Spring is here, the grass pitches are opening again, and many teams are starting the second half of the season. Time to hone your technique. The volley is one of the most difficult techniques in football. When it works, it looks spectacular; when it doesn't, the ball often ends up well over the goal. The good news: most misses have similar causes. Here are the five most common mistakes and how to fix them.
Mistake 1: Leaning the upper body backwards
This is the classic error. If you fall backwards while shooting, you automatically open the angle and the ball rises. Correction: Consciously keep your upper body over the ball. Imagine your chest pointing towards the goal and leaning slightly forward.
Mistake 2: The standing leg is positioned incorrectly
If the standing leg is too far behind the ball, you hit it from underneath. If it's too far away, you lose control. Correction: Place your standing leg about one foot-width next to the ball, level with the ball or slightly in front of it. Point your toes towards the target.
Mistake 3: The ankle is loose
A loose ankle causes the ball to bounce off in an uncontrolled manner. Correction: Point your toes downwards and lock your ankle. Make contact with the full instep, i.e., the area of the laces.
Mistake 4: Eyes already on the goal
Many players look at the goal at the moment of the shot because they want to see the result. This causes the head to move, and with it, the entire body. Correction: Keep your eyes on the ball until you have made contact. The goal is stationary; it won't run away from you.
Mistake 5: Too much power, too little technique
A volley doesn't need to be struck with full force. Especially with balls at hip height, a short, clean movement is often enough because the ball already has pace. Correction: Start with 60 to 70 per cent of your power and focus on the point of contact. Once the technique is sound, you can increase the intensity.
How to practise the correction
Mistakes are best corrected by working on only one point at a time. Focus on one of the five points per session and perform 20 to 30 repetitions. Have yourself filmed, for example with your mobile phone. You can often spot mistakes on video much faster than during the game.
Consistent conditions are important. If every ball comes differently, you never know if a miss was due to your technique or the pass. With the VOLLEYCHAMP®, the ball is at the same height every time, so you can work specifically on one error and check the effect immediately.
A short series of exercises
Once you have mastered these mistakes, you can slowly increase the difficulty:
- Level 1: Ball steady at 10 cm height, shot from a standstill, focus on the point of contact.
- Level 2: Ball at 20 cm, two-step run-up, focus on the upper body over the ball.
- Level 3: Ball at 30 cm, run-up from an angle, focus on a target in the goal.
Only move to the next level once you can get seven out of ten balls on target. This way, your confidence will grow step by step.
Conclusion
A good volley is not luck, but the result of many clean repetitions. If you know the five typical mistakes and work on them specifically, you will quickly notice more balls going on goal.
