You can learn how to kick the ball correctly, but that is only the beginning of your journey to understanding how to make it a goal.

No matter what the goal of your shot is, it’s important to use a good kicking technique.

This article will explain how to shoot a soccerball in three different ways: powerful shot, lofted shot, and accurate shot.

You will also find some fun drills to help you perfect your deadly and precise shot.

Why is shooting and finishing so important in soccer?

The final outcome of a game is often determined by the shooting.

The team with the best finishing times usually wins the game.

It’s important to be fully prepared for your chance to shine in a match, as you might not have many chances.

Consistent training is everything

Consistent training is required to master finishing and shooting.

It’s simple:

It’s easy to lose these skills if you don’t practice them regularly.

You can always regain them if you return to your practice.

It is vital to have confidence in your finishing skills

All of us have heard about strikers suffering from goal droughts.
They are often not confident enough to score.

This is how it works:

Unconfident players can have a goal shot.

It is important to practice to maintain your confidence.

Train until you feel confident that you can score.

How to Shoot a Soccer Ball

This is where we’ll begin our How to Kick a Soccer Ball Tutorial.

We’ll then apply the lessons we have taught to you here to finish.

But, before anything else:

Let’s take a quick look at the basic principles of kicking.

Basic steps for kicking position:

1. Do a little run-up.
2. Place your supporting foot (the one that you aren’t shooting with) close to the ball, approximately 7 inches (18 cm) away.
3. Move the planted foot slightly.
4. Your upper body should lean slightly over the ball.
5. Many feel that it is natural for the opposite arm to swing backwards or to extend its arm at this point.
6. Your entire shooting leg should be pulled straight back at an angle of 45 degrees.
7. Now, bend your knees towards your back and flex your knees down.
8. Now, move your entire body towards the ball from that position.
9. When your support foot is gone, your knee should pass your supporting foot. Now extend your leg down to hit the ball.
10. Use the desired foot part to contact the soccer ball.
11. Your leg should follow the ball.

These are the basic steps for kicking a football.

Although everyone is different, these guidelines are good to start with.

We’ll use them as our foundations. However, we will make slight changes to some of them to get different results like power shots and better accuracy kicks.

Drill 1: The Basic Kicking Movement

The first drill is very simple.

Simply practice our Basic Kicking Positioning Steps.

Continue to work until you feel confident and comfortable kicking the soccer ball.

How to do a Lofted Kick

Every player should have the lofted kick in their arsenal.

Here are some reasons:

• For your teammates, you might have to pass the ball into the box.
• Sometimes, you might have to pass the ball to another player who is further away than you are.
• To prevent your opponent from scoring, you might have to clear the ball from in front of your goal.

Correctly positioning your supporting foot is the best way to increase your kick’s height.

Normal shots are taken with your foot approximately 7 inches (18 cm) from the ball.

This will ensure that you make good contact with the ball without allowing it to slip under your feet.

To achieve that extra height, however, you’ll need to move your supporting leg a bit further.

This will allow your foot to move more naturally sideways, almost in line with the football.

Next, make contact with the laces to kick the soccer ball through its lower half.

It’s almost as if you were sweeping the ball through your hands.

TIP: Your upper body positioning can also help increase height in your shot.

You would place your upper body slightly above the ball for a normal kick.

To increase height, it is important to lean slightly back. It’s easier to contact the ball under the ball, and then move upwards.

We’ve now learned how to kick higher. Let’s test this knowledge and our skills.

Drill 2: Shooting Over The Cones

You should feel more confident in your kicking technique if you have already completed the Basic Kicking Movement drill.

It is time to challenge yourself.

Add height to your kicks.

You will need several tall cones and, obviously, a ball to perform this drill.
You can also use tape markers to mark a wall if you don’t own training cones.

This is where you set your goals using the markers / cones.

Here are some ways to do it.

1. Begin with just one cone.
2. The ball should be placed about 3-5m (3-5 meter) from the cone. Next, kick the ball towards the cone.
3. Continue to kick until you have 10 consecutive kicks over the cone (without knocking it down).

Next, add another cone to the top of your first one.

Keep on kicking to achieve your 10-kicks in-a-row goal. You can also add more cones on top (or set the tape markers higher up on the wall) to see how high you go.

