.

If you want to know more about dribbling, then check out our other blog post, Soccer Dribbling: How to Practice the Most Important Skill.

Playing on Top of the Ball: Best Exercises Using the Sole

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20140904_-_Christian_Eriksen The best soccer players can play on top of the ball. This means that they are using the sole of their feet to manipulate the soccer ball.

In order to play on top of the soccer ball, you must keep it under your control and within your reach. Being able to do these two things is crucial for anyone hoping to be a good dribbler and a good player in general. Playing on top of the ball allows you to manipulate the ball quickly and stop the ball on a dime.

Start simple and before long you too can be a great dribbler and play on top of the ball. The following is a series of exercises you can use to improve this aspect of your game.

Warm-Up
Pull the ball backwards with the sole of your foot alternating right and left. Next, push the ball forward with the sole of your foot alternating right and left. Finally, use the sole of your right foot to perform ten rake overs or roll overs in a row and then perform ten rake overs or roll over with your left foot.

Training
Perform each move below ten times in your backyard, on a soccer pitch, or any other grass surface you can find.

V – Use the sole of your foot to pull the ball across your body and push it out with the inside of of your same foot.

Spin Move (aka Zidane 360/Roulette) – Use the sole of one foot to stop the soccer ball, pull it back slightly, and continue straight over the ball, planting your foot almost perpendicular to your direction of moment. This foot position allows you to pivot and put your shoulder towards the defender to shield the ball. Continue your pivot by showing your back to the defender while using the sole or inside of your other foot to take the ball and complete the turn.

Pull Back and Go – Use the sole of your foot to pull the ball back towards you and slightly to the outside of your body. Then push the ball forward with the same foot that you pulled it back with and dribble.

Stop and Go – Use the sole of one foot to stop the ball and then use the inside of the other foot to take the ball in the direction as you were already dribbling. The change of pace is crucial with this move: be sure to accelerate as you “go.”

Pullback and Turn – Use the sole of your foot to pull the ball back towards the opposite direction you are going. You shoulders and hips are going to turn towards the foot you are using, so you should never lose sight of the soccer ball. As you get more comfortable, you can jump, pullback and turn and the simultaneously.

Pullback and Tap Behind – Use the sole of one foot to pull the ball back behind your plant foot. Next use your the side of you big toe to tap the ball behind your plant foot.

By working on these exercises, you can quickly improve your ability to play on top of the ball, which will lead to significant benefits for you out on the pitch. Are there any sole exercises that you would add?

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