Q&A for How to Kick a Soccer Ball

Try hitting the ball toward the bottom. The lower you kick on the ball, the higher the elevation tends to be.

Practice makes perfect. You can't expect to do it perfectly in just a few days. Lots of people you see doing this tend to have spent a long time working on it. If you apply yourself and do your best, it's likely that you will improve. Doing it once, twice or even ten times won't make you an expert ball juggler, so keep at it until you can.

For mid-long ranges, use the laces as you can achieve more power on the ball. But, it can also be used inside the box but for close range and mid range. If you're good enough, use the inside of your foot as you have a lot more control about where you want the ball to go but be careful -- if you don't get the technique right, you can either curl the ball too much or take it over the bar.

Don't dive in until the opponent makes a mistake with the ball. Then you can dive in and try and kick the ball somewhere other than into that person's legs.

Receiving the ball using your chest falls under the category of first touch. Your first touch is the contact you make with the ball as soon as it comes to you. Examples of first touch include volleys, headers, or yes: receiving passes on your chest.

If you want to dive, take a big step toward that direction. This should allow you to make a farther dive. Make sure you don't step sideways and make a hard dive, as that often ends up in an injury

Try to keep it as if you were going to kick it like the hook, just in the mirror image version.

Use the inside of your foot; if it was your right foot, you would use the left part that runs from your ankle to your toes.

Curving the ball is tricky, and it requires a lot of practice. If you want to get an insane Roberto Carlos type free kick, you should try to use the outside of your foot. However, that skill is very difficult to perfect. You should try to get your laces near the bottom of the football and try to "wrap your foot around the ball." It's difficult to figure out exactly what that means, but you should essentially just try to get all of your laces on the outside of the ball and hit it true and with a lot of belief.

Use the inside of your dominant foot (the side where your big toe is) and point your other foot in the direction you want the ball to travel. Try to kick the ball in between your heel and your toe.

Yes, it's the best way.

In order to kick the ball high, you want to hit the under side of the ball. Scoop it off the ground with your toes. Check YouTube for tutorial videos, that's how I learned.

Use inside of your foot and hit the ball to the middle right if you are right footed, to the middle left if you're left footed. The more you practice to get the right contact, the more curve you will put on the ball, as well as more power.

Just go in with power and keep your eye on the ball. Use the inside of your foot. Follow through.

Keep the ball glued to your feet and just practice. Run with 100 percent pace and change direction regularly. Observe how other players do it, keep practicing and you can be very good.

Of course. Sometimes is easier to play with normal shoes than with soccer shoes.

They could, but I strongly recommend buying soccer cleats. Baseball cleats have a toe cleat that helps with accelerating, but if you step on someone with it, or kick someone with it, it could hurt them. All cleats are not the same.

You are hitting the top of the ball. You might also be leaning over the ball too much.

Follow through and kick it with power. Use your laces. Just practice kicking with power.

Keep practicing. You should also try kicking the ball with the side of your foot and your laces instead of your toes.

Use the laces part of your boot from a sideways position.

Shoulder check. Know what you'll do before you get the ball so that once the ball is at your feet you already know where the defenders are and what your options are.

No, if you want to shoot it with your laces it will stay there. You will need to use the side of your foot if you want it to go higher.

It is something hard to not do if you started passing and shooting with your toes. It is still possible for you to stop. Practice shooting with locked ankles. Using the side of your feet whether outside or in but not the toes directly, and also try using your instep to pass or outside feet.

Knuckling a ball isn't a easy task; it is also very hard to control where it will go. To preform the knuckle kick, you have to use your toe and kick just a tad lower that the halfway mark on the ball. Make sure to bring your leg up and follow through after.

Hit it with your soft spot. It can be very hard. You just need to practice, because not everyone can make the ball just sway and go crazy in the air just like that.

The easiest way is to hit it with the inside of your foot, across the ball right in the center with no follow through.

Use the inside of your foot. Just turn your foot to the side when you are kicking, instead of using your laces strategy. When you kick with the side of your foot, get your foot a little bit under the ball, so that if you want to chip the ball, it goes higher in the air.

Practice kicking without lifting your toes, then play games like that, and you should get into the habit of kicking without lifting your toes.

Yes! Learning to kick the ball young is often the best way to practice and improve kicking, shooting, and passing skills for when you're older and more experienced.