Individual Juggling

Juggling is one of the most important training exercises, and can be done on your own.  You will be a much better player if you can juggle well.  Juggling teaches:

Touch - The best players feel the ball through the shoe, and know at every moment what part of the ball and what parts of the foot are in contact. The player learns to project, mentally, down to the surface touching the ball, foot, thigh, chest, or head, and learns to feel where the ball will go next based on the last touch.

You must practice juggling in order to develop touch, because touch translates into better results in matches. With good touch, players will weight their passes more accurately, have an easier time beating opponents with attacking moves, and be more successful at holding the ball against pressure, all because of improved touch gained by juggling.

Balance - When you juggle, touch on the ball is half the battle, the other is in controlling your body. Being able to make rapid adjustments with all the large and small muscles is a requirement for successful juggling, and players with better balance are the ones who can move to their right but keep their balance to shoot the ball to the left, just inside the post.

Practice Tips

You should practice juggling at least 15 minutes each day until you can do 20 in a row, and you will quickly see improvement.  Once you reach 20 try being more creative with feet, head, pop it from behind your back, etc.  To be more successful:

 

·        Start with your thighs, and only do 1 at a time until you can do that one perfectly:  straight up to eye level

·         Then do 2 in a row on each thigh, then 2 on alternative thighs

·         Get your weight on the balls of your feet (forward) - move your feet quickly

·         Watch the ball, and strike through the center of the ball

·         If you are going to hit it wild, just catch it - save time and don't chase it

·         Strike with the thighs, not near the knee

·         Strike with the forehead, not the top of the head

·         Strike with the instep (laces), not the toe, and keep the foot flat with your ankle locked so that you don't put spin on the ball:

   

    Here's Brazil's Pele doing some juggling: