Kicking the soccer ball with the Instep is ideal for sending the ball accurately a fair distance and at a good speed. Using your instep creates a smaller surface area which creates greater distance but lowers to some extent your accuracy. Throughout a match this kind of Instep kick is required in a variety of situations. The Instep requires the area between the base of the toe and the middle of the ankle.

This action is suitable for short passes, long balls along the wings, cross field passes, clearances, free kicks and even shots at goal. When you are kicking a stationary ball, the run up should be approximately 6-7 metres, but once again this is an individual players preference. If you remember in Part 1 ( Kicking the Soccer ball-Inside of the foot) the run up was straight. When kicking with the instep, the run up is slightly curved, with the degree on the curve being proportional to the amount of curve you want on the ball.

If we kick the soccer ball with the right foot, the run up will be in a slight arch from the left and vice versa. When starting your run up, the angle you make with the ball should never exceed 45 degrees. The run up should gradually accelerate and the last step before contact, should be slightly stretched.

The non kicking foot should be on the side about 25-30 cm from the ball. The leg should be slightly bent at the knee while your body leans to the side in the opposite direction of the kicking foot. Make sure your entire body leans slightly forward and the toe of the kicking foot is pushed downwards. As always the eyes are on the ball. Just before impact, the kicking foot is quickly pulled forward while the leg stretches out and hits the ball. At the moment of impact the knee of the kicking foot is well over the ball.

When practising this kick with a rolling ball, make sure your balance is perfect. If it isn’t, adjust your position to get the ball from the right angle.

Inside of the Instep- Exercises.

• In the beginning try this kicking style with a stationary ball first. Practice striking the ball and getting a good feel of the soccer ball. Also practice the kicking movement and follow through with and without the ball.
• Practice kicking the ball to another player or against the wall which is 5-6 metres away. Always concentrate on your balance and the ability to hit the ball with good accuracy.
• Stand about 1-2 metres from the ball at an angle and reach the ball with one determined step and try and kick the ball a distance of 6-8 metres to your partner or the wall.
• Same as the above exercise, but this time hit the ball so that your partner can catch the ball. (6-8 metres)
• While you are in a stationary position, get someone to roll a ball to you and meet it half way through a short run up. Go through the Instep motion with balance and precision.
• Another more advanced exercise, have someone roll the ball from behind you and run after it and pass it (Instep) to another player 10 metres away.

When trying to coach young players, always be patient. Practice, practice and before you know it your players or kids will be kicking the ball on auto-pilot. Remember, David Beckham didn’t become one of the greatest ball distributors over night.

You can be a tall ,short, slow , fast or overweight player, but all these characteristics can be absorbed if you can accurately kick a soccer ball. But if you cannot kick the ball where you want to with a high degree of accuracy, then soccer is not the game for you.

The art of kicking a soccer ball is the essence of Soccer. A soccer player who has a poor kicking style is like a musician that is tone deaf or a painter that is color blind.. A speedy player is useless if he cannot kick the ball accurately, as the ball will always travel faster than the player. As all good coaches instruct, “let the ball do the running.” But How?

The first important pre-requisite of kicking is accuracy. Accuracy can only be developed through long, hard training sessions that continually concentrate on the motion of kicking. Like they say, “practice makes perfect.” The speed of the ball can be controlled by your foot movement and the speed of your run up to the ball. Also the size of your leg swing and the quality of the ball play a major role in the distance the ball will travel.

The anatomy of the foot allows the ball to be kicked in several different ways producing a variety of results. The first technique we are going to investigate is the “Instep” or kicking with the inside of the foot.

Inside of the Foot-Instep.

This is the most used technique and can be executed with or without a run up. The majority of passes during a soccer match are the result of the instep pass. The large surface area of the instep virtually guarantees a reasonable level of accuracy. The instep region stretches from the ankle bone to the base of the big toe. Due to the large surface area, alot of power cannot be generated using this technique and this technique is primarily used for passing at short to medium ranges.

Just like in golf, the swing of the leg is important. The nature of the instep does not allow greater power or distance to be created with a longer run up. When passing, place the non-kicking foot to the side of the ball allowing a free, almost rhythmic swing of the kicking leg. As you pass the ball, your kicking leg will be turned outward from the hip, contacting the ball at 90 degrees, with the sole parallel to the ground. Also the opposite knee is slightly bent when going through the motion.

The back swing of the kicking leg should not be too big or exaggerated, while the body leans slightly forward and the eyes are kept always on the ball. At the point of impact, the knee and the ankle joints are straightened to add power. The final motion should be positive and forceful but should be more like a push rather than a hit.