Higher you go, the farther you are from the cones.

You can eventually kick the soccer ball over a goal.

Do not move on to the next step if the one you’re on is too easy.

How to Shoot a Soccer ball Harder

Everyone wants to be able to say that their shots are powerful.

You know that some power is essential, but it’s not necessary.

Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben said it best: “With great power comes great responsibilities.”

You must learn to manage your responsibility.

You can add power in a few easy ways, but you need to be aware of when it is too much.

It’s simple:

It is important to keep some level of accuracy.

The first way refers to the distance you bring your foot to your backside.

This is Step 7 of the Basic Positioning Steps.

The sign of power is indicated by how far you can bend your knee and bring your foot back.

It is called “range of motion” when I speak to my children about it.

The greater the motion range, the more power you’ll have to make the shot.

It is important to understand which kicks are most conducive to achieving power.

It is a good idea to shoot with your laces.

This is the easiest type to kick for momentum, as it’s the most natural movement.

For instance, if you want to kick with your inside foot, you would need to open your hips and swing at your ball. This isn’t as natural as shooting with your laces.

This is why you should practice shooting with your laces.

You can increase your power by practicing your kick technique.

These steps and tips can be kept in mind.

TIP: Although this tip might seem obvious, many people overlook it: the run up The more momentum you have behind your shot, the longer the run-up.

There is a limit. It’s not worth taking a 30-yard (30 meter) run-up to get a shot.

You could also try to kick the ball a bit closer in a game. You can then take a few accelerating steps before you make contact.

Everybody wants to know how far and hard they can kick a football.

This is why the drill can be both entertaining and tedious for some.

Drill 3: Kicking harder, farther and more effectively

We’ve all seen Zlatan Ibrahimovic make some incredible shots.

As I mentioned above, it takes a lifetime for anyone to master that power.

This is the main purpose for this drill, which I also play with my players.

You will need a goal, a good-sized soccer field, and a soccer ball to follow it.

This drill will require you to keep the shot under the crossbar to ensure it doesn’t become a lofted chip and give it enough power to reach the goal line.

Let’s go:

1. Start at the penalty spot or roughly at that distance and kick your beloved sphere into goal.
2. Move back a few yards (meters) every time you reach the target at your distance.
3. Continue repeating steps 1 through 2 until the football is no longer in the goal.

This section will briefly touch on the topic of power, effectiveness and accuracy.

How to Shoot a Soccer ball Accurately

You can only go so far with power; accuracy is the key to success.

My youngster always hears that a soft shot in the corner of the goal is more effective than an exact cannon at the goalie.

It looks just as elegant as the best billiard shots.
It will take you (or anyone else) many days to reach this level.
It is important to know your shot.

It’s important to know how often you curl and what spin you apply to the ball. Also, how high you kick.

These details will help you to determine where you need to aim to get the ball to where you want it.

TIP: Find the penalty spot and pick the corner that you want to aim into. Try to aim for the side netting. Continue doing this until you know what type of shot you have.

Although the end result is always the exact same, it will allow you to see what your kick is.

For example, many people curl their shots naturally. However, they must be aware of this when practicing accuracy.

It is simple to practice accuracy.

You just need to pick a target, and then shoot.

It is important to break it down into manageable steps. This will help you see if you are making progress.

Drill 4: Playing “HORSE 2.0”

As a child, “Horse” was a simple and fun game.

Here’s the way it works for those who have never heard of it:

If you don’t meet your targets, you will be sent a letter.

You lose if you don’t receive all five letters in the word “HORSE”.

Back when I was playing this game, my version of “HORSE” was slightly different.

I would need 10 balls and a random goal.
It could be in the lower left corner of a goal or a trash can, or any other place you can think of.

Then, I would shoot all 10 soccer balls. If I hit the target more often than half that number (i.e. more than 5 times), I would get a point.

Each point would be a credit that would allow me to get further away from all the letters.

This is what I mean:

If I earned one point, then re-started my game but failed to hit the target at minimum 6 times out 10 I would lose that point. If I failed to hit the target again after restarting the game, I would be sent a letter containing the word “HORSE”.

It’s easy to be challenged by “Horse”

Growing up playing soccer as a kid, I discovered that making practice drills into games was more fun and more motivating.

