Football Techniques

Lessons

Senior 4 · Physical Education

Football Techniques

5 lessons

Lesson 3 of 5

Juggling the ball

25 min

A ball made of plastic bags

In many Rwandan neighbourhoods, children learn football with kagomba: a ball made by tying plastic bags tightly together. It bounces unpredictably, so the only way to keep it under control is a soft, accurate touch. Juggling a ball (keeping it in the air with the feet, thighs and head without letting it touch the ground) trains exactly that touch. It does not appear in a match as a skill of its own, but every time a high ball drops onto your foot, chest or thigh, your juggling practice is at work. It also trains balance on one leg, timing, the weaker foot and patience.

Definition

Juggling (keepy-uppy): keeping the ball in the air with repeated touches of any part of the body except the hands and arms.

Touch: one contact with the ball. A juggling score is the number of touches before the ball touches the ground.

Juggling surfaces: the top of the foot (instep), the thigh, the head, and, for skilled players, the inside and outside of the foot and the shoulders.

Freestyle football: a sport in which players perform juggling tricks to music and are judged on difficulty and style.

Technique on each surface

Surface	Key points	Ideal height
Foot (instep)	Ankle locked, toes slightly up so the top of the foot is flat; strike the bottom of the ball gently so it rises straight with a little backspin; stay on the ball of the supporting foot	Knee to waist
Thigh	Lift the knee until the thigh is horizontal; contact the middle of the thigh, not the knee	Waist to chest
Head	Eyes open, chin slightly up; contact with the forehead; bend and straighten the knees to lift the ball	Just above the head

How much time between touches?

A ball tapped straight up to a height $h$ above the point of contact rises and falls back in a time

t = 2\sqrt{\frac{2h}{g}}

Worked example

Worked example 1: high or low touches? Compare the time between touches when the ball rises 0.30 m and 1.0 m above the foot $(g = 9.81\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-2}})$ .

Low touch, $h = 0.30\,\mathrm{m}$ : $t = 2\sqrt{\frac{2 \times 0.30}{9.81}} = 2 \times 0.247 = 0.49\,\mathrm{s}$
High touch, $h = 1.0\,\mathrm{m}$ : $t = 2\sqrt{\frac{2 \times 1.0}{9.81}} = 2 \times 0.452 = 0.90\,\mathrm{s}$

Raising the ball more than three times as high only nearly doubles the time, because time grows with $\sqrt{h}$ . A high ball also comes down faster ( $v = \sqrt{2gh}$ : 4.4 m s⁻¹ instead of 2.4 m s⁻¹) and is harder to control. That is why coaches advise keeping foot juggling between the knee and the waist.

A progression for the class

Drop, kick, catch. Drop the ball from the hands, tap it once with the foot, catch it. Ten with each foot.
Two touches. Drop, tap twice with the same foot, catch.
Bounce juggling. Allow one bounce between touches (good for beginners and for kagomba-style balls).
Alternate feet. Right, left, right, left, without bounces.
Foot–thigh combinations. Foot, foot, thigh; then thigh, foot.
Foot–thigh–head. Add a header.
Moving juggles. Juggle while walking forward 10 m.

Measuring progress

One attempt tells you little: luck plays a part. Record five attempts each week and look at both the mean (your usual level) and the best (what you can do on a good attempt).

Worked example

Worked example 2: is Mutesi improving? Her five attempts were 4, 7, 3, 6, 5 in week 1 and 12, 9, 15, 11, 13 in week 4.

Week 1 mean: $\frac{4 + 7 + 3 + 6 + 5}{5} = \frac{25}{5} = 5.0$ ; best 7.
Week 4 mean: $\frac{12 + 9 + 15 + 11 + 13}{5} = \frac{60}{5} = 12.0$ ; best 15.
Improvement in the mean: $\frac{12.0 - 5.0}{5.0} \times 100 = 140\%$

Both lines in the chart rise steadily, and the gap between mean and best stays small, so her improvement is real and consistent, not one lucky attempt.

Video: "How To ACTUALLY Juggle A FOOTBALL For Beginners", Daniel Meyn Football. Watch the locked ankle, the height of each touch and the drills used before continuous juggling.

Tip

"Lock, soft, low." Lock the ankle, touch softly under the ball, and keep it low. Practise with your weaker foot as much as your stronger one.

Warning

Common mistakes. Kicking with the toes (the ball flies forward). A floppy ankle. Touches that are too high. Standing flat-footed instead of on the ball of the supporting foot. Practising only with the strong foot. Safety: juggle with space around you, away from walls, windows and other groups; a slightly under-inflated ball is easier for beginners.

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Practice

Give three benefits of juggling practice for a footballer.
Describe the technique of juggling with the foot.
Calculate the time between touches when the ball rises 0.50 m.
How high must the ball rise to give 0.80 s between touches?
A pupil's attempts are 8, 12, 6, 10, 9. Calculate the mean and the range.
The next week her mean is 13.5. Calculate her percentage improvement.
Explain why recording five attempts is better than recording one.
A pupil says: "Juggling is just a show skill; it does not help in matches." Evaluate this statement.

Show answersHide answers

Any three: softer touch and better control of high balls; balance on one leg; timing and coordination; use of the weaker foot; concentration.
Ankle locked, toes slightly up so the top of the foot is flat; tap under the ball so it rises straight with slight backspin, between knee and waist height; stay on the ball of the supporting foot.
t = 2√(2 × 0.50 ÷ 9.81) = 2 × 0.319 = 0.64 s.
Half the time is the fall: 0.40 s; h = ½ × 9.81 × 0.40² = 0.78 m.
Mean = 45 ÷ 5 = 9.0; range = 12 − 6 = 6.
(13.5 − 9.0) ÷ 9.0 × 100 = 50%.
One attempt can be lucky or unlucky; the mean of five shows the usual level, and the range shows how consistent the pupil is.
Partly wrong: juggling itself is not used in matches, but the soft touch, timing, balance and weaker-foot skill it trains are used whenever a player controls a high or bouncing ball. It is a training tool, not a match skill.

Quick check

In foot juggling, the ball should be struck with the toes.

Remember

Juggling trains touch, timing, balance and the weaker foot, which carry over to controlling high balls.
Foot: lock the ankle, toes slightly up, touch under the ball, keep it knee to waist high. Thigh: horizontal, middle of the thigh. Head: forehead, eyes open, legs lift.
Time between touches $t = 2\sqrt{\frac{2h}{g}}$ : low touches are quicker but easier to control.
Track progress with the mean and best of five attempts.

Sources and credits

Keepie uppie and Freestyle football, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
Photos: Kagomba, Ntigurirwa Shingiro Jean Marie Vianney, and Tanzanian soccer freestyle queen, Amaannt, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Video: "How To ACTUALLY Juggle A FOOTBALL For Beginners", Daniel Meyn Football, embedded from YouTube.
Record chart, tables, progression, worked examples, practice and quick check: written by Ganzaa. Mutesi's scores are illustrative.

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

1A ball made of plastic bags

2Technique on each surface

3How much time between touches?

4A progression for the class

5Measuring progress

A ball made of plastic bags

Technique on each surface

How much time between touches?

A progression for the class

Measuring progress