Although famous goal scorers like Robert Lewandowski or Ronaldo make shooting a soccer ball look like a gift or an art form, it is really all about proper shooting technique.
Tips for Shooting
Below we’ll see how to properly shoot a soccer ball with accuracy and power, but first here are few tips that will help players of any skill level or age find success with scoring goals.
- If you never shoot you’ll never score. Just like any skill if you never try you’ll never succeed or get better.
- The ball has to see the Goal, you don’t always have to. What this means is as long as the ball has a line of sight to the goal, you can shoot. Your body can be behind a defender and the soccer ball can be in a position to peek around and see the goal.
- Keep your head down when shooting. If you look at the sky, guess where the ball will go.
- Keep your body over the ball. This follows the same idea as the previous tip. If you lean back the ball will go up and over the goal.
- Shoot low. It is always more difficult for a keeper to save a shot that is low and on the ground because they have to bend down or scramble to get their feet to the ball.
- Train for set pieces. Direct and indirect free kicks are great chances to score. Make sure you practice shooting from set-pieces so you are ready when you get the chance in a match. Penalty kicks are the ultimate free kick and chance to score a goal.
Shoot A Soccer Ball With The Laces
Today we will be going through the different steps to striking/shooting the ball. Many people don’t realize how much technique goes behind a shot, but once you are able to make these steps a habit, I can guarantee you’ll generate more power behind your shot.
First and foremost, the same concepts apply to shooting as they did for passing.
- You want to find your happy medium for the placement of your planting foot,
- You want to make sure your ankle is locked, and
- Just like the driven pass, you want to make contact with your laces.
When you are approaching the ball to shoot, you want to make sure your planting foot and arm move together. And by that, I mean that as soon as you plant your foot, your arm should go up.
Note: It is always the opposite arm from your shooting leg that goes up. For example, if you are shooting with your right foot, your left leg plants AND your left arm goes up. The bigger you make yourself, the more power you will generate.
As stated before, you want to strike the ball with your laces. In order to do this, your toes need to be pointed down and your ankle needs to be locked. When you follow through, you actually want to land on your shooting foot. As soon as you follow through, you don’t want to force your foot to the ground but rather hop on it. It should feel like a nice little ‘pop’.
KEY POINTS: Once you add these steps into our shot, you’ll have more power and a much better shot.
Want to practice our shooting? Then you’ll need a goal or a soccer rebounder.
