How to - Soccer Receiving

Soccer Receiving - It's usually not a good idea to compare today's soccer with what was going on around the game in its early days, but when it comes to soccer receiving you simply cannot avoid a comparison.

Today's game emphasizes a lot more on correct and dynamic soccer ball receiving than ever before, since spaces are tighter and the pace is higher, meaning that a player will have to develop this skill thoroughly if he or she is ever going to stand a chance on the pitch.

In the 30s for example, trapping the soccer ball with perfection was mainly important for attackers, in order to throw the other team's defense off balance, but today everyone from the goalkeeper to the winger is practically forced to have great receiving skills, since pressing is a constant factor for the other team in most cases.

It's rather difficult to judge soccer receiving skills the same as you would judge other fundamentals of soccer. For example, when you're trying to improve your passing ability, you know you have to work on your passing precision, power and timing.

However, trapping a soccer ball requires a lot of smaller factors, which are all equally important.

Factors Affecting Soccer Receiving Skills

Soccer Receiving >> Ball Control – Ball control is a pretty general term in itself, but a good definition for this skill would be the ability to gain full control of the ball, without giving your opponent the chance for a decisive tackle. In order for you to gain this kind of control over the ball, you'll want to learn how to glue it to your feet as soon as possible, without making use of too much space around you (in most cases you won't have that kind of space anyway).

Soccer Receiving >> Positioning – The way you position your body when receiving a ball is extremely important, if you want to excel in this skill. This means that you will have to position yourself in such a way that gives the defender no chance of touching the ball, but also making sure that you can follow-up the game flow with a pass, dribble or shot.

Soccer Receiving >> Vision – If you're static when receiving the ball, you have no chance of developing the play other than back to the initial passer, or some free defender. Before moving in to trap the ball, you have to quickly scan the field around you for the best way to move, so that you can open yourself a position for a pass, or in some cases, for a dribble.

Methods of Trapping the Soccer Ball

Different situations will require you to react differently when trapping a soccer ball and it's rather important that you master all of the following trapping methods, if you want to be a complete soccer player and handle yourself on the pitch, regardless of the situation you're being run through.

Soccer Receiving >> Inside/Outside of Foot Receiving – This is the most common type of soccer receiving you'll have to use in a match, since most of the passes you will handle will be low ground ones that you can control with your foot. Most of the mechanics of receiving the ball with either sides of your foot are done with the help of the hip and the ankle.

Stiffen your leg muscles and bend your knee slightly and pull it back from your hip to dampen the incoming ball's force. With the help of your ankle, you can give the ball a new direction, but take care not to hit it too hard and give it away.Since the inside of your foot is more rigid (and so is your soccer boot), trapping the ball with this area requires more dampening and less of a counter force.

Soccer Receiving >> Sole trapping – This type of soccer ball trapping is not usually recommended in professional soccer. It's more suitable in futsal (indoor soccer), where the sole of your foot is clear of studs that could hinder the trapping and where there's no chance that the ball could slip from under your foot due to wet grass.

Another disadvantage of trapping the ball underneath your sole is that there's little to no way to continue the move dynamically. Basically, you're trapped in a static position with the ball in a position that can easily be pushed away by the defender and your only option is to pass it back, or try to move sideways, avoiding the defender's tackle.

Soccer Receiving >> Instep Receiving – This is one of the toughest receiving techniques in soccer, but it's a very efficient and spectacular one that you should try to master as soon as possible. Instep receiving is useful when you're trying to control a long ball falling in at a steep angle, or when you're trying to ground a loose ball in the air.

It's important to lock the ball and quickly determine its trajectory, so you can move in position to cushion it down with the upper part of your foot. Try to stretch your ankle to the place where the ball will fall and at the exact moment when it makes contact with your foot, pull your ankle backwards a bit, reducing the force the ball hits the ground. With enough practice, this can be mastered by anyone. Tip: juggling is a good way to train this kind of soccer receiving technique.

Soccer Receiving >> Receiving a Ball with the Thighs – This is an alternative way to receive high balls and it has several advantages and disadvantages over instep receiving. You can cushion the ball easier with your thigh than you would with your foot, so if you're insecure about your instep receiving you could try your thigh as an alternative.

However, the main disadvantage in comparison is that the ball will still not be on the ground after receiving it, so you'll have to make an additional move in order to make full use of it. This makes you more static, thus more vulnerable to a defender's pressure and it also closes down your options. Another disadvantage is that you can hardly redirect the ball sideways with your thighs, as opposed to your foot.

Soccer Receiving >> Receiving a Ball with the Chest – Receiving on your chest has pretty much the same advantages and disadvantages as receiving on your thigh, in comparison with the instep move. However, in some cases controlling the ball with the chest will be your only option, for example when the ball is high and you don't have the time or space to position yourself so you can control it with your foot.

When using your chest to control an incoming soccer ball, you have to arch your back slightly and flex your chest muscles by extending your arms forward (make sure you don't commit handball – it's a common mistake with this technique). Obviously, training the mass of your chest muscles will help with cushioning the ball better.

Soccer Receiving >> Receiving/Trapping a Ball with your Head – This might be a bit tricky, since the head offers less cushioning and surface to control the ball with when compared to the thigh, chest or even foot. If you want to receive a high ball with your head, you'll have to use the same cushioning technique as with the instep move, using your neck to dampen the ball's force rather than your foot. You can redirect the ball with your head and then follow up the move with a sprint, or you could try to bring it down to your feet in a static position, by bending your knees and leaning slightly forward.

How to Train Your Soccer Receiving Skills Individually

Unlike other skills in soccer, receiving and trapping can easily be practiced by yourself. All you need is a soccer ball and a wall that will act as your training partner.

"Pass" the ball to the wall with enough strength to allow it to come back to you, then move in on it and try to control it as accurately as possible, using one of the above mentioned techniques. However, you only need a wall for inside/outside of foot and sole receiving and trapping, the other techniques can be trained by simply throwing the ball high in the air, then controlling it with your chest, head, thigh or instep.

The only problem is that in a match environment, a ball will rarely fall down to you vertically to control, so it's best if you practice these particular techniques using a partner that throws you the balls at a steep angle.

One last tip before I leave you to your practice. When training for receiving and trapping a soccer ball, always try to analyze your available options when the ball is still incoming, so that by the time you receive it you know which way to redirect it to, or which player is open for a pass. Since today's fast paced game doesn't give you too much time to think of your available options, it's important to make use of those 2 or 3 seconds before you receive the ball to plan everything out.