How to coach perfect passing technique

There has been a bit of a debate going on between some of our readers and on our forum, The Dug-Out, over how to coach the simple soccer passing technique. So these are our soccer coaching tips.

Key soccer coaching tip: Passing accurately and quickly requires practice.

There are lots of ways to pass the ball – with the outside of the foot, in the air, driven along the ground, even backwards using the heel – but the easiest and most accurate, whether straight to a teammate or into space for them to run onto, is the sidefoot pass.

Tips on side-foot soccer passing technique

• Use the inside of the foot – that’s the area from the base of the big toe to the central area of the heel, under the ankle bone.
• Kick foot at right angles to the ball.
• Belly button should be facing the player receiving the pass.
• Non-kicking foot alongside the ball.
• Knee and ankle joints held firm.
• Body over the ball.
• Head steady, eyes on the ball.
• Use the arms to keep balanced.
• Hit through the ball’s horizontal mid-line – that way it will keep low.
• Kicking foot follows through towards the target.

But getting the technique right isn’t the end of the story – there are two other skills players should work on perfecting: timing and weight.

1. Timing tips

Get this wrong, for example, pass too early or too late, and the momentum of a move can stall. For example, a forward pass before a striker is ready to make their run could run harmlessly out of play, while delaying a pass too long can give defenders time to block off space and the passing angle, or mean your striker strays offside.

2. The ‘weight’ or power of a pass

Similarly, get the weight wrong, for instance, too heavy or too light, and that can also mean the end of an attack. Too heavy and a teammate could have trouble controlling the ball, while too light and the ball might not have the pace to reach the teammate, allowing a defender to intercept it.

A WELL ‘WEIGHTED’ PASS WILL ALLOW A TEAMMATE TO CONTROL THE BALL WITH A MINIMUM OF EFFORT, GIVING THEM TIME AND SPACE.

Click here for a soccer drill to coach the side-foot pass.