Volleys: eyes on the ball
Transcript
A clean volley starts with your eyes on the ball. Here's how. Warm up first. You need a goal ten metres away, six balls, and a partner three metres to your side, out of the line of the shot. Watch. Your partner throws gently underarm, and you volley it before it bounces, below your knee. Now from the side. First, eyes on it, all the way onto your laces. Then, knee over the ball and ankle locked, to keep it under the bar. Not this, leaning back. It flies over. Our target is two sets of twelve, half-volleys first. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Strike a dropping ball cleanly on the volley and the half-volley, and keep it down. England Football calls the volley a highly technical finish: watch the flight of the ball, get into position and choose the moment to make contact.
Set up
- A goal
- 10 m from the goal
- 6 balls
- Partner, to the side
How it works
- Warm up first. Stand 10 m from a goal with 6 balls. Your partner stands about 3 m to your side, a little in front of you, out of the line of the shot.
- Your partner throws gently underarm so the ball drops just in front of your kicking foot, below your waist. Never throw at head height.
- Half-volley first: strike it just as it bounces. Then volley: strike it before it bounces, below your knee.
- Laces through the middle of the ball, knee over it, ankle locked. Aim low, under the bar.
- Each set: 6 half-volleys, then 6 volleys. Collect the balls, rest 1 minute, then do the second set (our target: 2 sets of 12).
Coaching points
- Watch it onto your laces. Watch the ball from your partner's hands all the way onto your foot, and keep your head steady as you strike.
- Knee over the ball. Lift your knee so it is over the ball, point your toes down and lock your ankle, then meet the ball with your laces below knee height. That keeps the volley low and under the bar (our coaching cue).
Not this
Leaning back and meeting the ball high with a straight leg: the volley flies over the bar. Lean slightly forward with your knee over the ball instead.
Dose
- 2 sets of 12, 1 min rest
- 6 half-volleys, 6 volleys
Our target: 2 sets of 12 (6 half-volleys, then 6 volleys) with 1 minute of rest between sets (our target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Volley with your weaker foot, or move back to 12 m. Then your partner throws from a little wider so the ball drops across you, still gently underarm and below your waist.
Easier
Drop the ball from your own hands and strike it as it bounces (a drop-kick), then before it bounces. FIFA uses volleys from the hands as a simple technique practice. Or stand 6 m out.
Safety
- Warm up first. Flat grass with nobody behind the goal: never a road, a window or a neighbour's wall.
- Your partner stands to the side, never in the goal or in the line of the shot, and throws gently underarm, below waist height. Nothing near anyone's face.
- Any goal, including a portable one, must be anchored or weighted down. Never climb or swing on a goal.
- If a ball hits anyone in the head, stop. If in doubt, sit them out: a suspected concussion means stop straight away, no training for at least 24 hours and no matches for at least 21 days (UK concussion guidelines).
Sources
- England Football Learning - different finishing techniques (volley and half-volley) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - how to coach shooting (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - Stanley 2: technical skills in unopposed warm-ups (volleys from the hands) (opens in a new tab)
- The FA - goalpost safety (opens in a new tab)
- England Football - UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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