Neck Stall

Neck Stall

In my opinion, neck stall is one of easiest soccer trick. It's hard at first but once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap.

Neck stall can be done by placing a soccer ball on your neck and balance it for as long as you can.

Beginner's Level

1. Place the ball on an even surface of your neck. Find a spot where you feel the most comfortable at. Then balance it for as long as you can.

2. Flick it up by letting the soccer ball roll down on the back of your head for about 3/4. Then flick it up and catch the ball.

3. Repeat the same steps again.






Intermediate Level

1. Throw the soccer ball at a reasonable height.

2. Catch the ball by letting it stall on your neck. A good timing and execution should improve this.

3. Once you've neck stalled it, flick it up and catch the ball.


Advanced Level

1. You can start by doing a foot stall.

2. Flick it up at head height.

3. Catch by doing the neck stall.

Tip: Your body needs to bend in 90 degrees to achieve a balance on your neck

4. Flick it up with your head and catch the ball.

5. Repeat the same steps again.

For the advanced level, my suggestion is to start from foot stall because it's the easiest and the most obvious freestyle soccer trick combination. There are other types of combination you can compile on like head to neck stall.

So there are 3 levels to improve your neck stall. It does takes time and with practice and persistent, you should be able to do it with ease. Hope that helps!

Headstall

Headstall

Here are some tips to improve your headstall soccer skill:

1. Place the ball on the tip of your head ( near hairline)

2. Balance it for as long as possible until you find the right spot and feel comfortable with

3. Once familiar, throw the ball towards your head and balance it.
Tip: throw the ball at exact height

The key to this exercise is to stay as relaxed as possible when balancing the ball. At the same time, focus on the ball ( about semi circle).

Shoulder Stall

Shoulder Stall

The skill test your ability to balance the ball between your shoulder and head.

Here's how you can improve it step by step:

1. Place the ball on your shoulder. Lean your body behind to ease the balancing of the ball.

2. Once familiar, throw the ball at head height and catch it using your shoulder.

Knee Stall

Knee Stall

Balancing the ball on your knee can be quite tough for a beginner. The surface of the knee makes the ball easier to fall and also the timing.

But here are some tips to help improve your knee stall skill:

1. Place the ball on the middle of your thigh. Find an open surface so that you can balance it without letting it fall.

2. Flick it up by letting the ball roll slowly to your knee and follow it through. Then catch it.

3. Repeat the same sequence and once you feel comfortable, throw the ball at chest height and catch it using your thigh.

Foot stall

Foot stall



Foot stall is the ability to balance a soccer ball on your foot. Here are some hints to improve your foot stall soccer skill:



1. Place a soccer ball on your foot. This is to gain familiarity with the ball and finding the right spot ( usually on the center of the foot).



2. Balance it for as long as you can. Then flick it up and catch.



3. Repeat the sequence until it becomes familiar. Then throw the ball at waist height and catch with your foot.

Hope that helps, and another thing is to always practice your weaker foot. Is better to start at an earlier age.

Here's a video on how Ronaldinho does it, enjoy!

The Stepover (v2) - Final Part

The Stepover (v2) - Final Part

Alright then, here's my final part of the stepover practice that i've been doing for a couple of weeks now, altough it has been delayed due to unwanted injuries. In the last part, pretty much most of the technique and execution was covered. Well, in this part, i'll take it one step further by practicing while dribbling and moving with the ball.

Basically, once the execution of the stepover has been mastered, this, meaning that there is no longer any delay or unwanted roque touches between foot and ball, try dribbling in a straight line , starting slowly (jogging pace etc.), and perform single stepovers at a time. Don't rush or push the ball too far forward or too close to your feet. The aim here is too keep the ball at a comfortable distance from your foot. Now try, one or two stepovers in a row, and always leave room for error at the first few attempts. From my own experience, some of the main mistakes and errors that occurred when i'd practice this was - leaving the behind after a stepover, pushing it too far ahead just before a stepover and being to pushy with the foot, resulting in losing control or knocking the ball sideways.

Once performing the stepover while dribbling in a straight line at jogging pace becomes rather effortless, try taking it to the next level by increasing your dribbling and stepover speed. Try to balance your body and lower your center of gravity, this, in my case was usually to avoid losing my footing and sometimes ending up tangled up and grounded.

Now, while dribbling and performing multiple stepovers at speed, try to plan your run and include changes in speed and direction when practicing ( robinho doesn't always run in a straight line does he?), keep imrpovising as you change direction and speed, make it harder by try 180 degree and 360 degree turns with quick bursts of accelaration included. When practicing this, i noticed that it's quite easy to twist and ankle, so always warm up and leave some space for error ( don't over do it).

