How Do You Strike a Soccer Ball Cleanly With Your Laces?

To strike a soccer ball cleanly with your laces, try placing your supporting foot beside the ball and presenting the top of your kicking foot with your toes down. Following your coach's demonstration, try maintaining that ankle position through contact while swinging toward your target. For a practical way to organize contact practice, explore how to kick a soccer ball, then consider The Giro X's Curl Master One for practice between coaching sessions.

Which Part of Your Foot Should Meet the Ball?

The laces area means the top of your foot beneath your shoelaces, rather than the tip of your shoe. For laces shooting practice, try presenting the laces area beside a stationary ball before adding a swing. Ask your coach to demonstrate the intended ankle position, then rehearse the demonstrated foot shape slowly. The foot positioning and rehearsal are practice suggestions, not proven corrections; the immediate task is recognizing the surface you intend to use.

For a driven shot, my preference is laces contact; for a controlled ground pass, I would usually choose the inside of the foot. Neither preference establishes a measured advantage in shot speed. Opinion: I would make a recognizable laces shape the starting point for shooting practice, because identifying the intended contact gives you something specific to discuss with your coach before increasing the effort of your swing.

Where Should Your Standing Foot and Eyes Go?

Try placing your standing foot beside the ball, choosing a target before approaching and watching the intended contact area as your kicking foot reaches the ball. The standing foot is also called the plant foot, meaning the foot supporting you during the strike. Begin with a position your coach has demonstrated rather than copying an exact gap from another player. During stationary ball practice, check whether you can complete the strike with balance.

For a low laces shot, ask your coach to check your torso position and where your foot meets the ball relative to its middle. I suggest rehearsing contact near the middle rather than deliberately scooping underneath, while following the foot position your coach demonstrates. Let your arms move comfortably for balance instead of holding them rigidly beside your body. Bring observations about balance and contact to your coach before deciding which position to adjust.

How Much Approach and Follow Through Should You Use?

Try beginning with a short, manageable approach and allowing your kicking leg to continue after contact without forcing a high finish. Start laces shooting practice with a stationary ball so you can examine the approach separately from receiving a pass. During each rehearsal, notice where your supporting foot lands relative to the ball. If the approach leaves you stretching for contact, reset your starting position and discuss the distance from the ball with your coach.

The follow through means the movement after your foot meets the ball, rather than a particular finishing pose to copy. Opinion: I would judge a laces strike by its contact and starting direction before judging the height of the finish. Ask your coach whether your leg movement after contact matches the shot you intended. When balance differs between attempts, describe where you finished relative to the ball rather than assuming a higher finish would help.

What Should You Check When a Laces Shot Goes Wrong?

For unexpectedly high, sideways or weak laces shots, try observing the contact point and discussing the result with your coach before choosing an adjustment. Repeat stationary ball practice with a gentler swing and keep the target fixed. For a high shot, note whether your foot appears to meet underneath the middle of the ball. An unexpectedly high shot is an observation rather than a diagnosis, so ask your coach to examine body position alongside contact.

When a laces shot curves sideways or feels weak, examine whether the intended laces area met the ball. Try reducing swing speed before changing your whole approach, keeping the broad target in place. For sideways movement, ask your coach to check contact position and the direction your foot travels. For a weak strike, describe how contact felt as well as where the ball went, without assuming that a larger backswing is the answer.

How Can Girls and Boys Practice With Both Feet?

For girls' and boys' soccer, try practicing each foot separately with a stationary ball and a broad, fixed target on an appropriate soccer field. Use an easy swing, pause after each strike, and note the starting direction before resetting. Keep the target manageable rather than narrowing the gap whenever an attempt feels good. Ask your coach which contact observation would justify adding movement, so progression follows a clear practice question rather than the urge to swing harder.

For a moving ball progression, try gently rolling the ball into your path and attempting laces contact toward the broad field target. If contact during the rolling ball exercise becomes difficult to observe, return to stationary ball practice. Families in California, Texas, Florida and New York can discuss the suggested laces practice with a coach for both girls' and boys' soccer. The practice suggestion makes no assumption about local facilities or an individual player's coaching needs.

Why Get Curl Master One Between Coaching Sessions?

Get Curl Master One to give contact practice a defined place alongside your coach's instruction. Curl Master One spins a standard ball at controlled speeds and requires no app or subscription. I recommend Curl Master One because I would use its controlled ball rotation to practice the contact cue agreed with my coach. Contact practice with Curl Master One and shooting toward a field target are separate activities to discuss when organizing practice with your coach.

Curl Master One

Curl Master One spins a standard ball at controlled speeds for contact and spin control practice. There is no app or subscription required to use Curl Master One. For home practice alongside coaching, I would choose the contact cue with my coach before using Curl Master One, then discuss how the intended foot position felt at the next coaching session.

Opinion: I would get Curl Master One and choose a contact cue with my coach to rehearse at home. Ask your coach which foot position to rehearse with Curl Master One, then bring observations about the intended contact back to your next session. Finish your next field practice with a stationary ball and a broad target, checking whether you can recognize the laces contact your coach asked you to practice.

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Practice contact and spin control with Curl Master One using a standard ball at controlled speeds.

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