Bend a Soccer Ball

Amaze your teammates as you perform a feat of soccer magic! Watch the ball literally change direction in mid-flight. It is easiest to learn this technique with a stationary ball, for example, in a free kick position, although skilled soccer players can strike a bending ball even while in motion. If you want to master this essential soccer skill, look no further.

Steps

Bending with the Inside of Your Foot

  1. Take your approach at a slight angle from the ball. Approach the ball as you would normally, except prepare to hit the ball with the inside of your striking foot.
    • Generally, your body alignment will not be facing the goal. If you're kicking the ball with your inside right foot, your body will be faced slightly to the right of the target. If you're kicking the ball with your inside left foot, your body will be faced slightly to the left of the target.
  2. Mind your planting foot as you begin to kick the ball. Your planting foot is the foot that you aren't kicking with, the foot that will be the anchor to your kicking foot. Plant your non-kicking foot facing slightly towards the direction of the initial bend, so that when you strike the ball with the inside of your foot, both feet are almost parallel(~.3 m) away. Place it far enough away so that you can easily hit the ball with the inside of your foot, but close enough so that you don't have to strain to get there, taking power away from your shot.
  3. Keep the hand that's on the planting side of the body out for balance. You're moving through the ball, and your body is curving slightly as it kicks the ball. Keeping your planting-side handout and up while you kick will help add power to your shot and give you balance on the follow-through.
  4. Hit the ball with the inside of your foot, just where your toe ends and your foot begins. The ball will roll back along the inside of your foot. You should be striking the ball in the bottom left corner if you're shooting the ball with your right foot.
    • Look at the ball straight on as if it were a circle and imagine a cross (+) across the center of it. For a right-footed strike, hit the bottom right quadrant of the ball. For a left-footed strike, hit the bottom left quadrant of the ball.
  5. Do not move your planting foot. This foot should still be pointing down the original red line. Keep it balanced and firm with the help of your arms.
  6. Meanwhile, follow through by swinging your kicking leg in towards the goal after the ball is kicked. Try to bring your kicking leg across your body, so that you exaggerate the outside-inside swinging motion and are sure to follow through with your kick.
  7. If you want lift on your ball, strike it from underneath it. There should be sufficient lift to take the ball up and over the wall. As your foot comes across and around, you create ball spin, which will make the ball bend and dip! You can increase the height at which the ball rises by leaning your shoulders back during contact. Remember to put enough spin and dip on it to bring it goal-wards again.
    • Lean back if you want the ball to go up or lean forwards if you want to curl the ball downwards. This technique can be performed using any kick with the same results.

Bending with the Outside of your Foot

  1. Approach the ball with a slight outside angle to your target. For a right-footed kick, this means approaching the ball and aiming just to the left of your target.
  2. Place your planting foot correctly. Aim your planting foot to the left of your target. Your planting foot is going to be farther back and farther away from the wall than you would be trying and inside-bend shot.
    • Keep your planting foot stationary as you prepare to kick the ball and then eventually kick it. Moving your planting foot will interfere with the continuous motion of your kicking foot, leeching power from your shot.
  3. Keep the hand that's on the planting side of the body out for balance and power. Again, having a hand out for support and balance is important here. Your hand doesn't need to be all the way up in the air but it shouldn't be completely on the side of your body.
  4. Hit the ball with the outside of your foot, bringing your striking foot across your body. If you're putting a cross (+) on the ball and you're approaching to hit with the right foot, you're going to want to hit the bottom middle, or bottom left, of the ball.
  5. Follow through by swinging your kicking leg across your body, much like you would on an inside bend kick. The motion is similar, but the results are different because you're striking the ball with the outside of your foot.
    • Right-footed players are trying to get the ball to spin clockwise by hitting it on the outside of their foot and then moving the foot left, across their body.
    • Left-footed players are trying to get the ball to spin counter-clockwise by hitting it on the outside of their foot and then moving the foot right, across their body.



Tips

  • Perfect the technique first and then work on power and speed.
  • Always follow through with your foot as it's essential to getting the right accuracy and power. Once you get better, you won't have to lift your foot that much.
  • While shooting the ball, lean your body backwards to create top spin on the ball and clear the wall easily.
  • You should almost "slice" the ball with the inside of your foot.
  • Focus on the ball to get it to the target.
  • The longer the ball is in the air the more it will bend. If you chip it, it's slower but will bend more.
  • The technique is similar for bending with the outside of your foot, however, approach the ball from the opposite side. You can create a lot more power and swerve with the outside of your foot. This makes it a lot harder to be accurate.
  • When you follow through, you should twist your hips.
  • This is usually called the "3 fingers" technique, the system is the same, but you need to hit the ball more in this direction: from down to up. You will need more practice, and if you feel your knee hurting, then stop and keep trying another time.
  • The harder you hit the ball the more curve or bend it will have but make sure you keep the accuracy.
  • If you are right footed its best to curl it from the left or center and if you are left-footed try to curl it from the right or the center

Warnings

  • Wear cleats for better traction on the grass.
  • Be sure to warm up and stretch before doing any exercises.
  • A proper follow through is needed to bend the ball.

Things You'll Need

  • A soccer ball
  • Open space
  • Soccer cleats (boots) with studs, so you'll have traction

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Sources and Citations

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