5 football shooting drills to up your game
The only way to get better at scoring is by practicing more. In this blog, you’ll learn the basic football shooting technique. We’ll also walk you through five shooting drills for football. Build them into your training to improve your game.
Get your football shooting technique locked down
Before you start doing shooting practice, you need to make sure you’re actually kicking the ball right. There are tons of ways to shoot a ball in football - from dinks to volleys to bicycle kicks or even the rabona. But here’s the ‘standard’ football shooting technique that every player should master.
Body alignment
Your body and head should be facing in the direction of the target. Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Your body should be upright. A slight tilt forward is OK, but you should never be leaning back.
Foot placement
Your standing foot should be parallel with the ball, with a space of about 15 cm between your foot and the ball. The toes of your standing foot should be pointed in the direction you’re shooting.
Where to look
Just before you kick the ball, glance at your target. You should also be aware of other players in your peripheral vision. But during the shot itself, your eyes should be focused on the ball.
The swing
You should lift your kicking leg as far back behind you as possible - this maximises the power in your shot. Point your toe and swing it towards the ball.
Lock your ankle
At the same time as your shooting foot swings, your standing foot should hold firmly in place, with no movement. This gives you balance and stability and reduces the chance of miskicks.
Making contact with the ball
For a straight shot, your foot should strike the centre of the ball hard. As coaches always say, kick through your laces - this means you’ll hit hard and straight.
Follow through
Your striking leg should always follow through its full swing to ensure maximum power (you’ll be striking the ball at the moment of maximum momentum).
Accuracy drills for shooting in football
These five football finishing drills will make you better at hitting the back of the net.
1. Rapid football shooting practice
The aim of this drill is to build muscle memory and force you to kick hard and fast without thinking too much.
Line up as many footballs as you have (three would be the minimum) along the edge of the six yard box. Start the drill on the penalty spot, and run to the ball on the far right, strike it, then quickly run back to the penalty spot before sprinting to strike the next ball.
With this football shooting practice, you just need to get the balls into the goal. The focus is on training you to shoot quickly and improve your form.
2. Four corners football shooting drills
This drill pushes you to target the four corners of the goal. These areas are hardest for the goalkeeper to reach, so you should always be aiming for them.
Grab two cones and two bibs (or just your tracksuit top or a sweater). Place the cones about 30 cm inside the posts, and hang the bibs from the crossbar directly above the cones.
Grab four footballs and choose a position in the penalty area. Roll the first ball in front of you, then strike it so it passes in between the bottom left cone and the upright. With the next shot, you’re aiming for it to pass inside the top right bib, and so on until you’ve shot into all the corners.
Practice this drill with both feet, from positions all around the penalty area.
3. Shooting drills starting at the halfway line
This drill replicates real play conditions (such as a counterattack).
Get into position at the halfway line and begin dribbling at top speed towards the goal. Then, as you reach the penalty area, aim a strike into the top corner of the goal.
4. Dribble to shoot with cones
This football shooting drill boosts your accuracy while shooting under pressure.
Place two cones about three metres apart, anywhere in the penalty area. Start at the cone furthest from goal and dribble towards the second cone. As you approach the second cone, shift the ball to one side or the other (as if you’re passing a defender), then strike into the bottom corner.
5. Turn and shoot drills
This is another shooting drill that replicates a common in-game situation.
Stand anywhere in the penalty area facing away from the goal. Place a couple of cones on the floor behind you to represent the feet of a defender.
Now, roll the ball behind you so it moves 90 degrees behind the leg of the ‘defender’, turn and rapidly strike the ball into the far bottom corner of the goal.
Repeat this drill using both legs from positions all around the penalty area.
Quality gear means better football shooting practice
There’s only one way to get better at shooting accurately. You need to spend hours working hard on football shooting drills. And this is where quality gear is a game changer.
Elite level football boots help you strike the ball with confidence and power. Under Armour football boots use conical studs for unparalleled traction - meaning your standing foot will hold in place during the swing, even on wet ground. We use soft, synthetic uppers that mould to your feet to give you a superior sense of contact with the ball. And the use of asymmetrical tongue design allows for additional space on the medial side for accurate shooting.
Your football performancewear also plays a key role in shooting. We built our men’s and women’s football gear to provide tons of flex, so you can swing your leg without restrictions. Under Armour gear is lightweight, breathable and wicks sweat, so you won’t chafe when repeating the same football shooting drills dozens of times. And our rain-resistant UA Storm technology means you can keep practicing in any weather.