Kicking with your ‘Non-Preferred’ Foot

Are you keen to help your junior players improve kicking on their ‘non-preferred’ foot………try teaching them with a balloon!!

When you drop a balloon, it falls at a much slower pace than a football which allows you and the player to see the kicking action in slow motion.  When doing this, it is easier to identify the areas that needs improvement - does the player control the ball onto the foot, is the player balanced, did they kick the belly of the ball (or balloon on this occasion) , does the player lock his ankle (point his toe), does the leg follow through correctly, etc.

Depending on the size of the balloon will depend on the speed it falls – a great way to slowly increase the speed of the kick.  You can even go to the next level and take vision (video) of the player kicking the balloon – there is no better teaching method than the player seeing what he is doing!

Once the players technique is sound, re-introduce a football.