Soccer Skills - How To Improve Your First Touch

Many players around the world struggle to keep the ball with their first touch. This is either by poor technique or lack of awareness or where defenders are. Watch the best players around the world as they have spent many hours honing their technique on how to control the ball properly. Below are a few techniques and drills that will help you improve both your first touch and ball control.

How to control the ball

Foot Ball Drills

Receiving

When receiving the ball, it is better to keep the ball moving into space or away from a defender, rather than to bring the ball to a complete stop. When receiving the ball, it's important to make contact just above the middle of the ball to keep the ball along the ground. It's important to cushion the ball, this brings the ball under your control. The good footballers can always settle the ball quickly and away from defenders and into space. This gives them extra time to keep one step in front of the opposition. To be able to move the ball into space and away from defenders, it's important that you are aware of what you are going to do with the ball before you get the full stop.

Trapping

Trapping is different to receiving in the way that trapping is to bring the ball to a complete stop. Trapping is typically used when the ball is traveling too fast for you to control effectively. When trapping the ball it is important to stay relaxed and on your toes. In contrast to being tense and stiff, this allows you to adjust quickly. When trapping the ball cushioning plays an important part. When cushioning you need to take the pace off the ball, this is done by withdrawing your foot at the moment of impact.

How to practice control

The easiest and most effective way to practice control is with a partner. You and your partner can practice the different types of control by passing the ball to each other or throwing the ball to each other. If you cannot get a partner, the next best thing is a wall. A wall gives you the chance to practice the skills that you want for as long as you want. With a wall you can practise simple passing and receiving to volleys and chest control. It's important when practising ball control, that you practice with both feet. Being able to control the ball with both feet makes you unpredictable to defenders.

Control with the inside of the foot

When controlling the ball with the inside of the Foot, the supporting leg must be slightly bent and must be planted 45 to 90° in relation to the path of the ball. At the moment of contact, cushion the ball along the original path, moving the ball either into space or away from a defender.

Control with the outside of the foot

This technique is useful when you have the defender pressuring you from behind. Firstly you must get your body in between the ball and defender standing slightly sideways with your arm slightly raised, to be able to Push or hold off a defender. The supporting leg must be slightly bent at a roughly 90° angle from where the ball is coming. On the moment of contact the ball is cushioned with the outside of the foot giving the defender no chance to get the ball fairly.

Soccer Skills - How To Improve Your First Touch

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