My son is six years old. He has been playing soccer since he was four. He truly enjoys the game and is self motivated. This past summer he attended several mini camps and I noticed during games of “submarine and torpedo” he was a weak torpedo (kicker). Since I did not play soccer when I was young, I needed some help with how to teach a very young player how to kick a soccer ball. A Yahoo search turned up Blast The Ball. I watched a sample video and decided to purchase the video.

 

From a parent’s perspective and a coach of very young soccer players, I think the video has several important benefits. First, it explains common errors in kicking (Evolution of the Soccer kick). I saw these exact errors in my son’s kicking. Second the video explains in plain,  easy to understand terms (remember I had no experience playing soccer) the fundamentals of kicking a soccer ball. Finally, the video gives easy to implement drills to help overcome the common errors. I found the drills easy to use in my back yard one on one with my son or on the practice field. Blast The Ball is nicely illustrated with videos on how to perform the drills and what proper kicking form looks like. My son has watched parts of the video numerous times and I think it helps him watching slow motion, illustrated videos on proper kicking techniques.   

 

I would highly recommend this video for parents and coaches of younger players so the players can develop proper form from the beginning of their interest in soccer. Bad habits are harder to overcome, so why not start out teaching proper techniques and form from the beginning. This video is like having a master coach help you do this. It is Definitely a worthwhile investment with solid returns.

Chris Aldridge - GA
U8 Coach and Soccer Parent

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I have 2 soccer playing children. Mark is a freshman in high school. He just completed a year of playing for the high school JV team and he will be playing on his first premier team later this fall. Jill is in 7th grade and she also just joined a premier U13 team plus she will be going out for the junior high team for the first time in the spring. I felt that both of them needed better technical shooting skills but I didn't have the expertise to help them out. When I saw an ad for the "Blast the Ball" DVD, it sounded like it was exactly what they needed to take them to the next level. Also, now that they are older, kicking the ball against the garage door was not something we wanted them to do, so building the soccer hop rebounder (plans included with the DVD) is working perfectly. They have just begun working on the different techniques that the DVD covers because I didn't want them to get too involved with any new ideas in the middle of their playing season. In the short time that they have been working on the kicking basics, I have seen a big increase in the quality of ball striking. The DVD is so full of information that I'm sure we'll be referring back to it for years to come.

Craig Eiding, Mark's Dad

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Our team name is Team Xtreme and we are from Southern California .

I want to thank you for the detailed information you gave in your “blast the ball” video. When I first saw the clip on your website, I had to get more information. You have hit on numerous points that most people overlook when kicking a soccer ball. I had all my players kick the ball numerous times as I evaluated. I took the techniques you described in your video and applied them to the areas that each player needed to improve on in order to make a successful kick. The players are working on the complete pull-back of the leg to keeping their eye on the ball when kicked. I also liked the idea of elevating the ball on the flat cones in order to introduce the lace kick. When I did this drill, all players were able to take the kicks without hesitation. I also love the drill that once the ball is kicked, the player must follow through to the cone. This allows for full motion and follows through with their kicks. All too often, our players kick the ball and think their job is done. Thank you again for such a great video. I have played soccer all my life and at competitive levels, but your video has taught me different ways of presenting kicks and helping to improve a players kick.

Thanks,
Nikki

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In Fall 2007, our boys played in the Northern California Youth Soccer Association Boys Under 9 Competitive Level 3 division. We had high hopes for the team because our boys are good athletes with solid soccer skills. The boys were hand picked from the previous year’s recreational league and were the standouts in the league. In addition, we hired a coach that is a former professional player and a recently retired head coach of the San Jose Frogs of the National Premier Soccer League.

After several severe beatings in our first games, we believed our main problem was defense. We gave our opponents too many break away opportunities, which put a huge burden on our under-sized Keeper. Moving one of our strongest players to Sweeper helped reduce our opponents scoring chances somewhat, but we still were not clearing the ball and most of the game was spent in our half of the field.

