Taking shots on goal is something that every soccer player loves to do. If there is a ball and a goal, it is a soccer players’ first instinct is to shoot. Players don’t want to work on passing or trapping, and you can forget about fitness. Everybody loves to shoot and score. There are four key concepts and skills that a soccer player should master in order to have an accurate powerful shot. They include; keeping your toes curled, knee over the ball, your head down and follow through. If you can do those for things every time you shoot a soccer ball, you will strike the ball low hard and effectively.
First you should always curl your toes. It is very important when you shoot that you do not use your toes. Not only could they begin to hurt over time, but your shots will never go the same place twice. When shooting the soccer ball you want to use the top part of your foot, where the laces of your shoes are. This is known as the instep. It is a much wider surface than your toe, so it will be more accurate and it does not hurt at all. In order to hit the ball properly with the laces, you must point your foot towards the ground, lock your ankle and curl your toes. When I say curl your toes, imagine picking up something off of the floor with your toes. If you curl your toes like that when you shoot, you are ¼ of the way to a successful soccer shot.
Keeping your knew over the ball is vital to keeping your shot on the frame of the goal. This is a huge problem that soccer players have when shooting on goal. Not doing this will result in your shot going over the goal. This is such a major problem because it can mean the difference between winning and loosing a game. If you kick the soccer ball over the goal you have no chance of scoring, but if you put the ball on frame of the soccer goal, you increase your chance of scoring or creating a rebound for a teammate. To correct these problems simply concentrate on your form and getting your knee over the ball when shooting. To practice the proper technique, stand on your left leg and point your right foot and toes to the ground next to the front of your planted foot. Look down and notice the position of your knee in regard to the position of where the ball would be in a shooting position. That is what not to do! Now slide your right foot, which is pointed toward the ground, back towards the heel of your planted left foot. Now look down! Notice how your right knee is now over the ball. When you shoot you want to make sure that your knee is directly over the ball. This will keep your shot low and increase your power and velocity of your shot on goal.
Keeping your head down is another vital function to strong accurate soccer shooting. It is very common to want to look at where you are shooting. You want to make sure that you don’t miss the goal to the right or to the left or shoot right at the goalie. Unfortunately, by looking up when shooting you actually reduce your chances of hitting the target. You definitely want to look up and know where your target is before shooting, but during the actual act you want t o have your head down. If your head is down it will help you focus on getting your knee over the ball. If your head is looking up at the target your knee is most likely behind the ball and your shot is going to go over the goal. So remember to always keep that head down and watch your foot make contact with the ball. There will be plenty of time to look at the target after the ball sails into the back of the net.
Last but not least is the follow through. The follow through is a very important part of the soccer shooting process. It may make the difference of 5 to 25 miles per hour shots. When shooting the soccer ball with your right foot you want to have your left foot firmly planted next to the ball. You want your right leg to be cocked, foot pointed towards the ground, and your toes curled. As you swing through the ball your knee should be over it at the point of impact and then your leg should continue to completely follow through the swinging motion. After contact you want to land on your shooting foot. You want the force of your motion to throw you off of your planted foot and onto your swinging shooting foot. This will allow you to generate as much power as you can by applying your body weight and centrifugal force to the function of shooting a soccer ball.
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