Problem with instep drive

[thegeneral]

I'm trying to learn how to kick a ball well with the laces kick. The only thing is I can't seem to get my foot low enough to have the bony part on the top of my foot contact the middle of the ball. My laces strike the ball, but its more towards my toes. When I try to correct this, my toe ends up digging into the dirt.

Am I doing something fundamentally wrong here? When your ankle is locked, your kciking leg is longer than your planting leg. How physically is that supposed to work?

[ranova]

Your kicking leg is not longer than your planted leg. I don't know what other sports you play, but the knee is cocked before the ball is struck and uncocks when the ball is struck. So the knee leads the foot through the swing of the leg. The kicking leg is not fully extended (straight) before the ball is struck. Its similar to a baseball pitcher throwing an overhand fastball (except the ankle is locked instead of the wrist and fingers getting involved in the movement). The lower back is heavily involved in kicking too just like the upper back is involved in pitching. The pitchers arm is cocked before the pitch is thrown. My apologies to any baseball players among the readers for my inadequate explanation. :)

Fields are expected to have grass, typically 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches tall. So the ball does not sit on the ground but on the grass.

[servotron]

You need to make sure that you are approaching the ball at an angle relative to the ground...

so instead of this (with "o" being the ball and "H" being you,and your kicking leg is closest to the ball)

oH

you're like this:

oH

heh, hope that made any sense at all :D

[Ronaldob4hegotfat]

As servotron said, your body needs to be at an angle and you have to make sure your bending the knee of your non-kicking foot to just the right angle to hit the ball sweetly.

[Antonio81]

Try kicking the ball repeatedly against a wall(this is how people learn in Third World countries without coaching) and eventually you'll get the right feel.

If you practice passing with another player, instead of sidefooting it, practice passing it, slowly and accurately and on the ground, with the instep, the way the people above described shooting it. Eventually go for distance, then distance and in the air; then go for power and shoot on goal; if you can get this, your shot accuracy will be around 90%.

[GreenDay]

Nobody seems to be answering the question... The answer is it is correct to strike the lower toe part of the foot, especially if you have a big foot size. It may seem impossible at first like you're gonna break your ankle but you need to practice it a lot - keeping your ankle really locked and streched out. Your foot and your calf should create one straight kicking weapon. It helps to have really strong calves and legs ;). It you have a small shoe size it's a lot easier to hit with the bony part. Also you need to have comfortable tight-fitting boots.

[serieAfan89]

I have long legs as well as big feet, and you just need to make sure you're making contact with the ball with your leg fully extended and keep your eye on the ball, because wherever you're looking on the ball is where your foot is naturally going to go. If your leg is fully extended then you will be able to kick the ball in the sweet spot more often, and you need to have your body at an angle to achieve this

[ALEX408]

Nobody seems to be answering the question... The answer is it is correct to strike the lower toe part of the foot, especially if you have a big foot size. It may seem impossible at first like you're gonna break your ankle but you need to practice it a lot - keeping your ankle really locked and streched out. Your foot and your calf should create one straight kicking weapon. It helps to have really strong calves and legs ;). It you have a small shoe size it's a lot easier to hit with the bony part. Also you need to have comfortable tight-fitting boots.

Try to kick the ball from an angle. And have your foot pointed down but kind of side ways.

[thegeneral]

Green Day,

Thanks. My problem is the same as serieAfan. My feet seem too big to do a instep drive really well. I don't play on grass that probably complicates things. I'll use the other advice here. I'm also getting smaller shoes. Hopefully that will help.

[servotron]

I am 6'2" and have size 13 feet and have no problem with instep drive. You just have to get the technique down, which does vary a little because of people like ours' larger size, but the fundamentals are the same:

Keep your ankle locked
Use your supporting leg and the trunk of your body for power
Use your kicking leg and foot position for placement on the ball

One of these days I'll get a video camera and just post a "how to kick ___________ properly" thread complete with videos.... not that I'm a professional with credentials, but I DO know that I kick properly :D

[loden]

I think I know just how to explain the instep drive technique now.

The instep drive is really all about the lean. The only way to achieve lean is to set your planted foot at least 1 foot* away from the ball. Planting your foot so far to the side of the ball will force your body to lean in such a way that allows you to fully extend your kicking foot with a locked ankle and pointed toes. That's all there's to it. Just strike the sweet spot.



*This is just a general guideline, the actual distance will vary with practice.

[thegeneral]

Define lean. :)

On a side note, I think my boots are too long and I need wider ones anyways, so I'm gonna get me some Adidas Predator FG WF shoes.

[nobody]

If your feet are too big you will have to strike the ball with your foot at an angle to get maximum power. Guys with smaller feet can lock their ankle and strike it dead on with the solid part of their foot and get plenty of power and some great movement on the ball. But, if your feet are longer, you have to compensate and angle your foot to make the best contact.

[loden]

If you lean to one side then you can fully extend your kicking leg and point your toes; regardless of your shoe size.

[thegeneral]

Gotcha. Thanks to you both for clarifying it. Now I just need to find time to practice that.

[KHowe]

I am 6'2" and have size 13 feet and have no problem with instep drive. You just have to get the technique down, which does vary a little because of people like ours' larger size, but the fundamentals are the same:

Keep your ankle locked
Use your supporting leg and the trunk of your body for power
Use your kicking leg and foot position for placement on the ball

One of these days I'll get a video camera and just post a "how to kick ___________ properly" thread complete with videos.... not that I'm a professional with credentials, but I DO know that I kick properly :D

Let me know if you get those video's, I'm the same size (6'3", size 13) and have trouble with my instep. I seem to really have to angle my body to be able to kick it on the top part of my shoe. I hope I'm doing it correct, but after reading through this thread I'm a bit more confident. My problem now is accuracy :(

[servotron]

I've PM'd you, but I will still try and make a video of myself doing it.

You might also be well served to look on YouTube for Thierry Henry goals, he does a lot of sidefooting, and he's 6'2" with large feet as well.