how to improve first touch?

[oheli_1]

as above...i haf no problems juggling e ball but when it comes to my first touch its really bad.anyway to improve it?
thanks

[Bleacherbutt]

as above...i haf no problems juggling e ball but when it comes to my first touch its really bad.anyway to improve it?
thanks

Do you have problems receiving and holding or playing the ball one-touch?

If you have a problem receiving, I have this suggestion for you. One concept I shared with my GU10s last year was the "bubble". The bubble is an imaginary 1-yard horizontal radius that eminates from the vertical center of the body. In short, the bubble moves with you. Your job is to receive the ball and keep it in your bubble. Whenever the ball is out is received and seeps out of your bubble, then you need to do 2-5 push-ups as a "punishment". Let your coach know you are working on receiving and your first touch so he can monitor your progress and offer advice on when you have difficulty (receiving with the strong foot, the chest, thigh, etc.) Your coach should be able to offer technical advice to help you receive the ball and keep it in your bubble.

In drills, try to play crisply, quickly and attempt to play each ball better than the last.

After you get better at keeping the ball in your bubble, then work playing the ball in the a safer part of your bubble by shielding the pressuring defender.

Finally, one thing that helped me tremendously when I was a player in high school was the observation from my coach that kids in Europe have a better first touch because they have to play in more confined spaces (when they play pick up).

Another thing to do to help you get better is when you play pick up (2v2, 3v3) play in as small of space as possible.

[redalert101]

doing push ups isnt going to help your touch so instead of that make sure u go home and throw it up to yourslef a couple of time and practice catching and trapping it

[sokol]

doing push ups isnt going to help your touch so instead of that make sure u go home and throw it up to yourslef a couple of time and practice catching and trapping it


Yeah, but don't just throw it up. Punt the ball in the air as high as you can and try and catch it on your foot. You won't be able to but it will help you get a better feel for the ball. If you have another skilled player who's willing to spend the time with you, just go out and play pass with him, but have him drill the ball at you from close distance. It will takes hours and hours of these kinds of drills but it will work. You'll find that your problem is not so much your touch (if you can juggle well you have the touch most likely) but just your technique. You're probably just trying to trap the ball in a funny way. Going over and over wil help you figure out a better technique for yourself.

[Lg__o3]

the best is to work with a partner, and cross the ball to each other at distance. The ball comming towards you should have some pace to it, making it hard to control first time. I found what really helped my first touch is doing this at my local gym in the field house( an indoor soccer pitch with a hard rubber flooring) using an indoor ball. That ball is like an oversized tennis ball, which is very bouncy for those who dont play indoor. Also play indoor soccer with some friends, because you are in a smaller space and the gameplay is much fater paced and should help you develope your skills( like Bleacherbutt noted earlyer). I dont know if theres indoor leagues where your from, but in canada half the year is winter so unless you live in vancouver you play indoors alot.

[sokol]

the best is to work with a partner, and cross the ball to each other at distance. The ball comming towards you should have some pace to it, making it hard to control first time. I found what really helped my first touch is doing this at my local gym in the field house( an indoor soccer pitch with a hard rubber flooring) using an indoor ball. That ball is like an oversized tennis ball, which is very bouncy for those who dont play indoor. Also play indoor soccer with some friends, because you are in a smaller space and the gameplay is much fater paced and should help you develope your skills( like Bleacherbutt noted earlyer). I dont know if theres indoor leagues where your from, but in canada half the year is winter so unless you live in vancouver you play indoors alot.

Crossing with a partner is a good drill for skill, but indoor isn't. In fact most pro coaches are strongly opposed to playing indoor (the kind with flat shoes and walls). You guys must do it in differently in Canada, but in America indoor balls are just like outdoor balls except they're heavier, which makes it much easier to control. Nobody plays with those big tennis balls, even though they're sold at stores, the facilities have different ones. Also playing with flat shoes, which most indoor facilities require, changes the way the ball is played. It is much much easier to control the ball with flat shoes when you can easily roll your foot over the ball, stop and manueaver the ball with the bottom of your foot. Since there is no sliding in indoor, it's a lot easier to beat players one on one and you can make passes that would be ill advised in outdoor. The walls also discourage accurate passing. You just have to put it close by and it gets there. Also, if you're trying to learn any kind of tactics it's pointless because the walls change the whole game.

I'm not saying there aren't good things about indoor. It's great for learning one on one defending and also for shooting, since you have a small goal and you get to take a lot of shots. But it's not the way to go for first touch. the best way to do that indoors would be to play soccer on a basketball court with a regular ball, not a futsal ball. It wouldn't do much for tactics but it really increases first touch and speed of thought, since it's so hard to control the ball.

[nvan_football]

as above...i haf no problems juggling e ball but when it comes to my first touch its really bad.anyway to improve it?
thanks
Yeah, I know what you men. Is it ball not staying low and no accuracy? Like others say try to find a partner and pass the ball with only one touch. If your push passes don't stay low you may use laces but in this case don't provide very much power. Otherwise it's gonna be hard for your partner to control these balls.

[Scarecrow]

Getting someone to pass with is the first option, in lieu of that, find a wall that you can pass the ball against and have it come back to you. Do not start off blasting the ball at the wall, start off easy and build up the speed of the passes.

Second, you need to learn to accept the ball as it comes to you. For instance try not to keep your leg rigid, but bend your leg and as the ball comes in to you let your leg and foot give with the ball. This will help your receiving of the ball on your foot.

