How many times have you heard it
shouted from the soccer coach’s and soccer parents? “Don’t kick with your toe,
use your laces.” Sounds like a simple
request, but most people working with youth soccer players find this to be a
major stumbling point.
Don’t feel bad if you have a
soccer player or soccer team that is struggling with the basics of kicking a
soccer ball or passing. I have had the
pleasure of working with some of the greatest youth coaches that hold a C – A
certification and they struggle with the same issue. One of the biggest problems with teaching the
correct soccer kick form is that people see this as one simple issue. In our
research we found that there are several issues that need to be dealt with.
If you start as we did on the
Blast The Ball video, you start with the “evolution of the soccer kick”. You
MUST learn WHY youth soccer players kick with their toe before you can correct
it. Simply telling them to switch to a
“lace kick” will not only confuse them and frustrate them, but may also cause
serious physical injury.
Pointing the toe DOWN will cause
the toe to impact the ground and cause a horrible strain to the top of the
foot. This injury will last for several days, but more importantly the psychological
impact will last for months. They will fear performing this kick because they
know, “it hurts”.
Learning how to “shorten the
leg” through a V swing and starting with an angle kick is the first step. This
allows the soccer player to freely move their foot through the ball without
fear of “hitting the ground”. Yes this
takes time and must be done at a slow pace, but after they learn this method it
will be automatic and become a muscle memory.
The next step is to make sure that
players get the feeling of LOADING their leg prior to starting the kick. One of
the simplest movements yet least understood movements in soccer today is the
Soccer Hop. When we show it to
professional soccer players, they are simply amazed. They find themselves “soccer hopping” around
their living room.
Sadly we often hear many in the
youth soccer community say, “kids learn soccer by playing the game”. I think
this is one of the most detrimental phrases in youth soccer today. How many golfers (hackers) are 60+ years old
and still hitting a bad slice? They have over 8000 hours of “playing time” yet
haven’t learned a thing. On the reverse
side, why is it that the top golfers in the world spend hours upon hours at the
driving range refining their skills when they are already at the top of their
sport?
They understand like we in youth
soccer need to understand this important point.
You learn the GAME of soccer by
playing the game. It creates overall awareness, creativity and teamwork.
You learn the needed SKILLS to
play the game by programming muscle memory and correct swing (kicking) thoughts
until they become instinctive.
One of the biggest mistakes I
see in youth soccer coaching today is the lack of a “step-by-step system” or
understanding to teach players basic kicking skills. When we created www.BlastTheBall.com we were dedicated
to making it as thorough as possible. We wanted every soccer player, soccer
coach and soccer parent to understand every part of kicking form and ball
flight.
Remember that all great athletes work on refining
individual movements. They then take those movements to their sport so they can
be at the top of their game.
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