The air elastico is the elastico's out-and-in touch done on a ball that is in the air, usually while you are juggling. The ground elastico is two quick touches with one foot: the outside of the foot guides the ball out, then the inside snaps it back. Street football uses the name akka for a same-foot two-touch move on the ground or in the air, but we found no coaching guide that breaks down the airborne version step by step, so this lesson builds it from sourced elastico and juggling technique and treats it as a variation. We read the fast out-and-in foot motion and your balance on the standing leg; the touch on the ball itself isn't camera-visible.
Set up
Get the ground elastico smooth first: the front part of the outside of your foot on the inside of the ball, a gentle guide out, wrap, then the inside pushes it back. Start slow and build speed.
Guide it, don't kick it.
Be able to juggle low and steady with the laces: tap directly under the ball, and keep it below hip height.
Small, flat taps under the ball.
Stand tall on firm, flat ground: standing knee slightly bent, upper body upright, eyes on the ball, arms bent at your sides.
Relaxed and balanced over the standing foot.
Flick
Juggle a few low touches, then let the ball drop toward your flicking foot. Meet it low, about 20 to 30 cm off the ground, as in basic juggling.
Wait for the ball to come down to you.
Touch the inside of the ball with the front of the outside of your foot and guide it a short way out. Keep it close; a push that goes too far makes the wrap late.
A soft nudge, not a kick.
Straight away, wrap the front of the same foot around the ball and snap it back across with the inside of that foot, before the ball drops away.
Two touches that run together as one.
Finish by tapping the ball back up with the laces under it to keep juggling, or let it drop and take it away.
Balanced, then carry on.
Feel it
It should feel like the ground elastico, only quicker: one soft guiding touch out with the front of the outside of the foot and an immediate snap back with the inside, while your standing leg and upper body stay quiet. Speed comes from repetition, not from kicking harder. Expect many misses; even the ground version needs every touch to be right.
Fix-its
- The ball flies too far on the outside touch, so you can't wrap in time Guide the ball, don't kick it. Make the outside touch smaller and keep the ball close to the foot.
- Two separate touches with a pause between Go back to the ground elastico, start slow and build speed until the two touches run together, then return to a bounced ball.
- Using the instep or the whole side of the foot Use only the front part of the foot for both touches. It is easier to feel the ball and control the force.
- The juggle before the move is too high or wild Keep the build-up touches low and flat, under hip height, so the ball arrives at the same spot every time.
- You tip off balance on the standing leg Keep the standing knee slightly bent, upper body upright and arms bent at your sides, and keep the flicking motion compact.
Drill
- Ground elastico on the spot: slow, then faster, with each foot if you can.
- Bounce juggling: drop the ball, let it bounce, tap it up with the laces and catch it. Build to more bounces and taps, then taps with no bounce.
- Bounce elastico: drop the ball, let it bounce once, do the out-and-in on it as it comes up, then catch it.
- Bounce elastico into juggling: same as above, but after the inside touch tap it up with the laces and keep it going before you catch.
- Live: juggle low for a few touches, do the air elastico on a dropping ball, and carry on juggling. Practise both feet.
Sources
- We Make Footballers (WMF Coaching Team) — How to master a flip flap (elastico) (2021)
- GOAL — Best football skills: how to do the Ronaldo Chop, Elastico, Cruyff Turn and more (2022)
- CF Montréal, Olivier Meilleur-Tremblay — Foot Culture: skill moves (n.d.)
- Jobs In Football — Soccer Skills: The Elastico (2022)
- Urban Pitch, Christine Kwon — Lexicon, Part 2: A Guide to Street Football Terms (2016)
- Soccer Coach Weekly, Dave Clarke — Soccer juggling drills for better ball control (n.d.)
- easy2coach — Juggling alternating left and right (n.d.)
- FIFA Training Centre, Branimir Ujevic — Mastering ball control (2024)
Last checked 2026-10-26.