On Offense, when we were able to advance the ball, the boys were getting chances by either dribbling around our opponents or centering the ball to an open player. Unfortunately, we rarely put the ball into the back of the net. Most scoring opportunities were concluded with inaccurate and weak kicks that went wide or were easy to block. Many times, their Keeper would block or deflect the ball without securing it, giving us an opportunity for a follow up attempt at goal, but our Strikers had either fallen down or stopped after the initial kick.

We finished the season with a record of 0 Wins, 9 Losses, and 1 Tie. (GF-8 GA-38)

Later in the season we finally realized that we had an underlying problem that our boys were just not kicking the ball with any power. That’s why they had trouble clearing the ball out of their end or scoring when they had good opportunities.

We started doing some extra drills at practice that we thought would increase the power of their kicks, such as repetitively kicking the ball as hard as they could or doing exercises such as hopping on one foot to build up leg strength. But that didn’t help. We later learned that it was only reinforcing bad habits.

It wasn’t until late in the season that we realized that most of our boys had various problems with their basic kicking techniques. Several boys were putting their plant foot well behind the ball causing them to over extend and fall after the kick. Others had their plant foot too close or too far away (not hip width distance) or they were toe kicking the ball. And, almost all the boys were just pushing through the ball, not winding up, and therefore, not kicking with power.

We didn’t really know the best way to solve all of these problems and so I started doing Internet searches for any tips, tricks, or techniques that might help us. I soon discovered the Blast the Ball web site and after reading some of the success stories and watching the preview I thought it was exactly what we needed.

The coaches and I watched the video and decided to incorporate one or two of Coach V’s Blast the Ball lessons or drills into every one of our practices. We started at the very beginning and worked our way through most of the video. For example, for each boy we measured the distance between their hip bones and explained the theory behind using the natural swing path to get maximum power. We worked a lot on plant foot positioning and used a round ring to force the boys to step closer to the ball. And, of course, we practiced the soccer hop at the beginning of every practice.

Although parents and coaches of young boys will publicly state that the most important goal is for the kids to have fun and develop their skills, I strongly believe most parents (and kids) join a competitive soccer team to compete and win and failing to do so can cause low morale and anger in both the parents and kids.

After suffering through a season with no wins and several humiliating losses, we had about half of the parents bitterly complain about the coaching, the refereeing, and eventually pull their kids from the team. Even though the kids had developed quite a bit and had lots of fun at practices and most games.

On the other hand, in this recent spring season, I witnessed both parents and kids get energized and excited after winning their first few games. Parents were friendlier to each other, volunteered to help more, and wanted the get the team together outside of soccer. The boys were also nicer to each other and more forgiving of each others mistakes.

I am proud to say the Pacific Soccer Academy Boys U9 team took first place in the recent spring league scoring on average over 4 goals per game.

So winning may not be the only thing, but despite what many will say, winning is important.

I think the Blast the Ball video is a must-have tool for all coaches and parents interested in developing their kid’s soccer skills.

Even coaches with many years experience, like our own, may not realize that their players are not kicking with maximum efficiency or even if they do, they probably don’t know the right way to teach it. Most coaches would be wise to take advantage of the expertise and knowledge contained within the Blast the Ball video and use that information to improve the capabilities of their players.

And parents should not wait for coaches to teach proper kicking techniques to their children because it may or may not happen. I recently purchased my own copy of the video to have at home. I’m going to use it with my youngest son, who just turned 4 years old, to make sure he starts off kicking the ball properly.

I can’t give “Blast the Ball” 100% credit for our dramatic turn around because the boys worked really hard and received excellent coaching, but “Blast the Ball” certainly was a major factoring in helping the boys put the ball into the back of the net with greater accuracy and power.

Thank you very much Coach V for developing the “Blast the Ball” system!

Regards,

Victor Nemechek

PSA Boys U10 Team Manager

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Coach V,
This is a picture of my Muskegon Lakers U9 travel team. A friend of mine let me watch your DVD Blast the Ball. We used the techniques during practice. We made it out of the semifinals by winning in the second round of PK's. We won in the finals out shooting the other team 20 to 7 giving us a 3 to 1 win. With out your techniques we would have never made it past the semi final PK round. I have purchased my own copy to use for my sons U10 team and now my daughters U8 team.. Thanks  Coach Jim

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