Hacky Sack influence on skill

[Lovefutball]

Obviously hacky sack would help your ball coordination skills, but how big is the impact. Has anyone ever gone through this and what were your results?

[ctsoccer13]

I guess it would depend on your definition of "skill". I've played against soooooo many teams that can juggle a million times before a game and do all the fancy juggling tricks, but put them on the field and they have average footwork and below average passing and shooting. From the amount of threads I've seen here about juggling there is a wide variety of opinions on its benefit to a player. Some feel it is very beneficial while others say the complete opposite. At the "Meet the Revs" outing a youngster asked Taylor Twellman and Noonon how many times they could juggle. Noonan started cracking up and Twellman interjected that Noonan was horrible at it. IMO I think it does help with trapping and taking the ball out of the air, but in the overal scheme of the game it has little impact. Just my 2 pennies.

[blech]

i think there is value to juggling a soccer ball (up to a certain point - i.e., you don't need to get to 1000 or even 500 or even 100, but being able to get to 40-50 is likely to have an impact on your trapping, concentration, and other skills).

i'm much less sure about the hacky sack and how it translates to the soccer field as i've known people who can handle the hacky sack and not a soccer ball and visa versa.

i'm curious to hear what others have to say.

[CharlieMills]

I kind of think hacky sack and juggling a soccer ball are vastly different. I actually played a little hacky sack for the first time ever a few days ago, and I was terrible at it. Granted, i'm not Ronaldinho with a soccer ball, but my skills did not translate well. I guess it could work the same muscles though.

[ctsoccer13]

I can't say that I hacky-sack but I guess I equated it to a size 1 ball which I do use in some of my practices.

[loden]

hacky sack doesn't bounce on impact

[blech]

I can't say that I hacky-sack but I guess I equated it to a size 1 ball which I do use in some of my practices.

the size 1 ball will definitely make you better. sounds weird, but drop down in ball size and you will almost always see an improvement in your skill when you go back up.

[macavi]

get an expert in hacky sack and give them a soccer ball......they couldnt do the same thing;)

[Lovefutball]

What I've heard is that it contributes to your coordination as far as recieving, trapping and so on.

[JOEnadinho]

A variation of hackey sack from Viet Nam. Take a good look at the thing at 0:38

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DA2HSanBG1g&mode=related&search=

[Gavinmgraham]

A variation of hackey sack from Viet Nam. Take a good look at the thing at 0:38

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DA2HSanBG1g&mode=related&search=
http://shop.bigsoccer.com/departments-player-equipment-field---training-soccer-birdie.html
Right here on BigSoccer for $5.

[BigGuy]

I usedto juggle a small rubber ball made by spalding then after that used it to play stoop ball and stick ball, hand ball and chinese handball. The hard spalding rubber ball cost 25 cents back then what a bargain that was.

[soccersonoma10]

There are plenty of stoners who are amazing at hacky sack, but cannot juggle a ball at all. I would advise dribbling and juggling with a tennis ball, as I did this and felt a great increase in control. Also, hacky sack is done with the inside of your foot, bringing it up in a very un-soccer like manner. Juggle a tennis ball as you would a normal ball. Legend has it George Best learned to play with oranges instead of a real ball..

[servotron]

One thing hacky sack does for you is really helps your balance and to some degree, flexibility. Definitely the balance though. if you play a lot of hacky sack like I have since the late 80's you really develop your ability to be confident on one foot, the ability to make a move and reset to your original position, and just general coordination.

It is not, however, a substitute for juggling a soccer ball because kicking a hacky sack, regardless of its texture, fill level, or construction material, is NOTHING like a soccer ball.

It's definitely fun though!

If you wanted to work on skills that are directly translatable into a soccer game, play hacky sack with a soccer ball, and spread out 15-20 feet apart from each other in a circle and attempt to play the same style of game as hacky sack. It's hard but it will deliver immediate results to your soccer play once you get the hang of it.

[The circle of life 0]

Past playing with much more skill with volleys and foot-eye coordination, no it really woudln't effect your game that much...

However, practicing just a regular practice with a size 1 ball, like shootiing, passing, and juggling can really make the ball go alot further and harder if you hit a regular bal right...

Medicine balls help with throw ins...

Ya, you get it.

[Lovefutball]

Well, this is the perfect occasion for this thread to be bumped!

I just got back from the soccer field I was practicing at...I missed a shot, and my ball went into the bushes...but I didn't mind because I came a cross a Nike 90 size 1 soccer ball!

And, I just ordered a hacky sack of the internet.

So I guess I will use the size 1 to increase skill and the hacky sack just for phone :)