Are you feeling overwhelmed by the myriad of shooting drill videos on various platforms? Some say you should practice this, while others suggest that. Some drills might seem too simple for you, while others are incredibly challenging, even requiring assistance. Today, I'll be recommending the most practical and effective football shooting drills videos for you, categorising them according to different levels of difficulty, age groups, and training objectives.
1. shooting power drills
- Beginner: [ all age groups ]
This video provides a detailed explanation of the preparations before shooting, running posture, hitting position, and a series of other details. As I mentioned before, the shooting power = accuracy sometimes, so for beginners, mastering the secrets of shooting power from the very first day of your football career can help you achieve faster results. To achieve all this, we must pay attention to details. The details are what this three-minute video covers—Plant foot, running, hitting position. This video is very suitable for beginners as well as those who have been playing for many years but have struggled to improve their shooting skills.
- Advanced : [ Ages 9 and above ]
After a couple of years playing football, your leg strength has undergone initial development through a lot of training and matches. Now, what you need to do is understand the process of generating power in shooting. The following video explains the principles of power generation in shooting very clearly. You need to imitate, analyze, understand, and apply them in practice. Try to follow the explanations in the video to master the momentary energy (momentum) in shooting. Besides, if you are under the age of nine, I don't highly recommend you to do this drill. Because during this period, your muscles and bones are still undergoing relatively slow development, and extensive practice in shooting strength may expose your muscles to the risk of overloading.
- Pro : [ ages 12 and above]
Now you've entered the most crucial stage. Apart from the basic approaches and the power generation process we've just discussed, increasing shooting power is now at the most challenging juncture. This involves enhancing your muscle strength and shooting techniques. Will John's Muscle strength training requires additional exercises beyond natural age-related growth. That's why this training is only for 13+ age groups. Engaging in lower limb muscle training prematurely not only exposes you to the risk of injury but may also affect your height development due to excessive pressure on your bones and joints.
2. Shooting techniques
- First time shots : [ all age groups ]
Why do I put this drill training first? Because seizing fleeting shooting opportunities is the key that every footballer must grasp. During training, we would have ample time to adjust our posture to comfortably take shots, but in a real game, your opps won't give you such time and space. Let's see how Suarez demonstrates it for us.
Therefore, I recommend the following video to everyone preparing to improve their shooting skills. Mastering first-time shooting can help you better learn the rest of the shooting techniques.
- Curves : [all age groups]
This is still a drill for everyone. If you can dribble past defenders on the wing and then elegantly curl the ball into the top corner, and if by chance this goal is captured on camera, then I believe you'll proudly show off this video to everyone you meet, just like me. Yes, scoring a spectacular curve shots is something to be proud of. I recommend practicing curved shots while moving because there are more opportunities for this type of shot compared to free kicks. Of course, you can also check out the curved free kicks we talked about.
- Swaz : [ Very difficult ] [ for 12 years+ ]
Swaz is using a part of the foot to apply lateral spin to the ball, causing its trajectory to curve irregularly, evading the goalkeeper. While this type of shot is not commonly used in practical play, once you manage to execute a beautiful Swaz, it can quickly change the game. Imagine this: You have a clear chance on goal, with a defender closing in behind you and the goalkeeper blocking most of the shooting angles. In such a scenario, a simple push shot, a low probability chip shot, or a powerful shot that's easy to save wouldn't be the best options. If you could strike a Swaz at that moment, the goalkeeper would be left watching in awe. It is very difficult, I know, but your shoes laces may help you.
3. Shooting Accuracy
- Beginner : [ all age groups ]
Body positioning is key to the following exercise. Adjusting your body orientation allows you to control the trajectory of the ball's flight at will. With a foundation in shooting power, you can choose to send the ball high into the top corner or swiftly skim it along the ground into the bottom corner.
- Advanced : [ as early as possible ]
The next shooting drill I'm about to discuss is the one I believe is best to start as early as possible. Do you remember Son Heung-min's stunning goals from both his left and right foot? In an interview, Sonny mentioned that his father used to have him juggle with both his left and right feet since he was young. There was even a time when he juggled the ball continuously for four hours under a street light.
It was this special drill that gave him equally balanced shooting abilities with both feet. We can enhance shooting ability with the weak foot through targeted drills.
- Pro : [ difficult ] [ 11 years + ]
The next shooting drill requires some equipment and someone to assist you. However, this drill closely simulates what happens during a match, you'll always have one to two defenders in front of you, along with an agile goalkeeper. Through the following shooting exercises, you can greatly enhance your performance in real-game situations.
