CHECK / CHECKING IN
➤ You Have To Sell It!
You have to sell the move. What does that mean? It means you have to make the defender truly believe you’re going one way, so they follow before you quickly reverse course and head back towards the ball. If you don’t sell it, then the defender will not take the bait and won’t move.
Therefore, your “check” can’t just be a body fake in one direction before you bolt off the other way. You have to make sure the defender comes with you. As soon as the defender takes the bait, then reverse and head back to the ball.
➤ Timing Is Everything
Timing is everything when checking. If you don’t time your Check correctly, you’ll either arrive too early or too late. Too early means that the ball won’t be there when you “check back” to your player. Too late means the ball will have already been delivered and another defender may have stepped to it ahead of you.
Eye contact with your teammate is usually the best way to communicate to your teammate that you’re making a move, followed by a head nod to indicate where you want the pass to go. This way your teammate won’t pass where you’re faking.
Where and when should you use checking in soccer? Anytime you want to get separation from defenders. It can be on a throw-in, on a corner kick, a simple pass, or a free kick. Take some time to practice this skill by yourself, and then try it out during your next practice.
➤ Soccer Definition:
Check / Checking In
When a player moves in one direction and then suddenly reverses course to go in the opposite direction. It is performed to create space between the player and the defender who is marking him/her.
Checking is one of the first “off-the-ball” moves you’ll learn to create separation from a defender that is marking you.
EX.01
Deception
Make It Difficult For Your Opponents
Check / Checking In is just the first step into the world of deception in soccer. And by deception, we mean being tricky, not cheating, like flopping. Smarter soccer players know that being tricky and unpredictable on the pitch makes it much more difficult for the opponents because they never know what your players are going to do next.
What other areas of your game can be unpredictable?
★ Smarter.Soccer Insight: Do you know who the easiest player to defend is? The one who is standing in one place. Movement is the key to making your opponents life miserable on the field. By constantly moving and changing direction, not only will you make your defender work as hard as possible to keep up with you, but you will also draw their attention away from what’s happening on the field.
Be Unpredictable
Be Unpredictable
