Football Techniques (Senior 4 Physical Education): free lessons | Ganzaa

Football Techniques

Lessons

Senior 4 · Physical Education

Football Techniques

5 lessons

Lesson 1 of 5

Passing the ball

25 min

The ball moves faster than any player

A good footballer can sprint at about 9 m s⁻¹; a firmly struck pass travels two or three times as fast. That is why the team that passes well makes the opponents run, and why a misplaced pass is the most common way to lose the ball. In Senior 1 you learned the basic inside-foot pass, and in Senior 2 and 3 you used passing in attacking tactics. Senior 4 refines the technique: choosing the right surface of the foot, judging the weight and timing of the pass, and using simple geometry to see whether a passing lane is open.

Definition

Pass: a deliberate kick, header or other touch that sends the ball to a team-mate.

Inside-foot (push) pass: a short, accurate ground pass made with the inside of the foot. Instep (laces) pass: a longer, faster pass struck with the laces. Lofted pass: a pass through the air, struck below the ball's centre. Outside-foot pass: a pass with the outside of the foot, often to bend the ball or disguise its direction.

Weight of a pass: its speed, chosen so that the receiver can control it easily and the defender cannot reach it.

Passing lane: the straight path between the passer and a receiver that no defender can reach in time.

Wall pass (one-two): a pass to a team-mate who returns it first time into the space behind a defender.

Choosing the surface

Pass	Surface and contact point	Key points	Best for
Inside-foot	Inside of the foot; through the horizontal middle of the ball	Supporting foot beside the ball, toes to the target; kicking foot turned out, ankle locked; follow through towards the target	Short and medium passes of up to about 20 m
Instep drive	Laces; through the middle of the ball	Toes pointed down, knee over the ball, short and fast leg swing	Fast passes along the ground over longer distances; switching play
Lofted pass	Inside of the laces; below the centre of the ball	Approach at an angle, lean back slightly, full follow-through upwards	Crosses, corner kicks and passes over defenders
Outside-foot	Outside of the laces	Toes turned in and down, flick across the ball	Disguised or bending passes on the run

Is the lane open? A little geometry

Put the passer at the origin of a grid. A pass to a receiver at $(x_{R}, y_{R})$ travels along the line $y = m x$ with $m = \frac{y_{R}}{x_{R}}$ , which can be written $m x - y = 0$ . The shortest distance from a defender at $(x_{0}, y_{0})$ to that line is

d = \frac{|m x_{0} - y_{0}|}{\sqrt{m^{2} + 1}}

If a defender can reach about 1.5 m to the side in the time the ball takes to pass him, any lane with $d$ under about 1.5 m is risky; a lane well clear of that is open.

Worked example

Worked example 1: the receiver opens a lane. In the diagram the passer is at $(0, 0)$ and a defender at $(10, 3)$ , in metres.

Receiver at $(20, 8)$ : $m = \frac{8}{20} = 0.4$ . $d = \frac{|0.4 \times 10 - 3|}{\sqrt{0.4^{2} + 1}} = \frac{1}{1.077} = 0.93\,\mathrm{m}$ The defender can easily intercept: the lane is blocked.
The receiver moves 4 m to $(20, 12)$ : $m = \frac{12}{20} = 0.6$ . $d = \frac{|0.6 \times 10 - 3|}{\sqrt{0.6^{2} + 1}} = \frac{3}{1.166} = 2.57\,\mathrm{m}$ Now the lane is open.

Lesson for play. The pass is usually made possible by the receiver's movement, not the passer's skill: a few steps sideways turns a blocked lane into an open one. Players call this "getting out of the defender's shadow".

Worked example

Worked example 2: judging passing in a small-sided game. In a 6 v 6 game, Team A attempts 48 passes and completes 39; Team B attempts 30 and completes 27.

Completion rates: $\frac{39}{48} \times 100 = 81\%$ and $\frac{27}{30} \times 100 = 90\%$ .
Team B was more accurate, but Team A kept the ball for longer and made more passes.

A completion rate alone does not show quality: many safe sideways passes give a high rate but create no chances. A coach also counts forward passes and passes that break a line of defenders.

Video: "The Ultimate Guide to Passing in Football", Kreider Academy. Watch the position of the supporting foot and the locked ankle, and how the contact point changes for ground and lofted passes.

Tip

"Plant, lock, follow." Plant the supporting foot beside the ball, toes to the target; lock the ankle of the kicking foot; follow through towards the target.

Warning

Common mistakes. Supporting foot too far from the ball or pointing away from the target (the pass goes wide). Leaning back on a ground pass (the ball lifts). A floppy ankle (weak, inaccurate pass). Looking at the target instead of the ball at the moment of contact. Passing to where the team-mate is rather than to where he or she is running.

✦

Practice

Describe the inside-foot pass in four teaching points.
Which part of the ball is struck for a lofted pass, and why?
Give one situation in a match for each of: an inside-foot pass, an instep drive and an outside-foot pass.
Passer at (0, 0), receiver at (15, 5), defender at (6, 3). Calculate the defender's distance from the passing lane and decide whether it is open.
In question 4, the receiver moves to (15, 0). Recalculate the distance.
A team completes 54 of 72 passes. Calculate the completion rate.
Explain why the receiver's movement is as important as the passer's technique.
A coach says: "Our completion rate is 92%, so our passing is excellent." Evaluate this claim.

Show answersHide answers

Supporting foot beside the ball, toes to the target; kicking foot turned out with the ankle locked; strike through the middle of the ball with the inside of the foot; follow through towards the target, eyes on the ball at contact.
Below the centre, so that the force lifts the ball into the air and gives it backspin.
For example: inside-foot, a short pass to a midfielder 10 m away; instep drive, a fast ground pass switching play across the field; outside-foot, a disguised pass on the run around a defender.
m = 5 ÷ 15 = 0.333; d = |0.333 × 6 − 3| ÷ √(0.111 + 1) = |2 − 3| ÷ 1.054 = 0.95 m: blocked.
The lane is now the line y = 0 (along the x-axis), so d = 3 m: open.
54 ÷ 72 × 100 = 75%.
A pass can only be made into an open lane; the receiver creates the lane by moving away from the defender's shadow and into space, and gives the passer an angle and a target.
Not proven: a high rate may come from many short, safe, sideways passes that create no chances. Also count forward passes, passes that break lines, and chances created; then judge.

Quick check

For a short, accurate ground pass, which surface of the foot is best?

Remember

Inside foot for short accuracy; laces for speed and distance; strike below centre to loft; outside foot to disguise.
Plant, lock, follow: supporting foot beside the ball, ankle locked, follow through to the target.
Distance from a defender to the lane: $d = \frac{|m x_{0} - y_{0}|}{\sqrt{m^{2} + 1}}$ ; receivers open lanes by moving.
Judge passing by completion rate and by forward passes and chances created.

Sources and credits

Passing (association football), Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: types of pass. Adapted by Ganzaa.
The International Football Association Board, Laws of the Game 2026–27: the corner kick and the field.
Photo: Football prayers, Nirere evangeline, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Video: "The Ultimate Guide to Passing in Football | Technique & Tips to Improve Passing Accuracy", Kreider Academy, embedded from YouTube.
Passing-lane diagram and geometry, tables, worked examples, practice and quick check: written by Ganzaa. The match figures are illustrative.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1The ball moves faster than any player

2Choosing the surface

3Is the lane open? A little geometry

The ball moves faster than any player

Choosing the surface

Is the lane open? A little geometry