Introduction to Practice at the Wall

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Better Foot Skills

If you spend much time talking with any of our coaches about how to improve as a soccer player , one thing you're likely to hear is something like "Spend alot of time at the wall."

The wall is just that - any wall that's handy.   They're everywhere.  Practicing at the wall is perfect for getting alot of touches on the ball and improving your comfort with all aspects of ball handling.  Confident execution of ball handling skills is fundamental to the game.  It is largely a function of muscle memory developed through repetition.  The wall is a high repetition environment.  It is your friend.  Get to know it and it'll pay big dividends.

How do you get started with wall drills?  I'm no expert, so Maddie and I started out pretty simple.  One and two-touch passes against the wall.   A one-touch pass means you kick, it rebounds, and you kick it again - 'one touch'.  A two-touch pass allows you to kick the ball, take a touch to control it on the rebound, then kick it again.  'Two touches.'  Even a soccer newbie like me can understand that.

To help Maddie's accuracy and give her a target, I added a couple of crab pot buoys and set them about 4' apart, which on our cinderblock wall is 4 bricks.  It goes something like this:   "Ok Maddie, how about 4-brick two-touches.  20 on each foot."  Sounds impressive, no?   I could coach this game.  Really.  :)

Players can make alot of improvement at the wall.  They develop better feel, control, and overall comfort on the ball.  Ask Maddie.  And it's a great time for us to hang out together doing something she loves.

Here's a little video we watched today before heading up to our local elementary school for an hour of wall ball.

If you have a wall drill you like, send it along for posting here.

More On Playing the Game

Shoelace Magic
Soccer Formations
Practice Makes Progress