First Touch Football: What It Is and How to Improve It

First touch in football is your initial contact with an incoming ball, preparing it for your next action. To practise it within your football training, receive a gentle ground pass towards a marked space, then pass towards a separate target. This guide gives parents who have never played a receiving exercise to try and clear observations to discuss with their child's coach.

Alongside receiving practice, Curl Master One, sold by The Giro X, trains striking contact and spin control. Choose where you want the ball to finish before it arrives, then direct your receiving touch towards that space. For a parent who has never played, a marked destination gives the exercise a purpose you can discuss. Give receiving and striking their own practice tasks, with a coach helping your player connect the setup touch to the action that follows.

What Does a Good First Touch Make Possible?

A good first touch prepares the action the player intends to take next. For this exercise, choose a passing target before deciding where the receiving touch should finish. Imagine a teammate waiting towards the centre of the pitch while your player receives nearer the touchline. Ask the coach to identify a suitable receiving space for the intended pass. The task then becomes concrete: receive towards the marked space and examine whether the intended passing route remains available.

In my opinion, the next available pass deserves attention before how elaborate the receiving movement looks. Stopping the ball can be the chosen task, while another exercise might ask the player to receive towards an open passing route. Ask the coach to demonstrate the receiving surface they want your player to use and explain its purpose. For girls and boys alike, keep the question tied to the individual exercise rather than assuming every incoming pass needs the same response.

How Can You Practise First Touch Towards a Target?

Try receiving a gentle ground pass towards a marked space before passing towards a separate destination. Ask a partner to provide a manageable delivery, and agree on the receiving target before starting. Keep the incoming pass similar while your player explores the task, so you have something reasonably consistent to observe. I would begin with an obvious receiving space and discuss its position with the coach before changing the demands of the exercise.

After each attempt, notice where the receiving touch finishes and whether the player can make the intended pass from there. Keep the receiving target unchanged while comparing attempts, then ask your player what they noticed. A parent can ask, “Was the pass you wanted still available?” without delivering a technical explanation. I would keep the conversation focused on the marked space and intended passing route, giving the player a specific question to consider before the next delivery.

What Should You Check When the Ball Bounces Away?

Check the ball's finishing position and the incoming delivery before deciding what to change. Did the receiving contact send the ball upwards or beyond the marked space? Describe what happened in ordinary words, then bring the observation to the coach. I would ask the coach to explain the receiving contact in relation to the delivery. Include what the incoming pass looked like, because the pass and the receiving touch belong in the same discussion.

For the next attempt, I would return to a manageable ground pass and the same receiving target. Ask the coach to demonstrate the movement they want, then watch where the ball finishes after contact. If the delivery changes noticeably between attempts, mention the difference when discussing the exercise. Keep the conversation specific and encouraging: “That touch finished beside the marker” gives your player a clear observation to consider when explaining what they intended to do.

How Can First Touch Practice Move Towards Match Situations?

Add a passing choice when your player and coach agree that the original receiving task is manageable. A partner could indicate an available passing direction before delivering the ball, allowing the receiver to choose a corresponding receiving space. Keep the choice clear enough for your player to explain afterwards. I would ask which pass they intended and where they wanted the receiving touch to finish, then compare the intention with what happened during the attempt.

For practice involving an opponent, ask the coach to set the conditions and explain the receiving choices. This applies to girls' and boys' grassroots football, with the task adapted to the individual player. Parents can ask how a familiar target exercise connects to a situation on the pitch. I would take the receiving question into a team session or individual lesson, then use the coach's answer to choose a specific receiving task for home practice.

Where Does Curl Master One Fit With First Touch Practice?

Curl Master One

Curl Master One provides striking contact and spin control practice alongside the separate receiving exercise. It spins a standard ball at controlled speeds, has six speed settings and requires no app or subscription. I would give it a defined place in the training programme: ask the coach which striking contact cue your player should rehearse. Keep the moving ball receiving task focused on where the setup touch finishes, then give the intended strike its own attention.

In my opinion, pairing receiving practice with a defined striking task makes Curl Master One a worthwhile addition between coaching sessions. The receiving exercise gives your player a destination for the setup touch, while the device provides focused practice for striking contact and spin control. A coach can help connect both tasks to the player's intended next action. Get Curl Master One, ask your coach to choose a striking cue, and pair the striking practice with a clearly marked receiving target.

Practise With Curl Master One

Use Curl Master One to practise striking contact and spin control with a football.

Buy Now