OUTSIDE OF THE FOOT

➤   Your Secret Weapon On The Field

Developing your outside of the foot touch, whether for passing or shooting, provides an incredible competitive advantage while playing. The biggest reason is speed. When you learn how to execute an outside of the foot pass effectively, you’re able to pass the ball much faster than having to open your hip, pull your foot back, turn your foot to the side and kick through the ball. Just eliminating hip movement, significantly increases the speed in which you can get off a shot or a pass.

➤   Disguise For Surprise

The other major advantage is that using the outside of your foot does not “telegraph your intentions,” meaning it’s harder for your opponent to see it coming. And if it’s harder for a defender to see it coming, it’s much harder to them to block or intercept the ball.

Now combine the two of these things, speed and disguise. Your pass / shot is faster with the outside of your foot, AND  it’s harder to see it coming. Therefore, defenders or the goalkeeper can’t read your body language and anticipate it. This is a lethal combination. But there’s more…

➤   Hard To Read

Most “flighted balls” – or balls kicked into the air – bend to the inside. It doesn’t matter if you’re left footed or right footed, a ball that is kicked off the ground by a youth player will most likely curve over time to the inside. Most players know this and will anticipate the curve and position themselves accordingly.

However, an outside of the foot shot does just the opposite and bends to the outside. Since this is unusual in the youth game, most players will be late to adjust. Now field players might get away with not being in the right spot, but there’s one player who cannot afford this mistake – the goalie. Misjudging the flight of a ball and allowing it to get by them means only one thing, fishing the ball out of the net and their team going a goal down.

➤   It’s Up To You

Now here’s the thing. Most likely, you won’t be getting a lot of instruction and/or practice on using the outside of your foot during your team practices. For some reason, soccer coaches/trainers just don’t spend the required amount of time on this awesome technique. Therefore, you’re going to have to practice this by yourself or with a friend. It’s not easy and will take quite some time to learn, but it’s well worth the time invested. Just ask Luka Modric who uses the outside of his foot to distribute in the midfield, send through balls to wingers or deliver pinpoint crosses that confuse defenders and win games.

We’ve provided you with a few videos we found online, including some highlights of how Modric employs the outside of his foot, but sometimes video instruction only goes so far. One thing that you can do is ask your trainer or coach to teach you how to properly use the outside of your foot before or after your standard practice time. Tell him/her that you’re willing to show up for practice 10 minutes before, or stay 10 minutes afterwards for one-on-one instruction.

If you have a dedicated coach / trainer, they will be more than happy to instruct you. However, sometimes your trainer’s schedule won’t allow for spending extra time with you. Should you then just give up? No!  Ask another trainer or coach in your club for help. More often than not, you’ll find a dedicated coach who will be more than happy to assist in your development. Now get to it!

EX.05

Disguise For Surprise

Make It Difficult For Your Opponents

Get into the habit of disguising what you’re going to do on the field. If your opponents are not sure what you’re going to do, it makes it a lot harder for them to defend you. It’s like playing poker. If you’re good at it, the other players will have no idea of you’re bluffing, or have a royal flush.

When you get good at passing and shooting with the outside of the foot, opponents will never see it coming…

What other parts of your game can you disguise?

★ Smarter.Soccer Insight: When the opponent has no idea what you’re going to do, it makes them hesitant. And hesitation makes them slow.

Disguise For Surprise

Disguise For Surprisee