Training Your Non Dominant Foot

Every player, whether naturally or through soccer training, has developed a dominant foot. This foot is their go-to side for passing, shooting, or kicking.

While typically right-handed players lean toward their right foot and left-handed players to their left foot, by no means is this always the case. While having a strong foot benefits players, those who are equally strong on both sides are much stronger players.

By strengthening their non-dominant foot during soccer training, players become more effective.

Many players do not realize how weak their non-dominant foot is until they try to focus on it solely during their soccer training. Like writing with your opposite hand, it’s hard to know how uncoordinated one side is until you use it. Practicing common drills with the non-dominant side will begin to strengthen it. Simple shooting and passing drills also allow an athlete to gain more control of their movement and skills. By using the opposite foot, players who typically shy away from one side will be able to become a stronger all-around player.

One of the most important factors when teaching an athlete to use the opposite foot is patience.

Most athletes don’t realize that their opposite foot will not be able to become as strong as their favored foot through only one or two practices. Athletes need to remember that for many of them, it took years of soccer training to get their dominant foot to where it is, and therefore they need to allow themselves time to train the other foot as well.

Athletes who can switch between both feet have a powerful advantage over their competitors. These athletes can make passes, take free kicks, and most importantly take shots with whichever foot the ball is at rather than trying to reposition themselves around the ball. By focusing their soccer training on their opposite foot, players become more versatile competitors.

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