Soccer Juggling Tips: Master the Art of Ball Control

Soccer Juggling is certainly one of the best practice methods for improving you first touch, ball control, and basic aspects of most freestyle air moves. What many might not know is that soccer juggling does not necessarily mean you have to use a standard soccer ball.

One of the greats of the game, Ronaldo (Luiz Nazario De Lima), once said that practicing with a smaller sized ball, such as a tennis ball or a mini (size 3) skill ball was one of the contributing factors to his phenomenal touch and control.

As you are juggling with your weaker foot will also greatly improve your first touch and ball control. Maintaining a consistent rhythm and focus on the ball is key.

Soccer Juggling Challenge

1. Day 1 – Target: Aim to juggle a standard size 5 football 8 times consecutively without allowing it to touch the ground using your stronger foot.
2. Day 2 – Target: Aim to juggle a standard size 5 football 8 times consecutively using both feet, one at a time, eg: left then right, then left again.
3. Day 3 – Target: Aim to juggle a standard size 5 football 8 times consecutively using only your weaker feet.

Try each of the 3 challenges/drills above as many times as you like, if you’re comfortable juggling it for 8 consecutive times, then increase this value, go for 12, 16 or even 20. Juggling height is not important at this stage as we’d like to stick to the basics first.

The reason we use a standard size 5 soccer ball is simply that it is larger and bounces much better than say a futsal or skill ball. When juggling, always try to make contact with the ball using the top half your foot (just behind the toe area). Try not to kick the ball with to much power (unless you want it to catch more air), just a soft tap will do fine.

The best juggling trainer can be found below. It’s probably the best solo trainer for any soccer ball skills that you will ever use as they repetitions you will get using a trainer like the one below or similar will improve your juggling skills exponentially.

Go to Simple Soccer Juggling Trick now that you know where to start. Looking to improve your weaker foot? Try these .