Gifty Minhas- Soccer Tricks (Final)

Gifty Minhas

Ms. Meara

Honors English Period 4

Soccer Tricks

Hello everyone, and welcome to my final blog post. These blog posts have really helped me track my progress of learning new, challenging, and exciting tricks. I never thought keeping a blog about a hobby would help out so much, in fact, this blog has helped me to receive criticism, look at my mistakes and correct them, and also simply see the process of learning new tricks. Sean D'arcy, the author of Freestyle Soccer Tricks, has really helped me to learn tricks I never thought could be done. The clear step-by-step instructions make learning all the glamorous tricks simple and a matter of a little practice. Focusing on the juggling aspect of soccer has helped my overall play in game also, it now allows me to be even more confident on the ball and relaxed in pressure because I can rely on skill and keep my poise. Now, getting to the final trick, I've decided to go back to a more fundamental trick from the book that is very useful to prepare for volleys and shots. The trick is called the Heel Pop.

1. "Stand shoulder width apart with your body directly behind the ball. Maintain focus on the center of the ball" (D'arcy 58) 
2. "Bring your stronger leg to the front of the ball and twist your standing heel towards the ball" (D'arcy 59)
3. "Backheel the ball onto your standing heel while simultaneously twisted your heel a little to pop the ball up and set up for a shot or volley" (D'arcy 60)

   

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   Final Question: Did you guys find these blog posts cool or interesting?
   
    

Gifty Minhas- Soccer Tricks (#4)

Gifty Minhas

Ms. Meara

Honors English Period 4

Soccer Tricks

Hey everyone! As you all know, tricks are meant to captivate and make you say 'Woah!', and unless the trick can make you think that, the trick isn't really a trick. This is why I changed it a little again this week from last week. Last post I went to a more fundamental trick that can help you to prepare for in-game situations. This week I'm going to a trick that may not seem very challenging, but the exact contact of the ball on your foot is key to pull of the trick. The trick is known as The Olympic in Freestyle Soccer Tricks, but more commonly known as the Around the World.

The Olympic is a difficult trick because it requires the ball to be hit in the perfect spot on the perfect spot on your foot. The ball must be hit on the outside of your foot so the ball spins in the air. This spinning effect of the ball makes it move in the direction opposite to where your leg is going, allowing your leg to circle the ball in the air and continue juggling. Unless all of these areas are done correctly, your leg will never go around the ball in time to keep it juggling. Hopefully this trick is sounding fairly difficult. After I learned the trick, I decided to make it a little more difficult more replacing a normal soccer ball with a small, hard-to-control tennis ball. 

1. "Place your stronger foot on top of the ball and use it to pull back and flick the ball to juggle" (D'arcy 61)
2. "On the second or third juggle, slice under the ball and quickly bring your leg around it" (D'arcy 62)
3. "Hit the ball with your foot as it is dropping and continue juggling" (D'arcy 63)

   

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Question: Should I stick with a soccer ball or continue using a tennis ball for a lot more added difficulty (and a lot more hours to do the trick)?

Gifty Minhas- Soccer Tricks (#3)

Gifty Minhas

Ms. Meara 

Honors English Period 4

Soccer Tricks 

Hello everyone! Hopefully you guys have all had a relaxing break and are ready for some more soccer tricks. This week I wanted to bring it back to a more fundamental trick. The reason I chose to not go the crazy trick route is because I remembered my main goal in these tricks. My main goal is to focus on tricks that will actually help my in-game ability in soccer matches. Many juggling tricks are useful for practicing for real game situations and one example is the simple Side Roll.

The Side Roll, a juggling trick featured in Sean D'arcy's book Freestyle Soccer Tricks, is useful for actual games for many reasons. Although the trick is not typically used directly in a game, the movement required for the trick is very helpful. The trick requires the use of the soles of your feet, the inside part of your foot, and the laces of the shoe. These three area's are very important in soccer and are the most frequently used. The involvement of these three significant area's makes the Side Roll a fairly simple yet greatly helping trick.

1. "Start with both feet on the ground. The ball should be just a little bit to your stronger side, with your stronger foot on top of it." (D'arcy, 70)
2. "Roll the ball as fast as you can so that the ball hits the inside of your weaker foot" (D'arcy, 71)
3. "Swing your stronger foot under the ball when it bounces up off the inside of your weaker foot" (D'arcy, 72) 

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My question for the day: is it a good approach to do tricks that may be simple but help on field? 

Gifty Minhas- Soccer Tricks (#2

Gifty Minhas

Ms. Meara

Honors English Period 4

Soccer Tricks


Hey everyone! As you all know I am on a journey to improve my juggling skills in soccer because I feel like I need to improve in this area the most. The weather hasn't been perfect for some soccer but that's another thing I love about soccer, the weather doesn't need to be perfect to play. Last post I asked all of you guys if I should increase the difficulty of tricks I am learning, and almost everyone responded that I should increase the difficulty, so I did. The next trick I learned in Freestyle Soccer Tricks is the Back of the Neck Catch. This trick is probably one of the most popular tricks around the world because it involves not just your legs but also your back. The trick may look easy, but it requires very good balance and you have to time the catch perfectly. Also, to make the trick a little harder I hit the ball up with my foot instead of throwing it up with my hands. 

1. "Start with the ball in your hands. Throw it just above head height so that, if you don't move, the ball will drop straight into your hands" (D'arcy, 81). Here I hit the ball up with my foot for added difficulty. 
2. "Keep watching the ball all the time. Just as it is coming down to about the height of your head, drop into the hold so that the ball will hit the back of your neck" (D'arcy, 82)
3. "When the ball touches the back of your neck, bend your knees. This way you'll cushion the impact and the ball will nestle gently into the hold" (D'arcy, 83)

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Hopefully you guys all found this trick a little more entertaining to watch than the last one. I'll leave everyone with this: In which ways do you believe these tricks could be made even cooler? 

Gifty Minhas- Soccer Tricks

Gifty Minhas

Ms. Meara

Honors English Period 4

Soccer Tricks




Hello to all! There are many things in this world that I love to do, but none more than play soccer. Soccer has been in my family since my grandfather who played professionally in India. My dad also played for a large part of his life and now I am keeping the sport going in the family. I started playing when I was 5 and the sport has been an integral part of my life ever since. When I learned that our IRP Quarter 2 is going to be about something we would like to improve, I knew the answer right away. Soccer has many aspects to it; shooting, passing, heading, dribbling, and juggling. Out of these aspects of the sport I have always wanted to improve my juggling in soccer the most.

The book I chose for this is Freestyle Soccer Tricks by Sean D'Arcy. I chose this book because it is by a world-renowned soccer freestyler and has clear and informative directions for each trick.

The first trick I learned is The Glory, this is a simple trick used to get the ball into the air in to start juggling.

1. "Grip the ball between your ankles so tightly you can jump around and the ball doesn't fall out" (D'Arcy, 28) 
2. "Use your stronger foot to roll the ball up the inside of your leg a high as you can while still holding it" (D'arcy. 29)
3. "-The ball will bounce off your heel up into the air!" (D'Arcy, 30)

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Do you guys think I should continue with these simple flicks or focus on advanced tricks in the book?