Shooting the Ball Under Control and On-Target

On good grass or artificial turf, two players position themselves 35 yards apart with a ball. Players kick the ball back and forth to one another, with the following instructions:

1. The goal is to put each ball as close to the other player’s kicking foot as possible.
2. The ball is struck with the full instep, ankle locked in the plantar position, toe pointed directly down throughout the swing.
3. The follow-through should be about thigh-high, directly toward one’s partner (no leg-crossing!).
4. The kicker should take a short forward hop on the placement foot at the end of the follow-through. This hop will keep the kicker on balance, while also positioning him/her to follow the shot. (Coaches today frequently tell shooters to land first on their kicking foot. This will happen naturally when the shooter approaches the ball at speed or from an acute angle – but having the habit of this small hop onto the placement foot should be the basic, bread-and-butter technique.)
5. Players are allowed only one touch – no controlling the ball before kicking. 
6. The ball should never leave the ground. Think of these kicks as grass-cutters.
7. The ball should never stop rolling.
8. This drill should be executed for 10-25 minutes. If a mistake is made (ball bubbles up in the air, ball stops rolling, two touches are taken), restart the drill from the beginning. The goal is to execute it without technical failures for a minimum of 10 minutes.
9. To maintain the 35-yard distance, players will need to backpedal after hopping forward on the placement foot.

Tips:

1. Concentrate on locking the ankle and using a complete swing from the hip. This will help a lot in controlling the speed of the ball, as the ball should be rolling slowly when it approaches the next kicker. 
2. Concentrate on raising the hip of the kicking leg while striking the ball. Otherwise, kicking with a locked foot pointed straight down may result in a painful stubbing of the toe..
3. Follow through with the upper body forward, not straight up.
4. Keep your eyes on the ball when striking the ball.

This is also a great drill for developing a player’s weaker foot. When it’s being executed with the weaker foot, begin at 20-25 yards apart.

Watch this technically spectacular power kick, “Phil Jagielka kick vs. Liverpool,” keeping in mind that he is shooting a half-volley, making it especially difficult to keep the ball under the crossbar.