Hey guys, I wanted to know how can I hit a long ball (lob pass) easily. I keep trying, but I can't quite get the technique right and it's frustrating by the day. I'm 18 and I play Striker/Attacking Mid, and this pass is vital for me to help my team win games and to rack up assists. Any video or tips about how to place my body, which part of the boot to use, and where to place my hands would help me out a lot. Bonus question: When I juggle, it's virtually impossible for me to stand in one place and juggle the ball. I always find myself turning around in circles and chasing after the ball. When I watch the pros juggle, they just stand in one place, and the ball stays there with them no matter what. Thanks in advance
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP4pQW4gyC8"]Long Range Passing[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBYG5vllUMc"]Goal kick[/ame] For juggling just practice and you'll get it
I used to be like that. You need to gain better control. My first kick is your juggles are going high (above your waist.) That makes it more difficult to control because the ball is coming at you harder. So, you need to lower it. Try this. Stand in place and drop the ball to your foot and kick it so it comes to slightly below waist level. Catch it and repeat, making sure to switch feet. After you can consistently catch 50 in a row without moving go to 2 touches for each catch. If you can do 50 in a row I'd bet you'd be good to go after that.
hmmm IMO long ball passing should be the last option it's better to make closes passes but that's just my style Kicking: but if you want to be good at long ball passing practice doing free kicks at a very long range keep practicing at different position so that in the game, you can judge how hard you should kick Receiving: As a striker, you want to make a run to connect with the long ball pass, one tip I can give is to look at the keeper's body orientation. Goalies are trained to open their chest in the direction the ball is flying.... so you run to the left and you see the goalie opening up to the right, make a sharp turn to the right and connect
I agree with mak9 tha its more important to perfect your close game especially in the positions you say you play. However, it is important to be well rounded and this should be a skill that you possess. To get the ball into the air strike the ball on the lower half (below center mass) and lean your body away from the ball. Plant foot should be slighly behind the ball and your follow through should be long and high for best result. Everyone is different though so your kicking form will be different from the next guys. Start this way and make liitle tweaks until it is comfortable for you. Practice. A lot. Repetition is the key.
Oh and do what JoseP said to improve your juggling. This is the way I start my warm up evry time I play. Single touch Juggling to hands, switching feet on each touch. Then go to a back and forth pattern, Right/left/catch, Left/Right/Catch. Once this is comfortable just keep the touches going with no catch. Ball should rise to just above waist level and your feet should be making contact as near to the ground as you can manage. If this becomes boring start to throw in other surfaces in patterns to develop your touch. You don't want to chase the ball. You want each touch to have purpose. So do juggle circles using feet and thighs both clockwise and counterclockwise, or do X's by going fom one foot to the opposite thigh, across to the other thigh and then down to the opposit foot. Again, do this in both directions so that every combo is accomplished. You'll improve in no time.
Coaching striking technique is really tough to do over the internet. I could link you to a clip demonstrating proper technique, but that is not going to be very helpful. Find a team mate who has good striking technique (or a coach) to work with you. Usually it only takes a few minutes to spot any technical mistakes.