Guide to Different Kicking Techniques in Soccer

When you start to learn how to play soccer it doesn't seem very difficult to kick around a ball and place it into a big oversized net.

Yes, it may seem like that at first sight but to kick a soccer ball properly, you need to have a certain skill level in order to put the ball in right direction.

Any player can just stick around on a soccer field and play a game of grab ass, but when a competition gets really hard, you must know exactly what you are doing in order to have a positive effect on your team.

There are numerous methods of kicking and in this guide we will take a look at some of the most common ones.

Free Kick

Direct soccer free kick is taken from where the foul occurred. When performing it the ball must be stationary prior to being kicked.

The free kick wall must remain 10 yards from the ball until you kick it. Free kick is a great opportunity for scoring goal, especially if the foul was occurred near your opponent's goal.

Accuracy and precision is vital (see Juan Riquelme) but if you don't have these you may rely on your power mainly (see the Roberto Carlos free kick). Instead, getting the ball over your opponent's wall and hitting the goal is most important when you want to perform well as a free kick taker. Of course, scoring still matters!

Indirect Free Kick

The opposite of direct free kick is thesoccer indirect kick. The main difference between an indirect and direct free kick is that you cannot score directly from it; instead one of your teammates must touch the ball first.

Usually, an indirect free kick will occur when a player passes the ball to the goalkeeper (both of them must play in the same team) and he/she grip the ball with his/her hands.

Penalty Kick

A penalty kick is a form of direct free kick which means that a goal can be scored directly from it. If you miss a penalty kick the game will continue on as usual, which gives you opportunity to repair the mistake if the ball bounces back to you.

Few years ago it was allowed to pass the ball to another teammate when performing a penalty kick, but now days you must kick the ball directly at goal without letting any teammate touch it first.

Goal kick

Your team will be awarded with a goal kick when the ball leaves the field of play. The ball will be counted as out of play when wholly crossing the goal line (either on the ground or while it is in the air).

The ball must even been touched last by an opponent before it leaves the field of play. Often your goalkeeper will be responsible for taking goal kicks but sometimes you may need to take his/her role especially if he/she is injured or doesn't have enough skill to perform a goal kick. This is even seen in professional soccer matches, so don't worry - even the pros just aren't great at everything!

Corner kick

A corner is a soccer kick that provides very good scoring opportunities, either directly or getting the ball to your teammates in front of your opponents' goal. Another strategy for corner kick is to play a short corner, in which the ball is kicked to a teammate located near the corner kicker.

This strategy is normally used to get the ball away from the goal line in order to get a better angle on your opponent's goal. Your opponents will usually form a wall to stop the ball from getting into the 18 yard area, however they must be at least 10 yards from the ball until it is in play.

Bicycle or Over Head Kick

A soccer bicycle kick (also known as the scissors or overhead kick) is a type of soccer kick which is executed in the air. In order to perform a bicycle kick you should perform a shearing movement with your legs and kick the ball with power.

This is the most advanced part of the soccer kick methods and must be practiced first without ball because you can cause yourself serious injuries if you don't know what you are doing. In other words, if you have just started to learn the game of soccer I would recommend you to avoid practicing on this one.

Instep kick

The soccer instep kick is a very powerful move in soccer. Indeed it is the true winner when it comes to releasing powerful and hard to save missiles. With this kick mastered, you will be true king on the field and the keepers will get scared every time you receive the ball.