5 Effective Drills to Strengthen Your Weaker Foot

5 Effective Drills to Strengthen Your Weaker Foot
Table of Contents

Playing soccer at the highest level requires a player to use both feet.

Training and developing your weaker foot in soccer can prove to be a fairly difficult and overwhelming obstacle than many players find hard to overcome. As with anything in life, if you are willing to put in the effort that it takes, you can improve your weaker foot through repetition and persistence in your training. I like to approach weaker foot training as a habit, even if a player feels confident in their ability with both feet.

We want to dive a bit deeper with some weaker foot drills that should be implemented into your training to help improve your weaker foot as well as your overall training in your pursuit to become a better soccer player.

Before we get into the weaker foot drills, there are a few things we need to remember, your weaker foot is weaker on several levels: strength, confidence, and reaction. When you are training your weaker foot, you need to focus on and build those three principles when using your weaker side during training. Incorporating some strength training for your weaker side can only help develop a player into a two-footed player that is more dangerous in all aspects of the game.

These drills for training and developing your weaker foot were created to allow players to train on their own as well as in a group or team setting. Players training in their backyard and coaches on the training ground can use these drills to help players develop their weaker foot. Improve your weaker foot with a soccer rebounder from SKLZ to improve your training.

KixFriction Soccer Training Ball – This soccer training ball is one of the most innovative ideas when it comes to soccer training. It is the perfect complement to all dribbling drills but is especially valuable when you are training your weaker foot.

Weaker Foot Dribbling

The dribbling drills for your weaker foot are very simple and may need to be adjusted based on your skill level. Simply increasing your pace through the drills will increase difficulty. Set up cones roughly 10 yards apart (varies based on player size/age).

Dribbling Drill #1
Stay in control

  1. Two touches with inside of foot
  2. Two touches with outside of foot
  3. Switch on way back
  4. Repeat desired number of reps and increase pace with each additional rep

Dribbling Drill #2
Lateral touch and trap, increasing difficulty

  1. Roll over the ball with your prominent foot
  2. Trap with your weaker foot
  3. Do not turn body on return, roll with weaker foot,
  4. Repeat desired number of reps and increase pace with each additional rep

Dribbling Drill #3
Slight touches, staying in a small space

  1. Ball in front of you in normal position.
  2. Step on, and pull ball back with prominent foot
  3. Slightly push it with outside of foot
  4. Stepover
  5. Play ball back with outside of weaker foot
  6. Switch feet on way back

View the video below for a more detailed look at these drills:
https://youtu.be/7H3wxf9ZxYE?t=1m57s

The three dribbling drills listed above, although fairly basic, when done on a regular basis will improve your ball control and dribbling with your weaker foot. A great way for players and coaches to enforce weaker foot training for soccer is to incorporate these drills into every training session. Including drills for players’ weaker foot at the beginning of a training session will help players feel more comfortable with their weaker foot at later stages of training.

Weaker Foot Drills – Passing

These drills are specific to using a soccer rebounder for improving your weaker foot passing skills when training individually.

Passing Drill #1
Use the flat side of the rebounder

  1. Pass the ball with your weak foot to rebounder
  2. On return, receive pass with weaker foot
  3. While receiving pass open hips and half turn
  4. Fake pass with prominent foot and trap/step on ball
  5. Step off the ball and pass with your weaker foot to rebounder and repeat

The action after receiving the ball is equally as important as the pass as it helps improve body control and muscle memory while using your weaker foot.
Passing Drill #2
Use the ramp side of the rebounder

  1. Pass the ball with your weaker foot
  2. React to the return of the ball
  3. Trap the ball with your prominent foot
  4. Now pass the ball with your dominant foot to rebounder
  5. React
  6. Trap the ball with your weaker foot
  7. Repeat and alternate feet with each pass

Again, we are looking to incorporate some muscle memory as well as more game-like actions. These are just a few drills that we use on a regular basis when training alone. When training with your team or a partner, incorporating traditional drills with a focus on your weaker foot will help strengthen your weaker foot passing.

Best Soccer Rebounder – This soccer rebounder is the most flexible and affordable that we have been able to find. Its got a solid construction and folds down easily for storage or portability. The biggest win is its dual purpose – one flat side for straight returns and a ramp side that adds a varied loop return that helps with reactions and making plays on the ball that aren’t exactly the same each rebound.

Weaker Foot Drills – Shooting

The focus and principles of training your weaker shooting foot are getting comfortable with the plant foot and hitting smaller targets. When you train your weaker foot for shooting we have always found that starting with accuracy is more important. Your shot power can be improved in many ways, but starting with the fundamentals and putting the ball where you want is the focus of these drills today.

Shooting Drill #1
Shots from the spot – pop up goal

  1. Place the ball 12 yards from Pop Up Goal
  2. Take one step
  3. Strike with Weaker Foot

Shooting Drill #2
Receive and hit – use rebounder or partner and pop up goal

  1. Receive pass depending on direction with proper foot
  2. Take two or less touches
  3. Strike with weaker foot

Shooting Drill #2 is also a good opportunity to practice trapping and taking touches while moving to increase the difficulty as you become more comfortable with the drill and your weaker foot when shooting.

Best Pop Up Soccer Goal – Easy to set up and ultra-portable, these pop up Soccer Goals are awesome. Available in multiple sizes and have a full 365-day warranty they are an amazing value. Using smaller goals for weaker foot shooting drills and training will help improve your accuracy and allow you to train almost anywhere you want.

Weaker Foot Drills for Youth Players

Helping players become more comfortable with both feet is easiest when players are comfortable using both feet at an early age. There is one soccer training tool in particular that we tell all soccer parents about because it is affordable and helps young players develop ball skills very quickly.

SKLZ Free Solo Soccer Trainer – Having young players using the solo trainer in reps of 20 will do wonders for their ball skills. Here are the drills that we ask our U8 and U10 players to do every day: Inside, Outside, Power Shot, and Juggle. Reps of 20, alternating feet however they choose so long as they are training both feet. This is an invaluable tool for developing youth players.

Weaker Foot Drills

Training your weaker foot needs to be a habit. Starting your training session with drills specifically designed for your weaker foot will be most effective. It will help your body get more comfortable with using your weaker foot in other aspects of your training later in each session. Soccer Tricks relies on these techniques with each and every season with our own players and kids and when we were playing in our prime. If you are willing to put in the time to improve your game and become a two-footed player, these simple drills will help you accomplish your goals.

See also Training 101: How to Improve your Weaker Foot