Passing a soccer ball is a fundamental skill for any footballer to have. Above all, executing the proper technique improves the pass precision. Additionally, players must gauge where the ball should land and then adjust the weight of the pass accordingly. Yet, emphasis on using the correct technique is crucial to completing more passes. Therefore, we must analyze the player’s actions before and after they pass the ball.
Scenario – Basic Pass
In this scenario, the ball is stationary and placed in an open field. The player must use the correct form to execute the basic pass. Without aiming at any particular target, the player must pass a stationary ball into open space. The player’s primary focus is getting the correct contact on the ball and maintaining proper form. Once the player gets familiar with the basic pass, the focus will shift to understanding the passing weight.
Step 1- Approaching the Ball
As they begin to approach the ball, they should have already created a mental picture of where they expect it to land. As the player progresses towards the ball, their first focus should be on their plant-foot related to their body.
Step 2 – Arriving at the Ball
Once they have arrived, the player must place their plant foot parallel to the ball and point their toes toward the direction they wish the ball to travel. The knee on the none-kicking leg should be slightly bent. The kicker should keep their eyes on the ball and their body leaning forward. Leaning back will cause the ball to go off the ground. The kicker should simultaneously open up their body.
Most players will use their arms on the none kicking side to help open up their bodies. A motion as if they were trying to grab onto the end of a rope. Concurrently the player must begin to cock their kicking leg backward in preparation for the pass.
Step 3 – Contact with the Ball
Before the player accelerates their kicking leg forward, their foot should open up to an almost ninety-degree angle. Their form on the kicking leg should resemble the shape of a golf club and should remain this way until the player has had complete contact with the ball. The objective is to hit the center of the ball using the inside of the foot. Once the player develops, they will learn to manipulate different angles of their foot and the ball to achieve different results. Their eyes must remain focused on the ball and only visualize the mental picture created in step 1. At the height of their pass, the player must exhale, releasing the breath they collected to help execute the pass.
Step 4 – Landing
The landing is ever necessary as the process before the pass. Unlike Shooting a Soccer Ball, the player’s momentum doesn’t launch them forward. Instead, the player will slightly hope off of the standing foot and land on their kicking foot in an almost similar position as before they kicking the ball.
