One of the best players in the world right now is Robin Van Persie. He plays for Manchester United in the English Premier League. While he has many skills, one of the things he does better than most other soccer players is the way he strikes a volley. A volley is a pass or shot where you hit the ball when it is up in the air, not on the ground. This is a very difficult strike to do effectively because it is very easy to accidentally hit the ball too high.
Recently, Robin Van Persie did a video interview/soccer skills session with #5 magazine. #5 magazine is a digital magazine edited by Rio Ferdinand, the sweeper for Manchester United. (Check it out at http://www.5mag.co/) During this skills session, Robin Van Persie and the two hosts, Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch, show off some of the most spectacular soccer skills you will every see.
Specifically though, I’d like to focus on something that happens at 52 seconds into the video. The guys are juggling the ball, then Van Persie steps up and simply SMASHES the ball into the goal. In the future, I’m going to do an instructional video on how to volley the ball like this, but for now, lets take a look at how Van Persie does it (what better way to learn than to watch one of the best in the world, right?).
Watch the video first for some awesome skills.
Here is the direct link in case the embed doesn’t work – Robin Van Persie Freestyle
Once you’ve done that, lets take a look at exactly how Van Persie strikes the ball the way he does.
The first thing you notice is his distance from the ball. When starting his volleying motion, Van Persie is approximately 2-3 steps from the ball. He is watching its flight in the air, and timing his strike so he can take 2-3 steps and hit the ball right in the right place. This allows him to use his momentum to follow through on the ball.
The next thing to pay attention to is where he plants his foot. He plants his foot directly to the right of the ball so he can get a full windup with his left leg as well as a complete follow through without having to move his plant foot. Notice he is starting to swing at where the ball is going to be. It’s important to watch the flight of the ball so you can time your volley effectively.
When he actually strikes the ball, a couple of interesting things happen. The first is the line his foot follows. He doesn’t allow his foot to drop below the ball then come back up. Instead he lifts his foot up and basically draws a straight line between where his foot is and where he wants the ball to go. This keeps his volley low. One important thing to note is that he is not leaning backward when he hits the ball. Leaning backward forces your follow through up, which in turn makes your volley go up instead of in a low straight line. He is leaning away from the ball, but vertically, he is standing fairly straight up and down, not leaning back, allowing him to keep his volley low.
The last thing to pay attention to is Van Persie’s follow through. When he hits the ball, he doesn’t just stop his motion. Instead, he pushes off his back foot, strikes through the ball, and lands with all his weight on his striking leg. This allows him to use his weight and momentum to create more power on his strike.
A lot of players ask themselves the question, “How do I get as skilled at striking a volley as Robin Van Persie?” This is a fairly easy question to answer. Robin Van Persie has spent hours and hours and hours practicing with a ball and making himself better. He practices with a team, but I guarantee you he has spend hours on his own doing individual soccer drills and just practicing, practicing, practicing. There is no substitute for just getting out on the field with a ball and training.
If you’re not sure where to start, my 5 day free individual soccer training plan can help you get started. In addition, every chance you get, try to watch the great players play and see what you can learn from them. #5 magazine always has some awesome skills videos on youtube, so check out their channel as well.
What are some great players that you love to watch and learn from?