Finally, in final few days of practice, practice with a defending player. Try to include body fakes, leg fakes, jinks, drag backs or any other similar trick to your stepover to make it more complex. You can even try doing both the instep and outstep stepovers in quick succession. Remember, there are basically no rules or constraints when practicing a freestyle soccer trick (that's why it's called FREEstyle right?), so try whatever you feel that would work with the stepover. This guideline is just as a reference from what i had practiced myself. There are also a few pictures for references here. You can also check out the step over video at the BBC sport site : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/skills/4187702.stm

The Maradona 7 - A Classic Soccer Trick

The Maradona 7 - A Classic Soccer Trick


Diego Armando Maradona invented this very soccer trick in the early 1980s in one of the Argentine Clausura soccer matches at half time.

He combines a set of juggling soccer skills starting from left foot to right foot, then left knee to right knee, then left shoulder to right shoulder and finally heading the ball to complete the whole sequence.

Each part benefits for both freestyle soccer and in any kind of soccer matches like futsal:

Foot
The single most important part that improve your touches which allows you to apply other soccer skills and tricks like dribbling, foot plant, volley and so on.

Knee
Normally used to control in a long ball situation and juggle while moving with the ball.

Shoulder
Less beneficial in a soccer match but very useful in freestyle soccer. Plant, juggle or transfer from shoulder to shoulder or shoulder to head.

Head
Useful for both in freestyle soccer and in a soccer match. A difficult skill to master that requires maximum concentration on the center of the ball and great balance to avoid the ball from falling.

These skills may sound simple but improves your overall ball control, coordination and balance which makes you less vulnerable to lose the ball or possession during an important soccer match.

As for those who are interested in freestyle soccer. Maradona 7 is a good starting point for newbies in the game before trying out the harder tricks like Around the World.

A soccer skill that's worth mastering for both newbies and professionals which in my opinion, the most fundamental skill in the world of soccer.

Announcement on My Latest Blog

Announcement on My Latest Blog


Hi guys! I've just created a new blog ( 23 January 2007) on Freestyle Soccer DVDs which pretty much explains all about the DVDs about freestyle soccer. I've just written the first post and nothing much recently. Be sure to check it out!


http://soccerdvd.blogspot.com

Soccer Trick Dictionary

Soccer Trick Dictionary

Hi guys, I just want to let you know that I haven't played soccer or football for two weeks now due to a slight knock on my knee. Maybe because I practiced so many ATWs (Around the World). Anyways, I've found this cool video by Sputnik from ExpertFootball. The video explains the basic of freestyle soccer tricks and how to do them (in slow-motion). Highly recommended for beginners as well. Enjoy the video.

Watch it Here

The Maradona 7 – Head

The Maradona 7 – Head

The final part of the Maradona 7 is the ability to juggle using your head. As you manage to juggle from both feet to both thighs and to both shoulders, heading a soccer ball is the final piece of the jigsaw. Here are the steps:

Step 1

As usual, you would place the soccer ball on your head to make sure you know the point of contact. Test it by throwing the ball up in the air and head it and then catch the ball.

Step 2

Once you know the point of contact. Throw the soccer ball and head it a couple of times without letting it fall. Again the same process, try to beat your previous score to improve your heading ability and master the technique.

To master it completely would take weeks. It can be a bit boring if you’re practicing by just heading on the ball. Ideally I would combine head to foot trap for example. That’s all on the Maradona 7. By now you should at least be able to combine all the tricks to form the famous Maradona 7 in one go. I would emphasize that these tricks do take time to really master for example; it took about a month for me to do 40 kick-ups. Hope that helps and enjoy your freestyle soccer.

The Stepover v2 (continued)

The Stepover v2 (continued)

Well, continuing from where i left in the last part in my stepover practice. After making sure you've warmed up and done some stretching, go get a ball (of course) and place it slightly ahead and in between both foot. What i tried is basically having the the ball in a single place ahead of both my feet and then performing an 'immobile' stepover to get used to the movement and distance between foot and ball. The forward and sideward gap between the foot and ball really depends on the person, so try finding a comfortable position. When starting to do the step over on-the-spot, start slowly by moving each foot over and around the ball. At first, the main objective is to avoid any contact between the ball and your foot. This on-the-spot stepover also happens to work your thighs, ankles and knees depending on what kind of stepover you're performing.

