Passing is one of the most important skills in soccer! This what will help you create opportunities to score and keep possession for you team …
… However, practicing it with a partner might be challenging, especially if you lack a person to train with! That’s why, doing it by yourself could be a great idea …
… In this article, I help you train and improve your passing abilities just by yourself!
Prepare the environment first …
You only need a few essential things to practice passing game on your own. A wall or fence from which you can bounce the ball, a flat surface and a soccer ball.
Ideal places for practicing passing game can be a:
- Yard behind your house
- Court with artificial grass surrounded by a fence
- Or maybe a tennis court with a wall.
You can even take a few cones if you want to create some obstacles and targets as a challenge for you.
Best Cleats for proper passing …
Adidas Predator (Check it Here on Amazon) is a friendly choice when it comes to your passing game!
This cleat sits comfortable around your foot, while tight at the same time, which makes it easier for you to position your foot when kicking.
Lace-less design provides more area for ball control, which adds more sense for the ball, especially with the upper part of the foot. It gets the balance between softness and precision just right.
What Passing Drills you can do Yourself …
Before you start practicing your passing game, let me share 2 useful tips …
- While you are waiting for the ball that bounces off the wall or fence, be sure to be in the skip.
- Skip allows you to be well prepared for a hit. If you are static and not moving your legs, you will not be ready to receive the ball and it will affect the quality of your pass.
- When hitting the ball, kick it in the middle, and it is the best way to perform a pass with the inner part of the foot.
Below the best drills you can try out …
1. Receive and Pass
This one of the most basic passing exercises and the one you need to start with.
- Be at a distance of 5-7 yards from the wall and start hitting the ball with the inside of your foot towards the wall.
- When you hit the ball, pay attention to the way you kicked it. You do not need to be in a contraction and hit the ball hard.
- Be aware of the strength of your kick and try to develop a sense for the pass.
- When the ball bounces off the wall, be in the skip and then accept with the front part of the sole of your cleats.
- Practice the reception and the pass with your right foot first, and then after a couple of repetitions, do the same with your left foot.
- Try to do these exercises from a slower to a faster pace.
- When you receive the ball, be sure to keep your head raised to acquire the habit of looking around. This will make it easier for you to detect your teammates later in the game and pass to them.
The head should always be up to have a good overview of the game and know the positions of your teammates around the field.
Positions of the players on the field is constantly changing and therefore you should always scan the field before making a pass.
Important tip to keep in mind is that while passing the ball, your body should never go backwards, but to remain in a straight position.
2. Inside foot passing
This one is similar to the first exercise!
- This time you should receive the ball with the inside of the foot and then followed by the pass with the same part of the foot.
- Special attention should be paid to the reception here. Try to receive the ball in front of you, as this will give you a good body position when passing afterwards.
- There is no need to take the ball aside because the body will be in the wrong position and you will make a poor pass.
Apply exactly the same tips as in the first exercise, be in the skip while waiting for the ball and after a dozen times switch from right to left foot.
3. One touch pass
Once you have perfected the first two exercises, move on to a little more complicated. This time you should not receive the ball, but pass it back with the very first touch.
- First, prepare well for a kick with a constant skip as the ball goes towards you.
- Try to hit the ball alternately, first with your right and then with your left foot.
- If you start the exercise by passing with the right inner part of the foot, try to hit the ball so that it bounces off the wall and comes in front of your left foot.
Keep your head raised with each stroke, as with the previous exercises.
To improve the shot first, at the beginning you can get even closer to the wall at a distance of 2-3 yards. Later on, increase the distance.
4. Passing with the cones
This time you can be a little more creative. In this case, cones replace the opposing players!
- Position them around, creating a more challenging environment.
- Kick the ball to the wall, when it comes back to you, practice moving the ball around the cone with your right inner foot and then hit the ball against the wall with your left foot.
- Now the ball will bounce back to your left foot and your task is to take it now with your left inner foot, around the cone, to your right foot and then kick the pass toward the wall.
This is a very important exercise and can help you improve your game when under the pressure from your opponent.
Alternative exercise is to take the ball to the side with the outside part of your foot.
Kick the ball to the wall with your right foot, when it comes back to your right side, take it to the left side around the cone with the outer part of your left foot and then hit the pass toward the wall.
The ball will return to your left side, now repeat the play with your right foot.
Tips to improve passing with your non-dominant foot
In order to improve the kick with a weaker foot, it is necessary to constantly put yourself in a situation to use this foot as much as possible.
The more repetitions of the kicks with weaker foot, the faster you will progress. The more you use your non-dominant foot, with time you will improve the sense for the ball and pass.
Another way to improve non-dominant passing is to pay attention to the positioning of your stronger leg. If your body is well balanced and positioned properly, it will make it easier for you to prepare your weaker foot for kicking the ball.
In addition, the most important tip is to be patient!
At the very beginning, your passing will be weaker and inaccurate, which may frustrate you. However, with constant practice, in time you will improve the precision, and then you will accomplish gradually to increase the power of the kick with non-dominant foot.
You will notice this even when practicing with wall kicks, as you will catch yourself increasing the distance from which you are sending the ball toward the wall.
Those tips will actually help you if you are practicing 6v6 soccer and even 7v7 soccer …
Does juggling help your passing abilities?
Juggling exercises enable the player to get used to the ball. These exercises require constant ball control, which provides an opportunity to develop a greater sense for the ball.
In order to perform them appropriately, it requires performing kicks on the ball with various parts of the foot, combining different approaches, which is very useful later for passing play.
When a player acquires a feel for the ball, he will overcome passing technique easier. That way the player will have a higher level of knowledge how to pass the ball and with what intensity.
How often should your practice passing?
You should practice passing every day!
Individual work at home will improve this segment of the game, and other aspects of your play in general.
As often as possible, with as many repetitions as possible!
Do hundreds of passes daily, with practicing both feet. Every coach loves a player who can play accurate passes with both feet.
Also, try to improve your passing play with the inner and outer part of the foot, as well as the upper part of the foot for long passes …
By the way, for long passes, you can check those helpful tips and drills …
How much does it take to feel the improvement?
Nothing can be improved overnight, be aware that hard work is ahead of you!
The optimal time for which progress can be seen is 4 weeks!
Use your free time to practice as many passes as possible. If you feel difficulties at the beginning of the exercise, do not give up.
Surely your efforts will soon pay off, keep exercising.
Great Soccer Players Known for their passing abilities …
Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta were spectacular players whose main feature was the pass game.
For the balls they pass, it said to “have eyes”. They distributed the balls on the field with such ease that they left the audience breathless and amazed.
They were the main creators of the famous Barcelona tiki-taka style of play, which is based on the possession of the ball and passing game.
Another player who excelled in the pass game was Paul Scholes …
… The shy genius, as called, was the main creator of the Manchester United game. Primarily because of his great pass play, he will be noted as one of the best midfielders in the history of soccer.
Because of the fantastic passing skill he owned, he became a role model for many players around the world.
Final Thoughts …
What pushed me to write this article is when I’ve seen many players especially beginners who blame their weak passing abilities for the lack of training partners …
… That’s why, I’ve thought of putting together this short post to breakdown what it takes to improve it just by yourself without the need of anyone and by using little gear.
Lastly, I highly encourage you to check those tips to help improve your soccer positioning! This is extremely important for soccer positions …