The Around the World (ATW) is a freestyle juggling trick: you pop the ball up with one foot, take that same foot all the way around the ball while it is in the air, and carry on juggling without it touching the ground. It is a show and ball-mastery trick, not a match skill, and freestylers say it takes many hours of practice. The app reads your standing-leg balance and the circle your foot makes; it can't see the ball, so it doesn't judge the touch. Written coaching on this trick is thin (a few specialist coaches, no governing-body guide), so this lesson sticks to what those sources agree on.
Get juggling
Get steady juggling on your dominant foot first. One coach's minimum is 10 juggles in a row with good control before you try the ATW. A freestyle site sets a longer-term goal of 70 to 100 lower-body juggles on a first attempt.
you can keep it up without chasing it.
Keep the touches low and the ball nearly spin-free. Juggle on the dominant foot below knee height, with as little spin as you can. A spinning ball drifts away while your foot is going round it.
the ball rises and drops straight, almost still in the air.
Pick one direction to learn first. You can circle the ball going to the inside or to the outside. Coaches disagree on which is easier (one says start with the inside), so choose one and stick with it until it lands. Learn the other direction and the other foot later.
one clear plan before you start.
Flick & circle
Make one firm set-up touch under the ball. In one coach's method, you hit the bottom outer side of the ball with the top of your big-toe knuckle for one direction, and use the outside of your foot for the other. The touch has to send the ball straight up, not away from you.
a firm pop that leaves the ball floating just in front of your shin.
Keep the foot moving up and round the ball in the same motion. Don't juggle, pause, then circle. Carry the foot's upward momentum all the way round until it is back underneath the ball. Make sure the ball has left your foot before you start the circle.
touch and circle are one movement, not two.
Give a small bounce on your standing foot as you circle. The little hop gives the circling leg the extra height it needs to get round in time.
a light spring off the standing foot, not a big jump.
Catch it
Get the foot back under the ball and meet it with an instep (laces) touch. Then keep juggling, or catch it on the instep and hold it there.
the circle ends just as the ball comes down onto your laces.
Feel it
The touch and the circle feel like one smooth movement. The ball pops up nearly straight with little spin, your standing foot gives a small bounce, and your foot arrives back under the ball in time to touch it again. If you're always late, you're probably pausing between the touch and the circle.
Fix-its
- Foot doesn't get around in time You're touching, pausing, then circling. Start the circle as part of the touch, in one motion, and add a small bounce on your standing foot for extra leg height.
- Foot still on the ball as you start the circle This makes the move look awkward and drags the ball. Let the ball leave your foot first, then go round it.
- Ball spins or drifts away mid-circle Too much spin or a glancing touch. Juggle with as little spin as possible and make firm contact underneath the ball so it goes straight up.
- Giving up after lots of misses Expect a lot of failed attempts. Set small goals that build on what you can already do, and land a move 5 times before you add the next one.
Drill
- No ball: practise the circling leg motion until your body is used to it, then try it with the ball.
- Low juggling: dominant foot, below knee height, as little spin as possible, until you can do 10 in a row with control.
- One ATW then catch: juggle, do one ATW, then catch the ball on your instep and hold it.
- One ATW then keep juggling: land it 5 times before you move on to two ATWs in a row (ATW-ATW).
- Other direction, other foot: once one version is consistent, learn it in both directions and on both feet.
Safety: practise on firm, flat ground with space around you, and warm up first. Take breaks when your touch or balance gets sloppy, and stop if anything hurts.
Sources
- Online Soccer Academy — How to do Around the World (n.d.)
- DJ Diveny — What I Learned After Landing My First Around the World (2020)
- John C. Harves, CoachingAmericanSoccer.com — Intermediate Soccer Juggling
- Beyond Football — Beginner Tips on How to Start and Learn Freestyle Soccer Tricks (n.d.)
- Urban Pitch (Christine Kwon) — Lexicon, Part 1: A Guide to Freestyle Terms (2016)
Last checked 2026-10-31.