Andrew Latham says that your first touch is critical in soccer. Juggling will help you learn how to control the ball and keep your balance, which can help you in tight spaces or tough situations (49). Your first touch can set you up for a pass, a shot, a dribble, and practically any other action of making contact with the ball.
When I was juggling, Latham's idea of juggling helping you balance and teaching you how to have control, helped me create a rhythm during my juggling. I had to make sure that I was on balance and stable with my plant foot, so then it would be easier for me to make contact with the ball and keep it up in the air. In the picture below you can see how my right foot is planted and balanced while my left foot is making contact with the ball and keep it in the air.
Not only was having a rhythm and being balanced help me do well in freestyle juggling, but having the right technique to make complete and good contact with the ball was probably the most helpful tip in my juggling process. "Most of the time, your toe will point up on contact to spin the ball back so you can keep it close and get lots of touches" (49). In the picture above and the video below, you are able to see how my toe is pointed up allowing the ball to have a backward spin, and bringing the ball right back down to my feet.
I would like to know your guys opinion and want to know if you think that back spin on the ball and short touches help you have more control on the ball? And i would also like to know what are some other tricks i could try in my juggling?
Latham, Andrew. Soccer Smarts for Kids: 60 Skills, Strategies & Secrets. Rockridge Press, 2016.
