How to Kick a Soccer Ball

To kick a soccer ball, try placing your standing foot beside the ball and striking its middle with the inside of your kicking foot toward a broad target. To practice striking a soccer ball for a driven shot, explore laces contact separately, with a manageable swing and a clear destination. For contact and spin control practice between coaching sessions, The Giro X sells Curl Master One, which spins a standard ball at controlled speeds.

The following practice suggestions connect the approach and contact with a destination you can recognize. Start with a ground pass, then explore shots and different ball paths as separate exercises. Treat the technical cues as suggestions to discuss with a coach, rather than proven corrections or instructions that guarantee a particular result. Each exercise gives you a specific movement to rehearse and an observation to bring back to coaching.

How Do You Kick a Soccer Ball Step by Step?

For a beginner kicking exercise, try a stationary ball and a broad target before introducing a moving ball. Decide whether the intended pass should stay on the ground or travel through the air. For a starting ground pass, try placing your standing foot beside the ball with its toes directed toward the target, then meet the ball's middle with the inside of your kicking foot. Rehearse the setup demonstrated by your coach with a short approach and a manageable swing.

As a suggested attention sequence for ground passing, look toward the destination before starting, then return your attention to the ball before contact. After the pass, compare the starting direction with the target you chose. Keep the intended contact and destination unchanged while exploring the movement. Rather than judging the pass by effort alone, record whether the ball started toward the marked area and describe where contact seemed to happen.

Which Part of Your Foot Should Contact the Ball?

As separate practice suggestions, explore inside foot contact for a ground pass, outside foot contact for an angled pass and laces contact for a driven shot. The inside surface faces inward, while the outside surface lies along the little toe side; the instep is the top around the laces. For outside foot passing, try directing a gentle pass toward a target to the outside of your kicking foot, rather than repeating the inside foot setup or attempting a driven shot. Agree on the contact with your coach.

For laces shooting practice, try rehearsing the foot position demonstrated by your coach and maintaining that shape through contact. If the coach uses the phrase locked ankle, ask for a demonstration of the intended movement before rehearsing the cue. Keep the laces shooting target broad while exploring the demonstrated position. Describe whether you recognized the intended contact, rather than assuming that a particular feeling proves the technique was correct.

Where Should Your Standing Foot Go, and How Should You Follow Through?

For ground passing practice, try placing the standing foot beside the ball, pointing its toes toward the target, and allowing the kicking leg to continue toward that target after contact. After a short approach, notice whether the supporting foot landed where expected and whether its direction matched the planned setup. Describe any difference to your coach before changing the movement. Keeping the intended position as a reference gives the comparison a purpose without assuming that every misplaced pass comes from the supporting foot.

During ground passing practice, observe whether the kicking leg continued toward the intended destination without an exaggerated finish. For driven shooting practice, ask your coach to demonstrate the approach and finish together. Compare the intended contact and starting direction across attempts, rather than treating the height of the finishing foot as proof of a successful strike. Keep follow through observations specific to the ground pass or driven shot being practiced.

How Do You Keep a Kick Low, Lift It, or Make It Curve?

As practice suggestions, try central contact for a low pass, contact below the center for deliberate lift, and contact off center to explore the sidespin associated with a curved shot. For a ground pass that lifts unexpectedly, reduce the swing and compare the apparent contact point with the intended central contact. Discuss the observed ball path with your coach before choosing a different contact cue for the next ground passing exercise.

For a lofted pass, try meeting the ball below its center with an upward movement toward a generous elevated destination, using a contact cue agreed with your coach. For a curved shot, try inside foot contact off center while exploring sidespin, with a starting direction that leaves room for the ball to bend toward the target. Keep lifting and curving as separate exercises alongside coaching. The guide to how to curve a soccer ball develops curved shooting further; consider a generous route around an obstacle before narrowing the gap.

How Can You Practice Power and Accuracy Without Changing Everything?

To explore additional pace, try keeping the target and intended striking surface unchanged while gradually varying the swing. If laces contact becomes difficult to recognize, consider returning to a manageable movement and the foot position demonstrated by your coach. Compare the intended starting line with the observed ball path. Record changes in direction without treating a single attempt as proof that an adjustment has worked.

