Learn football (soccer) kicking skills.

 Football Soccer Kicking Skills

In learning to kick, the player must realize that it isn't how high or how far you kick the ball, but where you kick it that is important.  Every kick should be in substance a pass.  In answer to the question as to how high you should kick the ball, the forwards and halfbacks should remember that the crossbar of a goal is eight feet above the ground and anything over that will never get into the goal.  In learning to kick, some boys find the side approach, or an angle approach, to the ball much more to their liking than coming straight onto it.  This does give some individuals a freer swing of the leg and it feels much more comfortable.  It is, however, a matter of individual preference, and while learning, it will pay to work on this detail until the approach best suited for the individual is derived.

A good deal of practice is involved in mastering proper timing so that all the power of the leg and body are behind the kick at the moment of impact.  It should be remembered that the grounded foot should stay on the ground until after the impact and then leave the ground to get the last ounce of power into the kick on the follow-through.  In learning to kick, the beginner must go through the motions very slowly and objectively so as to first stress form, and then progress for accuracy, speed and distance in that order.  The ball will always go in the direction the foot is pointed at the end of the followthrough if it is kicked on the vertical axis.* To learn properly and not develop any bad habits, first kick at a stationary ball.

The kicker should learn to survey the field and decide then and there where he is going to kick the ball.  He then gets his eye on the ball and concentrates on putting it where he decided a second before it will do his team the most good.

It is generally accepted that to kick with the instep, as opposed to kicking with the toe, is much better since it will give the kicker more control of the ball.  The instep should not be confused with the inside of the foot.  The instep is located along the lace of the shoe..  In kicking the ball with the instep, the player should point his toe down, pigeon-toed and relaxed.  The theory of the instep kick is rightly based on the assumption that the more of the foot the player has on the ball, the more control he will have over it.  More control is the big advantage the in step kick has over the toe kick on a moving ball.

On the other hand, as much distance and control can be realized from a toe kick of a stationary ball as can be realized from that of an instep kick.  On a stationary kick, such as a goal kick, some players prefer the toe kick to the instep kick.  This is an individual matter.  Regardless, however, of whether the toe or the instep is used, the eye must always be kept on the ball from start to finish.

The mechanics of kicking a moving ball are exactly the same as in kicking a stationary ball except for the placing of the grounded foot.  In kicking a ball on the ground, rolling away from the kicker, the grounded foot must be placed to the side and in advance of the ball so that on impact the kicker s eyes, knee and foot are in a vertical perpendicular line and the ball will be opposite the instep of the grounded foot.  In kicking a moving ball on the ground, rolling toward the kicker, the grounded foot is placed to the side and far enough ahead of the ball so that on impact the rolling ball will be just opposite the instep of the grounded foot.

Volley kick is mostly used by fullbacks.  A clearance volley kick is usually used to clear an opponent who is driving in on the kicker.  It is a first-time kick, that is, a kick that has to be made without first trapping the ball.  The ball comes at the kicker on the fiy or on a high bounce.  The kick has to be made hurriedly and should be practiced under those conditions in an effort to develop reasonable accuracy.  As a clearance kick it requires more height, since it usually has to go over the head and body of an on rushing opponent.