For thigh traps, again as the ball comes in, relax your leg and give with the ball, same applies for chest traps and even headers. It takes time and practice, also be sure to practice with both legs left and right.

[soccermainiac2003]

just find someone else who needs to practise thier first touch and make up some drills for them
by the way, how do you juggle? if you put backspin on it it is simple to keep up, but if you try with no spin it should improve your touch as well

[oheli_1]

i put backspin to it...but what really puzzles me is that some of my team mates who juggle less den me haf better first touch...

[soccermainiac2003]

then my only suggestion is try with less backspin
its a pain but it works

[Lg__o3]

Crossing with a partner is a good drill for skill, but indoor isn't. In fact most pro coaches are strongly opposed to playing indoor (the kind with flat shoes and walls). You guys must do it in differently in Canada, but in America indoor balls are just like outdoor balls except they're heavier, which makes it much easier to control. Nobody plays with those big tennis balls, even though they're sold at stores, the facilities have different ones. Also playing with flat shoes, which most indoor facilities require, changes the way the ball is played. It is much much easier to control the ball with flat shoes when you can easily roll your foot over the ball, stop and manueaver the ball with the bottom of your foot. Since there is no sliding in indoor, it's a lot easier to beat players one on one and you can make passes that would be ill advised in outdoor. The walls also discourage accurate passing. You just have to put it close by and it gets there. Also, if you're trying to learn any kind of tactics it's pointless because the walls change the whole game.

I'm not saying there aren't good things about indoor. It's great for learning one on one defending and also for shooting, since you have a small goal and you get to take a lot of shots. But it's not the way to go for first touch. the best way to do that indoors would be to play soccer on a basketball court with a regular ball, not a futsal ball. It wouldn't do much for tactics but it really increases first touch and speed of thought, since it's so hard to control the ball.

where i live we have a facility that lets us play indoor with walls in play on a hardwood floor, or on a court the size of a basketball court, up to a full pitch size were the floor is made up of a hard rubber. I just suggested this because i personally gained more control because the indoor balls that we use are harder to control because they are more bouncy, so it teaches you to Emphasize on cushioning passes, esecially from distance.

[sokol]

where i live we have a facility that lets us play indoor with walls in play on a hardwood floor, or on a court the size of a basketball court, up to a full pitch size were the floor is made up of a hard rubber. I just suggested this because i personally gained more control because the indoor balls that we use are harder to control because they are more bouncy, so it teaches you to Emphasize on cushioning passes, esecially from distance.


That's a lot different than how it's done where I live. We play on a hockey rink with turf, and with a heavier ball. It's great exercise but doesn't do anything for skill. Some people play futsal which is better but not much. I've played on that rubber stuff in another country and I liked it a lot. I wish there were places around here that had it.

[borsato]

winter half the year? no way, not in souther ontario!! ha!!

yeah in toronto we have a few really nice indoor turf facilities,
full sized fields encased in domes with grassy turf in which you wear those football type soft cleats. somewhere between grass shoes and indoor shoes. there are lines and no wall play, and we use a regular ball.

if we dont have enough dudes for a full feild, they split it up into 3 smaller feilds and you play 5 vs 5 with goalies, which is a great run for sure, you feel like you have lots of room just like out door, acept the nexts are a bit smaller making it hard to score from way back.

its wicked because we play from november to early april when you can start getting outside on good grass, keeps you sharp during the winter, as opposed to playing old style indoor in a gym w/ walls where you dont run as much, or its all short sprints and you get spoiled plaing the ball with flat shoes which makes it easier too non?

[SoccerPro843]

Let the ball come to you, and don't be fancy until you have good control.

[SoccerPro843]

i put backspin to it...but what really puzzles me is that some of my team mates who juggle less den me haf better first touch...
I suck at juggling but I have a great first touch.

[soccertom]

One concept I shared with my GU10s last year was the "bubble". The bubble is an imaginary 1-yard horizontal radius that eminates from the vertical center of the body. In short, the bubble moves with you. Your job is to receive the ball and keep it in your bubble. Whenever the ball is out is received and seeps out of your bubble, then you need to do 2-5 push-ups as a "punishment".

Hey Bleacherbutt, I suspect you are a bit of a dipweed but I will try to help you anyway. Do you really use the following descriptive language with your Under 10 Girls? "The bubble is an imaginary 1-yard horizontal radius that eminates from the vertical center of the body." If so you may want to tailor your vocabulary to fit the audience. Do they really have 2-5 push-ups as a punishment? Don't punish them. Make things fun for them.

[lillefty7]

I suck at juggling but I have a great first touch.


Ditto, on average I get maybe twenty. But however there is a player on our team that was in the regional pool and he can juggle as long as he wants but his touch is one of his weakest things, granted its not that bad but it killed him at regional camp

[twenty]

To improve controlling the ball with the first touch just get a friend and have him/her blast the ball at you hard from like 10 yards away and try and control it. If you have a little brother or sister, that might help, since little kids are more likely enjoy kicking the ball repeatedly for no reason. Teens and adults usually find it boring.

A person is always better than a wall, because you aren't receiving the ball after just having kicked it.

Also, in games, always try and use your first touch actively. What I mean is don't think, "Ok. Here comes the ball, I have to control it and bring it down to my feet." That will make you a slow player. Use your first touch to initiate your next move. That means not always just bringing it to your feet. Be ambitious. Put the ball into space, if you have it. Also don't be afraid to take a high first touch or to make a pass with it.

[twenty]

and never do 2-5 push-ups in the middle of training.