For soccer shots that travel wide, note the standing foot position and intended contact surface without treating either observation as an automatic diagnosis. For shots that rise unexpectedly, describe the approach and apparent contact point to your coach. In a rolling ball shooting exercise, try a gentle setup touch before the strike and observe where the ball arrives. Ask your coach whether the setup touch leaves the intended shot available before exploring a faster approach.

How Should Beginners Practice Alone and With Both Feet?

As a suggested solo exercise, give each foot a separate ground passing task toward the same broad target. Use a marked area on a suitable wall where ball practice is permitted, or pass through a gap between markers. Note the starting direction and whether you recognized the intended contact. For weaker foot practice, consider a manageable swing before trying to reproduce the stronger foot's pace, keeping the target unchanged for comparison.

For girls' and boys' soccer in California, Texas, Florida and New York, adapt the ground passing exercise to the available space and the player's current instruction. Younger beginners can try a stationary pass toward a generous target before exploring movement. Parents can ask the player to describe the ground passing target and contact cue. A coach can demonstrate a simpler version when the player needs clarification about the movement being rehearsed.

How Does Curl Master One Fit Alongside Coaching?

Get Curl Master One for home contact practice focused on a cue agreed with your coach. Curl Master One spins a standard soccer ball at controlled speeds and provides immediate feedback through the feel of the strike. A coach can guide the wider work on passing and shooting while the player uses Curl Master One for contact practice at home. Curl Master One requires no app and no subscription. Agree on a contact cue with your coach, then use that cue to organize home contact and spin control practice.

A soccer ball spinning on Curl Master One.

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Facts

The soccer shooting external focus study included 45 novice male players. Source: The effect of external focus distance on shooting accuracy in soccer for novice players, indexed by PubMed, checked 2026-11-05
Behzad Mohammadi Orangi and colleagues studied shooting learning in 96 children without prior soccer or futsal training. Source: Behzad Mohammadi Orangi and colleagues, BMC Pediatrics, checked 2026-11-03
The children in Behzad Mohammadi Orangi and colleagues' shooting learning study were 6 years old. Source: Behzad Mohammadi Orangi and colleagues, BMC Pediatrics, checked 2026-11-03
Richong Liu and colleagues studied receiving and subsequent passing in 17 male university soccer players. Source: Richong Liu and colleagues, Football Studies, checked 2026-11-02
Mathias Rosten, Tore Kristian Aune and Terje Dalen studied touch restrictions in 12 male junior soccer players. Source: Mathias Rosten, Tore Kristian Aune and Terje Dalen, Journal of Human Kinetics, checked 2026-11-02
Mathias Rosten, Tore Kristian Aune and Terje Dalen examined touch restrictions across 30 small sided soccer games. Source: Mathias Rosten, Tore Kristian Aune and Terje Dalen, Journal of Human Kinetics, checked 2026-11-02

FAQs

How Do You Kick a Soccer Ball Correctly as a Beginner?

Try a stationary ground pass toward a broad target. Rehearse the setup demonstrated by your coach, exploring a manageable swing before adding approach speed.

Which Part of Your Foot Should You Use to Kick a Soccer Ball?

As practice suggestions, explore inside foot contact for ground passing and laces contact separately for driven shots. Ask your coach to demonstrate the intended contact surface for each exercise.

What Does Locking Your Ankle Mean in Soccer?

In laces shooting practice, locking your ankle means maintaining the intended foot shape through contact. As a practice suggestion, rehearse the position demonstrated by your coach before increasing swing speed.

How Do You Kick a Soccer Ball With More Power?

Try exploring additional swing speed while keeping the target and intended contact surface unchanged. Return to a manageable movement if contact becomes difficult to recognize, and discuss your observations with your coach.

How Can Curl Master One Support Kicking Practice?

Curl Master One spins a standard soccer ball at controlled speeds for contact and spin control practice. Get Curl Master One for practice between coaching sessions, with a contact focus agreed with your coach.