Next, as you're getting more comfortable try increasing the speed at which you're stepping your feet around and over the ball, one method i tried is trying to synchronize my upper body movement along with my legs, this, might come in handy later when you want to do a body movement fake or turning at speed. One more thing, try not to be in a very upright and straight posture as the center of gravity might be affected too. Once you feel that it is somewhat starting to become effortless to do the on-the-spot stepover, try not to look at the ball or even better, try the inward / instep step-over. Well, this part of the practice is pretty simple to master and i found that in less than a week, if done everyday, it becomes easier and it was time for the next level, which if i will post in the next post ( and i'll try putting some pics too). So to all Cristiano Ronaldo and Robinho wannabes, stay tuned.

The Maradona 7 - Shoulder

The Maradona 7 - Shoulder

Juggling using your shoulder is the 5th and 6th of the Maradona 7. It's important as it test your ability to coordinate your upper part of the body namely shoulders and head. To improve this, here's some useful hints that you can use:

Step 1

Start by throwing the ball at head height and position your shoulder exactly below and pointing towards the center of the ball. The center it is, the more straight it goes. Then, follow through it with your shoulder.

Step 2

Start familiarising with your dominant shoulder first. Practice while building rhythm until you feel comfortable. Then practice with your weaker shoulder by juggling a couple of times using your shoulder. Always try to beat your previous score in order to improve and staying motivated.

Step 3

When you're somewhat familiar using both of your shoulders. Challenge yourself by combining your shoulder juggling from left to right or vice versa. Combining your shoulder juggling will naturally improve your flexibility and coordination. Though practicing your weaker ones will take massive amount of time and dedication. You can start using your head as well, juggling from right to left and finally using your head to finish it off.

That's it for today, stay tuned for the final part of Maradona 7 - Head.

The Maradona 7 – Thigh

The Maradona 7 – Thigh

This is the simplest among the other Maradona 7. In fact, it’s one of my favorites when I first juggled a ball. Here it is step by step:

Step 1

Place a soccer ball on the surface of your knee. You start with your dominant knee first. Find the flatter surface of your knee. Then juggle the ball with your knee by lifting upwards and follow through it. Juggle it once and catch the ball. Do this a couple of times. The point of this step is to find your knee surface where you’re most comfortable at so that the soccer ball would go straight upwards.

Step 2

From here onwards is all about juggling with your knees without letting the soccer ball fall onto the ground. Start with your dominant knee first and as you feel comfortable, you can practice with your weaker knee.

Step 3

You start juggling with your knees from left to right or vice versa. Try to emulate your previous record which would improve your technique quicker.

That’s it for today. Stay tuned for next week: The Maradona 7 – Shoulder

Ronaldinho's 'Espaldinha'

Ronaldinho's 'Espaldinha'

The guffawing magician. (picture taken from Reuters)

Well, i was watching the Uefa Champions League soccer game between Barcelona and Werder Bremen the other day and noticed another one of Ronaldinho's dazzling soccer tricks. It's what he calls an 'Espaldinha', a move where he flips the ball past the opposing player with his back and then follows this by performing a smooth back heel before sending a perfectly weighted cross-field pass to Giuly. He later went on to score a cheeky free kick which grazed the grass underneath the jumping wall of Werder Bremen. All this, in front of 95,000 plus fans in the Nou Camp. In my opinion, he is currently the best pro footballer playing for a club that can perform freestyle soccer tricks during matches. Pure Magic.

The Maradona 7 - Foot

The Maradona 7 - Foot

Welcome back, today we begin with a simple foot juggling. It's the most basic technique that any soccer or freestyle players would start with. Here are some hints showing you step by step.

Step 1

First off, let the ball bounce and kick it up to knee height and catch it. Kick it up a couple of times to find the right contact surface that you're most comfortable with. It's a good idea to start with your dominant foot first and then work on your weaker one.

Step 2

Once you've found the right spot to kick on. Try juggle with your right and then left or vice versa and then catch the ball. As you get better and more comfortable, try and juggle the ball without letting it fall onto the ground. Try to beat your previous record, that way you'll improve your juggling techniques.

Step 3

At this stage, you're probably can juggle the ball using both of your feet comfortably. Here's how you can improve your touches and coordination even further, whilst you've already know how to juggle at a stationary position, challenge yourself by juggling the ball with both feet while walking. Start at a slow pace, then as you build rhythm, increase your speed gradually. A more advanced practice is to juggle using both of your feet round a set of cones. A training method used by the former Chelsea player Gianfranco Zola .

That's it for today. Stay tuned for next week: The Maradona 7 - Thigh.

The Maradona 7

The Maradona 7

A well-known freestyle soccer trick which popularised by the man himself, Diego Armando Maradona.

