Improving Weaker Foot

[BBC_]

Im left footed but i dont know to improve my left foot, i want to be able to shoot,cross,long pass etc. i want to make it as sharp as my right what should i do?

[htafc]

Im left footed but i dont know to improve my left foot, i want to be able to shoot,cross,long pass etc. i want to make it as sharp as my right what should i do?
in english?

[mrelkane2u]

hold on. you're left footed but your right foot is better? huh?

Anyway, one way to improve your weaker foot is to observe closely how you kick with your strong foot (leg motion, arm motion, foot step, the location of the planting foot, upper body motion, ...) and try to do the same when kicking with your weak foot. There is a good chance that the way you kick with your strong foot is NOT the best way to kick with your weak foot, but it provides a good starting point.

And the problem my trainer pointed out when I practiced kicking with my weak foot was that I wasn't locking the foot at all. makes a lot of difference.

[BBC_]

oops sorry! im right footed.

[astabooty]

go find a wall or a friend and kick against it. also juggle. only way to get better is to do it.

[theblondsoccerstar]

uh...practice

[Shaaarrrp]

yes, just practice. Eventually it will come to you. If youre juggling, dont do it a million times in a row with just your right foot like most people do. Switch it every time. Practice passing, shooting drills. I never really thought about what I was doing with my right, I just kinda got used to kicking it with my left and the strength and accuracy developed

[Fulham Fan]

To improve the dexterity of the left foot, practice close to a wall. Kick with your left foot and then trap with your left foot when the ball comes off the wall. Also practice one-touch that way. Practice exclusively with your instep and the underside of your foot for several minutes, then exclusively with the inside of your foot, then the outside, and then mix it up.

Bear in mind that all this practicing with your left foot will also strengthen your ability to balance on your right leg.

[jdefoe9]

basically, you must touch the ball 3 times with your weaker foot for everytime you touch it with your stronger foot. This will help you make up for lost time.

[goyoureddevils]

Touches touches touches.... jdefoe9 and all the rest here have great ideas for how you can develop the same time of dexterity and foot-brain connection with that left foot as you have with the right. I like to see my students discipline themselves, (that's right themselves, because what you do away from coaches and other players is far more important to your development than anything else), practice dribbling, shooting, juggling, passing...all of it with at least three times as many touches on the weak foot as with the strong.

Listen, I have been name dropping already on this board way too much to protect my fragile ego, but I want to share with you a story, let's call it a secret about a friend of mine. You might just have heard of this friend, his parents and my father worked together for 15 years at Dana Corp in Ft Wayne, and his mom even hired me one summer. See, before Damarcus was "DMB", he was a friend of mine who used to idolize Ryan Giggs and that magical left foot of his. Damarcus must have been about 17 at the time, and was home from Bradenton on a break. We were talking about how bad he would love to be "Giggs Good" someday, especially with that left foot. Seeing as Damarcus was a right footed player, he wanted to know what to do to get to that level with his left..... I suggested the very same things that all of these people have mentioned, but most especially about the 3 to 1 ratio when on his own.

Well, I don't have to tell you what Damarcus is up to these days with that left foot of his do I? It's a little known fact that that 17 year old kid was not yet very good with his left, especially since a couple of years later he would be killing defenders with it at the world cup! He gets all the credit and respect in the whole world as far as I am concerned though, because he went out and made it happen for himself with all the extra work he put in on his own.

3 to 1 man...... 3 to 1

[jdefoe9]

beautiful post.

[Beckham7]

Im left footed but i dont know to improve my left foot, i want to be able to shoot,cross,long pass etc. i want to make it as sharp as my right what should i do?
Hey im right footed, and i just kept using my left foot all the time and it eventually got stronger and more accurate.Just use your left more when you practice and it will become more like your right.

[blastoff]

I'm a left footer and i hurt my left ankle once and refused to stop playing, so i used my right foot the whole time - its quite sharp now! :D

would like to cross and shoot better with it though, cuz shots and crosses are a bit hit and miss for me and my right foot - it either lands exactly where i want it to, or doesn't lift off the floor :confused:

[PSsoccer123]

Touches touches touches.... jdefoe9 and all the rest here have great ideas for how you can develop the same time of dexterity and foot-brain connection with that left foot as you have with the right. I like to see my students discipline themselves, (that's right themselves, because what you do away from coaches and other players is far more important to your development than anything else), practice dribbling, shooting, juggling, passing...all of it with at least three times as many touches on the weak foot as with the strong.

Listen, I have been name dropping already on this board way too much to protect my fragile ego, but I want to share with you a story, let's call it a secret about a friend of mine. You might just have heard of this friend, his parents and my father worked together for 15 years at Dana Corp in Ft Wayne, and his mom even hired me one summer. See, before Damarcus was "DMB", he was a friend of mine who used to idolize Ryan Giggs and that magical left foot of his. Damarcus must have been about 17 at the time, and was home from Bradenton on a break. We were talking about how bad he would love to be "Giggs Good" someday, especially with that left foot. Seeing as Damarcus was a right footed player, he wanted to know what to do to get to that level with his left..... I suggested the very same things that all of these people have mentioned, but most especially about the 3 to 1 ratio when on his own.

Well, I don't have to tell you what Damarcus is up to these days with that left foot of his do I? It's a little known fact that that 17 year old kid was not yet very good with his left, especially since a couple of years later he would be killing defenders with it at the world cup! He gets all the credit and respect in the whole world as far as I am concerned though, because he went out and made it happen for himself with all the extra work he put in on his own.

3 to 1 man...... 3 to 1
That is amazing, I thank you Mr. Man.

[goyoureddevils]

Blastoff you are probably getting your plant foot, your non kicking foot, in the wrong position on those crosses and long balls. Remember it has to be slightly behind, but no more than a ball's width away to the side if you want to put power on it. Practice with free kicks on goal, trying to put them into the side netting each time....don't worry about actually shooting, just think of that as your target as you hit a dead ball. Practice it from different angles, into the near post, then the far...... once you have hit 40 or 50 dead balls, now start to push it forward and still hit it the same while it's rolling as you did when it was not. You'll see you have to get the timing and balance just right, and most of that is in approaching with small steps for good balance, and planting that foot just behind the ball.

Good luck.

[blastoff]

Blastoff you are probably getting your plant foot, your non kicking foot, in the wrong position on those crosses and long balls. Remember it has to be slightly behind, but no more than a ball's width away to the side if you want to put power on it. Practice with free kicks on goal, trying to put them into the side netting each time....don't worry about actually shooting, just think of that as your target as you hit a dead ball. Practice it from different angles, into the near post, then the far...... once you have hit 40 or 50 dead balls, now start to push it forward and still hit it the same while it's rolling as you did when it was not. You'll see you have to get the timing and balance just right, and most of that is in approaching with small steps for good balance, and planting that foot just behind the ball.

Good luck.

Cheers for that - i'll have to try it sometime! - i'll get back to you :D

thanks again
blastoff

[SeanK 03]

get one of those brazilian juggling balls and just start juggling, thats what i did

[MLS SupaStr3]

get a ball inside your house and dribble it with your left foot where ever you go in the house.

[goyoureddevils]

Great idea......house dribbling i mean.

[Anarchist]

and was home from Bradenton on a break.

I know this is a bit off topic, but bradenton... did damarcus come out of IMG academy too? o_O;

And I don't know, I was lucky enough to have a natural left. But what I do know is that it's all about -where- you strike the ball. Dunno if anyone's talked about it yet. But try concentrationg solely on that, don't try to chop it as hard as you can, you'll wank it a lot. Take it easy, get the form first before you try to do cross field longballs and rips at goal yaknow?