Step 6: How to Receive or Trap a Soccer Ball (With Pressure)

Introduction

As mentioned in the previous step where we learned about receiving the ball when there is nopressure, the skill to receive or trap the ball when there is pressure is equally important to learn, as it will help you in getting out of situations where the opponents are pressing you.

Technique

The technique used to receive the ball when an opponent is putting pressure on you is to use a single touch to divert the incoming ball in a direction which will take you away from the opponent and create space.If you just receive the ball standing still and don’t move away from the defender, it will be easy for the defender to dispossess you. Hence, just like the previous step, checking over your shoulder to see where exactly the opponent who is pressing you is, is a must.

Here is a Youtube video by imgsocceracademies that describes one way to receive the ball when you are under pressure from the opponent. However, note that what you see in this video is just one of the ways to receive the ball. In the video, the player receiving the ball takes a touch in such a way that he pushes the ball in the opposite direction to where the defender is. This makes space for the player. Other way to create space is to make your touch take the ball to the side, left or right, depending on where the defender is. So if the defender is behind your right shoulder, you can receive the ball with a touch that takes the ball towards the left side.

How to Practice

Here is what you do -

1. Stand around 8-12 yards away from a wall or a some barrier capable of rebounding the ball towards you.
2. Strike the ball against it firmly so that i comes back to you.
3. Now, the moment the ball strikes the wall, give a quick glance over your shoulder, and then immediately return your focus on receiving the incoming ball. It is important that this not done too late as that will make it difficult for you to focus back on receiving the ball.
4. To receive the ball, run towards the incoming ball and take a touch in such a way that it pushes the ball in the same direction that it was coming from. Next time, run towards the ball and take a touch in such a way that is takes the ball towards your right hand side. To divert the ball towards the right, you can either use the inside foot of your right foot, or the outer foot of your left foot. The latter takes more practice. Similarly, take it to the left hand side the third time. Keep practicing this cycle. Do this slowly at first, as it is a tough skill to develop.
5. Practice drill 30 times. that would mean that each of three touches described above have to be practiced 10 times each.
6. As you get better, try and increase the difficulty level by hitting the ball harder so it comes back to you faster, and also increasing your speed when you run towards the incoming ball to take the touch.

Here is a Youtube video by PerformanceFFT, that should give you a fair idea on how to practice this drill.

Important Tip : Apart from the three touches described above, another way is to not take any touch at all, and just let the ball run in the direction that it is coming from. This can fool the defender who would be expecting you to take a touch. However, you just the ball run and leave the defender flat-footed. To do this successfully, you need to react quickly by turning the moment the ball is about to approach you, so that you have enough time to turn and get control of the ball once it has passed the defender. This is a very hard skill to do, so do not practice it till you get comfortable with the three touches described above.

Another option is to simply pass it back to a open team-mate using a one touch pass.

Practice Objective

You should continue practicing this drill till you are able to comfortably take a touch while running towards the ball at a decent speed , and change the direction of the ball without losing control.

Practice Duration

A 20 minutes practice session should be sufficient.

Usefulness in Game Situations

To understand the importance of receiving a soccer ball when there is pressure around you, take a look at this Youtube video by prodirectsoccer which shows the effectiveness of developing a great first touch when receiving the ball.