Volley

Intermediateshooting

Side-on, eyes locked on the ball in the air, knees bent.

Timing the ball out of the air. Get your body over the ball, drop your shoulder, and strike cleanly through.

Key points

•Watch the ball all the way
•Drop the shoulder on the striking side
•Keep the ball down — body over it
•Clean contact with laces

Practice with Coach Diego

Camera setup tips

· Place the camera side-on to you, 2 to 3 metres away.
· Keep your whole body in frame, head to feet.
· Phone on a tripod or a laptop webcam both work.
· Perform the movement, pause, repeat. Your coach speaks every 15 seconds.

Theory & Technique

The volley is all about timing and body shape. The biggest mistake is swinging too hard — let the pace of the ball do the work. As the ball arrives, set your body side-on to give your hips room to rotate. Drop your striking-side shoulder slightly to help keep your body over the ball — if you lean back, the shot flies over the bar. Lock your ankle and point your toes down. Strike through the centre or top half of the ball. Your standing leg should have a good bend in the knee for balance. The follow-through is compact, not wild.

Fun Fact

Zinedine Zidane's left-foot volley in the 2002 Champions League final is widely considered the greatest goal ever scored. He struck a dropping cross perfectly on the half-volley from 16 yards.

Watch the real thing

Learn from real coaches first. Your live scoring compares you to the reference figure above; these videos are for learning, and stay with their creators on YouTube.