FineSoccer Kids 13

Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today's issue will deal with juggling.

I find juggling to be an interesting topic simply because it seems that people either thinks it's invaluable or invaluable (meaning they think it's either vitally important to be able to juggle while others think it's a total waste of time). Personally, I feel it's somewhere in the middle.

First of all, we must understand what juggling is. It's simply the act of using various parts of the body to keep the ball in the air. While some people like to use their feet for juggling, others find that it's much easier to use their thighs or even their heads. The key is that no matter how you do it, the more touches on a ball you get, the more comfortable you will be with the ball.

One of the main disagreements regarding juggling revolve around whether there should be spin on the ball when you use your feet (if there is spin on the ball, it usually means you are pointing your toes upward as opposed to if there isn't spin on the ball, it's more a case of pointing your foot like you would be striking a ball). While I do encourage players to get in the habit of striking the ball without spin, the truth is that however, they want to start up is fine with me. You should try to use various parts of the body in juggling (inside of the foot, outside of the foot, instep, thigh, shoulder, chest and head) to get as comfortable with the ball as possible.

Ideally, the ball should start from the ground and be lifted up with the foot (the most typical way to do this is to place your foot on top of the ball and then drag it back quickly and then scoop it up to get the ball in the air. This is much better than starting with the ball in your hands and dropping it. However, if you can't do this, start with the ball in your hands and then gradually progress to where you can lift it up with your feet.

Once you get comfortable juggling, the next step is to challenge yourself somehow. I like the challenge of trying to juggle 1000 times in a 10 minute period (see http://finesoccer.com/finesoccer_drill_29.htm for more on this). Or, simply set a goal of how many you want to do in a row.

Another form of juggling is to practice bouncing the ball with your feet. This is more like basketball dribbling with your feet. Start with the ball in your hands and drop it to the ground. Shortly after it hits the ground, knock it back down with the sole of your foot. See how many times you can bounce the ball like this in a row. There are numerous variations of this. You can add the rule that you must bounce with the ball. This means every time you make contact with the ball, you must be off the ground (jump right before you make contact with the ball). Or you can dribble alternating feet.

Each of these forms of juggling will help you feel more comfortable with the ball and will raise your level of confidence when you have the ball at your feet and are under pressure

Any comments, questions or suggestions should be sent to kidscomments@finesoccer.com.

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Have a great day!

Lawrence