You can do this to step up your game (while still aiming for your target):

• Kicking harder.
• Kicking a moving object.
• A soccer ball is shot against a wall and controlled by you before being kicked.
• There are many other ways to make it more challenging, interesting, and fun once it becomes easy.

The easiest and most reliable method to learn how to shoot a soccerball with accuracy is to use the inside of your feet.

This area is the largest and provides the best hit.

This is why you should start practicing accuracy with this area of your foot.

TIP: The placement of your supporting leg is a simple tip for accuracy. People place their supporting foot next to the ball without thinking about it.

Because your body aligns naturally with the foot pointing in the same direction as it is pointed towards, this is the direction that you most likely kick in.

Using this foot will help you aim.

These are all fundamental skills that you will need to learn to improve your kicking abilities.

Once you’ve mastered each one, it’s time to put them to the test.

Shooting was the most important skill that you had to learn up until now in our How to Shoot a Soccer Ball article.

The next section will teach you how to shoot in game-like situations. This is where kicking becomes finished.

How to finish in soccer

Shooting is crucial because it is the ultimate goal of this beautiful game.

Kicking becomes more fun if there is a goal.

Trust me

It is a great feeling to help your team win a game of soccer.

Now, we will apply some of the knowledge you have gained to the game.

Finishing refers to being able to adapt to various situations and to put the ball in front of the net.

These two drills will make you a more consistent striker.

Drill 5: Put It Firmly on Target

This is the first drill that I used a lot when I was younger with my coaches. It’s something I still use a lot in my coaching sessions today.

You must first get a good feel for where the ball is going.

1. Take a bag of 10 balls and place yourself on the 5-yard line. Then, hit the side neting.
2. When you are able to hit 8 out 10 easily, then move backwards in a diagonal line from the side netting.
3. Step 1 is repeated from your new position. Once you have reached 8 of 10, repeat step 2.
4. Once you reach the goal box’s edge, switch to the opposite side of the net.
5. Once you’ve managed both sides of the game, invite a friend along to play. You will need to be on the same side as your friend to achieve the goal.
6. Repetition the previous steps but kick the ball from the friend’s hand.
7. This drill is made even more difficult by having a friend shout “low” and “high” to make it harder for you to adjust your shot accordingly.

You can kick the ball harder as you go through the drill.
This will allow you to be accurate while hitting with power.

Shooting power control is difficult and is a skill that coaches recognize as a key ability.

I can attest to this because of my own experience as both a player and coach.

This drill is simple and effective, and will make it easier to kick and finish.

It’s easy to get tired after a while, but it’s important that you keep your eyes on the prize.

You should make it second nature to finish.

Drill 6: Finishing in a Game-like Scenario

This drill was designed to familiarize you with the ball and make sure that you hit it accurately and firmly.

Next, we will apply it to more game-like situations.

You will need a friend, a cone, some footballs, and a goal to complete this exercise.

Place a training cone in the middle of your goal line before you proceed.

1. Position yourself on the edge of your goal box.
2. Pick a side and kick the ball to that side.
3. Then, pass another ball to a friend and control it. Next, shoot the ball into the same spot as before.
4. Then sprint to the goal box. Have your friend throw the ball up in the air, which can be a cross from the corner spot, and then score on thevolley.
5. These steps should be repeated.

Your friend(s) should be standing in different places while you do the same drill.

In another round, for example, your friend could stand at half-way and pass the ball to you. It would be necessary to control the ball, then turn around and shoot it.

A goalkeeper can be added to the mix, as it will be someone you have to beat in order to score in a real match.

As you increase your power, start slow and work your way up.

It is a great way to gain confidence and feel more comfortable.

Remember:

It is important to think you can score.

Finalizing… the Article

We’ve explained in this article why finishing and shooting are so important in soccer.

You will learn how to shoot a soccerball by learning the basics of kicking, and then how to kick it harder, higher and more accurately.

We also showed you how to score and finish the game.

It is now up to you to put this knowledge into practice!

You can practice all aspects of kick first until you feel confident.

Once you have mastered these, it is time to put them together.
Begin with gentle, small kicks and then work your way up to bigger and more difficult moves.

Keep this in mind:

There are many ways to kick a soccerball.
Only the right path is for you.

Keep practicing, find your way and feel confident in your final skills.