The soccer trick enables a player to juggle the ball with right foot, then the left foot, then using your right thigh, then your left thigh, followed by juggling with your right shoulder, then on your left shoulder and finally the head.

For the next few weeks, we're going to look through each soccer trick with some hints and tips to help you improve and master the Maradona 7. The key ingredient is to practice, practice and practice.

For a start, you can do some basic warm-ups like a light jog, stretching your calf muscles, stretching your knees, rotate your foot and stretch your groins. I would highly recommend that you do some basic warm-ups first before you actually kick a ball because your body parts especially the lower areas are more relaxed and therefore makes it easier for you to juggle and improve on your performance. There you have it, be sure to stay tune for next week's first part of the Maradona 7 soccer trick:The Maradona 7 - Foot

The Step-Over v2

The Step-Over v2


One of the first freestyle soccer trick that caught my eye, the step over is definitely one of the more eye catching tricks. Here I’d like to share my own personal experience in learning the trick, with step by step methods and how to practice this trick and eventually master it, so that I could pull it off during matches. Firstly, before starting to practice, I’d make sure that I’d have warmed up and done the necessary stretching. As the step over requires you use the whole leg from the groin and thigh area all the way to the ankle and in some cases the heel.

After watching some videos of players performing this trick, I noticed that there are several ‘types’ of step overs, firstly the famous Robinho step-over, where robinho lowers his body to lower the center of gravity while somewhat closing himself down towards the ball, making it quite hard to tackle. He seems to be bending and using the knee more rather than using more of the thigh and groin to rotate around or over the ball. In my opinion, this would suit players who are smaller in size and length. Anyway, since I’ve got some free time now, I’ve decided to sharpen my step over skills and start all over from scratch.

Basically, the step-over creates time and space for a player who is up against a defending player. While being a very catchy skill, it can sometimes be very risky and unforgiving if its done in the circumstances. Next on, I’ll put up steps and methods that I’d try when practicing this skill. Stay tuned for more in the next post.

Ronaldinho's New Soccer Boots

Ronaldinho's New Soccer Boots


Yep, just launched today, called the Tiempo Ronaldinho. It looks a bit old-fashioned, specifically designed with new features like the rubber studs, new leather and best of all, the soccer boots itself includes Ronaldinho's very own signature. The design is similar to the Tiempo Legend but with a slightly different brand name 10R. I'm quite interested in the boot but I'm still using the Mecurial Vapor III and arguably the best boot yet.

Heikal's recommendation: Although I've not owned this yet, maybe in the future (who knows!), the soccer boot is suitable for those who likes a simple, old-fashioned style. But it can be good for your freestyle soccer as well because of the leather that could improve your touches on the ball.

Faisael's recommendation: Looks a bit old school, like the air legend that i'm using currently, probably has really good leather and innovative rubber studs. Would probably suit those with long and narrow feet. Must have superb 'feel' for the ball.

Soccer Fitness in Freestyle?

Soccer Fitness in Freestyle?

For the past couple of weeks, I have been rather down on my soccer fitness and I’ve noticed that it’s a bit harder for me to pull of some of the freestyle tricks I could perform previously without much fuss when my fitness level was better. This then has raised a rather strange question, is fitness really important to perform freestyle football tricks. Well, I think certain soccer tricks do require a strong and flexible ankle, knee or hip. For example, to pull off the so called ‘Around the World’ soccer trick, I felt that it actually puts some strain on my hip and without a strong flexible hip, mind you, warming up is just as important, it was quite tedious to perform the trick.

After monitoring my partner’s progress in practicing Ronaldinho’s famous flip-flap, it also came to my mind that the soccer trick requires a quick and flexible ankle with some delicate touches involved, does this require us to actually work out and train our ankle so it reaches a level that’s fit enough for this trick? Well, on most videos of famous freestyle players, I had noticed that almost all of them are quite fit, with really strong calves and flexible joints, it’s not just about being thin, but also being strong I guess.

I’d also like to emphasize on the importance of warming up, before starting a freestyle session. Since from my personal experience, by not warming up, it’s much harder to pull of soccer tricks and sometimes it can do more harm to your muscles. I had noticed once where my ligaments (or tendon, I’m not sure) were twitching each time I bent and twisted my knee to kick up and juggle. Me and my colleague believe that the easiest and most ideal way to warm up for freestyle is by doing a 2-3 minute light jog, then some stretching and a little light juggling. Mind you, this is just for a short and light freestyle trick session, not for a full soccer game. As for now, it’s over and out, I’ll try updating again once my soccer fitness level is much better to see if there is a large noticeable difference.

Watch Us Play Soccer

Watch Us Play Soccer