Side-foot soccer passing drill
Use this soccer passing drill to coach your players how to kick using the side of their foot. Side-foot passing is for accurate, short, quick passing all the way from one box to the other. Repeat this soccer drill frequently and you'll find side-foot passing skills start to come naturally to your players.
In young players, kicking with the toe is very effective - the shot goes straight and harder than it would otherwise, so don't tell your players never to toe punt the ball.
This is an absolute that isn't true and your players will see players of the calibre of Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho - even Ronaldo - using the toe to direct the ball. It generates power!
But when you're short passing, toe punts are not easy or accurate. Ignore them unless you see a player continually doing it, then take him to one side and give him a quick lesson to show how accurate he can be with the side of his foot.
Try the following soccer passing drill to coach side-foot skills.
Tips on coaching soccer passing drill
- Get your players to approach the ball at an angle of about 30 degrees so that you have room to swing your kicking leg through.
- Tell them to put their non-kicking foot close to the side of the ball, using their arms for balance and keeping their heads still and eyes on the ball.
- The ankle should be firm. Get your players to bring their kicking foot through and strike the centre of the ball (to keep it on the ground) with the side of the foot.
- With this type of passing your players are looking to keep the ball low so that it is easy for a team-mate to control.
- The weight on the pass is also critical. Follow through with the kicking leg to increase power, but the weight of the pass will depend on how far away your players and opposition players are.
Repetition is important for younger players - get them doing this soccer drill at every training session.
Click here for more soccer coaching tips to develop your young soccer (football) players' passing skills.
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