Soccer Chip

Similar to golf, a chip pass or chip shot is made by a jabbing motion down & under the ball so the ball goes up into the air. Chipped balls have backspin. The ball can be approached straight on or from the side & can be struck with the top of the laces or the side of the laces, but in all cases the ball is struck low using a downward jabbing motion with little follow-through. The more downward the strike, the more rapidly the ball rises & the more backspin. A chip shot will only work if the goalkeeper is out of the goal or if the goal is too tall for the goalkeeper to cover. But it can be very effective in youth leagues against a short goalkeeper in a tall goal. Not all "airballs" are chips. A ball struck low with a normal backswing and a normal follow-through will also rise into the air. This ball, called a "lofted drive", will not rise as quickly as a chip and has little or no backspin, but it will travel farther & with more pace. When coaching a Rec team, I often used the word "chip" in a generic way when I wanted a player to send a pass "over the top" of the opponents or to "clear" the ball, because it was easier than saying "kick a lofted ball with backspin". See "Chips Game" and "Chip Pass or Shot" in "Techniques & Fancy Footwork", which is part of the Premium site. (See "Lofted Drive" and "Hopped Pass").