How to kick a football – 3 basic kicking techniques

In the video below, Matt Smith from Epic Soccer Training shows us how to kick a football. The video covers 3 basic kicking techniques that everyone should know. As usual, we recommend you practice them over and over with both feet.

Pass kick

Kick with the inside of your foot, at its base. People often make the mistake of kicking the ball with the inside of their foot but closer to their toe. That is what you do if you want to chip the ball. You want to hit it at the base of your ankle. Not only there is more surface area, you also have more power because it’s where your foot can actually lock in place.

In summary, lock your ankle and drive through with the inside of your foot just at the base of your ankle. Don’t hit the ball and stop, get your foot in and really drive through. If you do this, the kick will result in a solid pass on the ground. This technique is very effective and leaves your teammate with an easier ball to track.

There are a variety of drills to improve your passing skills. Have a look at our passing drills posts.

Chip kick

For this kick, you down your foot when you kick. It’s like a golf motion. You want to go underneath the ball and sweep underneath. You do this with your toes. Instead of leaving your foot flat, you actually want to tilt your foot up a little bit and lean back so you can really get under like a golf club.

Chip on the very inside of the ball, lean back, drive through it and you will get that nice little backspin. When you managed to produce this spin, you have mastered the chip shot.

Driven shot

When you’re doing a regular shot, you want to drive through and get the most power possible. The foot you’re not using to strike the ball needs to be set right next to the ball, not behind it. This way your knee will end on top of the ball when you drive though. Having your kicking knee just over the ball means that your foot will be in contact with the ball for the longest duration possible, releasing more energy and therefore a more powerful shot.

To kick the ball and really drive through it, point your toes towards the ground. This position of your foot will cause your ankle to lock. Lean forward and kick the ball with the laces of your foot, just over the knuckle of your big toe. Never kick with your toes, or the shot will have no direction and you may hurt yourself.

Work the techniques above with both feet over and over. You will soon see improvements in your accuracy and power.

Find more tutorials on how to kick a football in the shooting category of our website.

Pablo Matamoros

I am a software engineer with 25+ years of experience across diverse industries. I've climbed the corporate leader over the years, which has some benefits but means I moved away from my love for tinkering with technology. So, I build the odd website or application to keep learning and stay in touch with technology. FootballTechniques allows me to combine my programming knowledge with my passion for football.

To find out more about my professional experience, visit PabloMatamoros.com

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