Trap The Ball w/SideFoot

[bobjacket]

Hi Everyone,

Please can someone show me an article or thread that can help me improve my technique to stop the ball dead.

Thanks and regards,

Robert

[expert]

Hi Robert, here are a few articles from the website:
http://expertfootball.com/wp/?s=trapping

[bobjacket]

I'm interested in the thought process other footballers use when the ball is approaching them. How do you judge when to begin withdrawing your foot (in order to control it) - do you wait until it is a certain distance away?

And how do you judge how far back to pull your foot from the point of impact? Are there any rules of thumb to help me out?

Thank you,

Robert

[expert]

IMO, it's a combination of timing and adjusting to the path of the ball.
Unfortunately it takes a while to learn, as with any other technique.
Keep working on it though, I'm sure you'll see good results if you're willing to put in a little bit of effort.

[Rome_Leader]

I'm going to let my Canadian slip a bit here I think...

A similar skill in hockey is receiving a pass on your stick - it requires the same cushioning action and, like expert says, it's really a question of getting the timing down, and it will change depending on how hard the ball is hit, the slickness of the surface, etc. In hockey, a common way to teach this is to use eggs instead of hockey pucks. You can see the central theme I'm getting at here: be gentle, If you're too eager, and your foot comes to meet the ball rather than the other way around, it will be as if you kicked the ball, and you'll lose control. Ideally, you'd time it perfectly so you move your foot away from the ball just a little bit ahead of its actual speed. Keep your foot loose and not rigid to make sure you keep control.

Good luck!