i know a kid that can juggle like 500 and do around the worlds, trap it on his neck and head, and do a bunch of tricks BUT he is fat, slow, and cant shoot or pass worth ********.
Yeah but isn't he still better than he would be without the juggling ability? He would suck more, I bet he has a decent touch at least. It doesn't make you a great player on its own but it improves your technique, thats all it is about and its as simple as that. All great players can juggle and if you can't juggle then you can improve your technique a lot. Yeah but what if he gets the ball and can't control it to pass it off. I can juggle but I never do fancy tricks in the game, but learning the fancy tricks makes the simpler stuff easier. Its just logic people theres no arguing against it. Maradonna would never have been the genius he is if he didn't juggle constantly throughout his youth, how else do you practice on your own but juggling and hitting a ball around?
I don't know about college age players, but for younger players, the relationship between juggling and touch is far from perfect. I think it's fair to say that the better youth players can at least juggle some. On the other hand ... I am thinking of two youth players, U12s. One is a very fine juggler, can comfortably juggle 100, 200 times. Good player, good touch. The other is an indifferent juggler, might juggle 50 times in one effort, 7 the next. Both players seem about equal to me in the ability to receive the ball. Otherwise, it's a wipeout. The second player has closer ball control while dribbling, and is far superior at every aspect of striking the ball - passes, crosses, and shots. Consequently, he appears to be the more skilled player on the soccer field. I can name several other cases like this, albeit not all so dramatic. But maybe by college age, it's impossible to be a good player and not be able to juggle well? I'll tell you this, it's certainly possible at U12.
juggling is very important, maybe not for juggling around people in a game, but just for the betterment of one's touch.
No one said juggling was the be all and end all. But it's better to juggle than not to. And I doubt anyone who can't juggle *at all* is any good. If I told you a player had good upper body strength and a strong header, you'd say great, right? Valuable assets, right? Now if I told you the same player had no f_*_cking legs, you'd say he can't play soccer, right? Does that in any way mean that his other assets weren't valuable? No! So of course if you can't pass or shoot you can't play. But given that you have the fundamentals down, then juggling, and the close control that it develops, are an asset. That wasn't so hard, was it?
ConorMI think juggling is quite misunderstood. A lot of people who can't juggle say juggling doesn't make you a good player which is only partly true. How can you be a great player however if you lack the skill and technique to tap a ball up in the air with your foot? Its not difficult. Not all great jugglers are great players, but all great players are great jugglers. This is very well said, and if you diagree than your wrong. How many can you do? It its ............. well i started juggling in march. My best is lil over 200. When i started really jugglling i wanted to get a 100 by june, but i got 200. Now i got a lil bored so i dont count as much anymore and im trying some freestyle. I just started though, i just know rainbow, footstall necktall, heel flick and some others. I dont know how much i can juggle in one minute...i have never tried that before. I will time my slef soon and post it here. 300 juggles i would say its enough to show that you have good control on the ball. But thats my opinion. Peace out oh by the way visit mine and my friends website about freestyle www.magicfeet.cjb.net see ya there
Can anyone run and juggle? Running while juggling has got to improve your touch and I bet trying to set yourself records for a certain distance is a good way to simulate pressure.
Yeah running while juggling is fairly easy all you got to do is look where you're going rather than watch the ball
I think you are missing my point. When I say it's over-rated, I don't mean it's not useful. I do mean that I would much rather see players practice with a wall or doing other things that are a better simulation of soccer game situations. Leaning back and juggling doesn't promote good body positioning, shooting on the volley, or passing a ball that's in the air. In almost every game situation, if you're "juggling" for more than one touch, you lost the ball. Yes, a player who juggles to practice develops better touch than not. But a player who spends an equal amount of time practice touches that they'll actually use, or practicing close dribbling control with the ball on the ground instead of in the air, or practicing placement, power and spin of shots against a wall, will develop skills that are much more useful. Don't stop juggling if you like it. But the hour you spend juggling can be an eternity of good practice shooting.
No but you see you do the juggling on top of practicing all those other skills. Its not an alternative its in addition to. You will learn the kicking skills anyway if you are playing everyday, playing games and stuff. You learn how to kick. Everyone I know who can juggle is skillful, I know good players who can't but they tend to have less control and technique, they can shoot and pass fantastically though. What if they had practiced juggling all their life too? They would be better players for it. I know if I am messing about on my own I will practice juggling for a bit, run around dribbling the ball for a while and then start kicking a ball at a wall with both feet for a while. It all comes together to improve every technical aspect of your game. Juggling is an important part of this. Mastering the ball is vital if you are to be a truly top player.
What is the best way to maximize your time alone if your weaknesses are: - heading - volley - long accuracy - really high ball control ? How can you make sure you use the right technique for a long pass when you practise with a wall? How can you practise hitting the volley off a cross?
A thing you could do is either paint a line on the wall and aim for it or go elsewhere and find a tree or post you can aim at from set distances
Learning how to kick properly by hitting against a wall teaches you the techniques of kicking a ball all different ways. This improvement of technique will improve all types of kicking, volleys, chips, long shots, long passes, curved balls etc. For really high ball control well it just comes kinda naturally to people who have lived with the game their whole lives, its simply a matter of good technique, this comes from practicing controlling with all different parts of the body.