Help me with my new winger position

[ilya123]

I'm 14 and I take soccer very seriously. Over the past years i've been playing mostly on the right wing until this year when the coach put me on the left. I thought that this would be a good time to work on my left foot. Except I don't know how to improve the strenght of my left leg, I know I should control the ball and shoot it more with my left, but I don't know how to physically make it stronger. What simple exercises can I do???

[thepremierleague]

Your legs are roughly the same strength, It's more to do with your brain than anything physical.

I suggest consciously using your left more and practice kicking with it to build pathways and connections in your brain which will make it work better.

That's what people with brain damage have to do in rehab, open their brain pathways by using the limb.

For me, one day I just started consciously using my left more until eventually I used it more than my right sometimes!

Remember like your hand, you use your left leg far more than you realise.

[Spartak]

It's simple, just break your right leg. Then you will be forced to rely on your left leg more.

[thepremierleague]

Originally posted by Spartak
It's simple, just break your right leg. Then you will be forced to rely on your left leg more.

How will he walk? :D

[CUS]

Originally posted by thepremierleague


How will he walk? :D
If I could walk that way, I wouldn't need talcum powder!

[flanoverseas]

try brushing your teeth and writing with your left leg as well

[jamisont]

its same as boxing and baseball.
If you are rightie, then usually your left punch sucks.
and unless you work on switch hitting, you cant really hit on opposit side.

You gotta learn how to shift your body weight on opposit side and keep the balance.
I played tai kwan do, so when i played soccer i didnt have much problem with using both feet.

[flanoverseas]

Originally posted by jamisont

I played tai kwan do, that game is better on the cube than playstation

[ilya123]

thnx alot, i never knew that all of this had to do more with your brain then the actual physical strength of your legs!

[oakydoaks]

Tae-kwon-do is from Korea. It might be one of the reasons that most Korean players are good at using both left and right feet.
Another reason I suspect is that in Korea many kids grew up playing sack tossing game where you have to use left foot for half of the times by rules.
If you can find small sack (or however you call it, it's the thing that has sand in it) try kicking it 100 times without dropping. Of course you want to do that with your left foot only. It might be somewhat boring though, I guess, since other kids would not be playing it with you.

[ilya123]

well when it comes to keep ups i can use both feet easily, i can do left to right with my feet and my knees. i can also do just my left foot, it's just that the power isn't there

[bocatuna]

Why is your coach playing you on the wrong side?

[ilya123]

well we are a little short when it comes to wingers with speed. and plus i'm the only one who can at least play on the left side and still give good balls. it's just that it's a little harder to make good high crosses.

[oakydoaks]

Originally posted by ilya123
well when it comes to keep ups i can use both feet easily, i can do left to right with my feet and my knees. i can also do just my left foot, it's just that the power isn't there

Try Tae-kwon-do then :)
When you reach the level where you can break bricks or wooden plates with your left foot, I think you will have gained enough power.
:)

[ilya123]

no offense to ur tai-kwon-do method but i dunt think that even professional strikers could brake bricks with their kicks

[Crazy_Yank]

The way I developed my left foot was I practiced juggling the ball with my left foot only. It was very frustrating at first, but now I can juggle for hours with either foot. It will take a month of so of juggling for your left foot to catch up with your right foot. I suggest you juggle 30-45 minutes every day.

[jamisont]

i wouldnt suggest tai kwan do for soccer.
I think when you kick the ball, you are not using much of your weights thats why it doesnt have much power in it.
its same with swinging a bat, I can hit balls on opposit side but it wont go any far cuz I cant really put my weight on my swing, but I can hit certainly.

try to throw a ball far with both arms, main reason you cant throw ball farther with opposit arm is that you are not using much of own weight when you throw it.

[thepremierleague]

Originally posted by jamisont
try to throw a ball far with both arms, main reason you cant throw ball farther with opposit arm is that you are not using much of own weight when you throw it.


That's part of it yes, you do seem to shift your weight more to the dominant side, making it easier.

Remember however that your brain is split in two halves. Right handed people generally use the right brain to move the left side, and left handed people use the right brain to move their left side.

Ambidexterous people use both sides of their brain almost equally to move.

No matter how much you practice, you brain is wired to work this way. The only thing you can do is use the left more and your opposite brain will get better, but it will never be as good as your dominate side.

[bocatuna]

I still have my doubts about the coach's ability to manage the team. Remeber Keegan and Euro 2000, playing players out of position and on the wrong side doesn't work. I suggest you lead a coup detat and oust the manager , take over the team , put a fat kid on the left side and never pass to him.

[thepremierleague]

I personally don't think it matters whether you play on left or right. Just turn your body and you can use your best foot either side of the pitch.

Infact if you are right footed and on the left, you have the whole pitch and team on your right side to pass to, so in some ways it's easier.


The only time it matters is if you are running down the line and want to cross it instantly.

That's a very one dimensional tactic however and as a winger should be able to do more than just run and cross instantly.