Soccer Push Pass

The most important and most frequently used pass. Made with the inside-of-foot & called a push pass because of the long follow-through which sometimes looks like pushing the ball. The ball is struck with the part of the foot under the anklebone. This is the most accurate pass but best for short passes that stay on the ground. This pass is accurate because it is easy for the passer to lock his ankle. Key teaching points are to have the player face the target and square up so he, the ball & the target are in a straight line, keep both knees slightly bent, pull up the toes so the kicking foot is parallel to the ground, lock the ankle on contact and follow through toward the target. An advantage of this pass is that when receiving the ball the leg will stop the ball if it takes an unexpected bounce. (See "Toe Kick", and "Inside-of-Foot Pass").