The bicycle kick (overhead kick) is a shot with your back or side to goal: you push off, tip your body back until it is almost flat in the air, scissor your legs and strike a ball above head height back over your head. The landing is the dangerous part, so you learn the fall first: hands and forearms take the impact with bent elbows, you twist slightly to one side and keep your head forward off the ground. We read your body shape in the air, the scissor of the legs and how safely you land, so build it on soft ground.
Land safely (learn this first)
Learn the fall before the kick. On a gym mat or soft grass, start crouched low and sit back. Let your hands and forearms touch down first, arms slightly out from your body, with the elbows bending to soak up the impact.
Soft arms, never a post.
Twist at the waist so you come down slightly to one side, then roll through your bottom, hip and shoulder. Never land flat on your back. If you kick with your right foot you will tend to land more to your left, and the other way round.
Hands, then roll.
Bend your head forward at the neck, chin toward your chest, with the neck muscles tight, so your head never touches the ground.
Head off the floor, always.
Raise the height only when every fall is soft and controlled. Keep sessions short and stop when you are tired: tired falls are worse falls.
Safety before spectacle.
Set up
Choose it only when the ball is arcing down above head height, you have your back or side to goal, no defender is close and the pitch is not wet or bad. If a simpler play is on, play simple.
Clear space or no kick.
Get to your launch spot early, with your back square to the line you want the shot to travel.
Back to the target.
Jump & pedal
Push off with your kicking foot. Thrust the non-kicking leg up hard first while your arms, head and shoulders go back, so your body tips until it is almost parallel with the ground.
Other leg up, body flat.
Switch legs in the air: the non-kicking leg drops away as the kicking leg swings up past it. That switch is the scissor, or pedal.
Pedal a bike upside-down.
Strike it
Wait the split second for the ball to drop, then meet it above head height. Strike with the full instep (laces) slightly above the middle of the ball as the kicking leg straightens fully, so it stays under the bar. Keep your eyes on the ball and try to see your foot hit it.
Laces over the top half.
Land
Come down the way you practised: bent arms lower you first, then your feet touch down and your legs help control the landing as you roll slightly to the side, head forward and off the ground.
Arms, roll, head clear.
Feel it
Your body goes almost flat in the air with your momentum heading back toward goal, your legs pedal, and the laces meet the ball above your head. Then the bent arms catch you and you roll off to one side with your head clear of the ground. If you are landing hard on your back, a straight arm or your head, stop and go back to falls on the mat. Expect many misses: this is a low-percentage skill.
Fix-its
- You land flat on your back or on straight arms Stop kicking and go back to falls on the mat from a crouch. Hands and forearms first with bent elbows, twist at the waist, roll through bottom, hip and shoulder.
- Your head hits or snaps toward the ground Bend your head forward at the neck and keep the neck muscles tight. Drill the fall from low until it is automatic before adding any height.
- The ball flies over the bar You are hitting below its middle. Get the laces slightly over the top half of the ball as your leg straightens.
- You kick too soon or miss the ball Get to your launch spot earlier and wait the split second for the ball to drop. Push off the kicking foot and drive the other leg up hard to get high enough.
- Dangerous play is called A bicycle kick is only legal if it is not dangerous to an opponent. A boot near a player's head, or an opponent who pulls out for fear of being hurt, is an offence. Only go for it in clear space.
Drill
- Landing practice on a gym mat with no ball: from a crouch near the ground, sit back, absorb with hands and bent arms, twist and roll. Repeat until every fall is soft.
- Lying start: lie on your back on the mat, head toward goal, knees bent. A partner holds the ball in place and you do the scissor motion and strike it.
- Overhead hitch kick from about 15 yards, facing away from goal, to groove the kicking motion with less height.
- Served balls: a partner gives a high, two-handed underhand toss from at least 10 yards. Soft grass or a mat, and never practise alone.
- Shots from about 15 yards at three targets (near post, middle, far post), then add movement. Keep attempts few and stop when tired: the landing is the biggest risk.
By position
Mainly an attacking shot, usually inside the penalty area. It is too risky as a defensive clearance. Learn the Scissor Kick (side volley) first, since its fall and timing lead into this one.
Sources
- US Youth Soccer — Skills School Manual: Bicycle Kick, Scissors Side Volley (2017), pp. 44–45
- John C. Harves, Coaching American Soccer — Soccer Bicycle Kick
- John C. Harves, Coaching American Soccer — Soccer Flying Side Volley Kicks
- IFAB — Laws of the Game, Law 12 Fouls and Misconduct: playing in a dangerous manner (latest edition)
- Lockhart et al. — A Systematic Review on the Biomechanics of Breakfall Technique (Ukemi) in Relation to Injury in Judo, Int J Environ Res Public Health (2022)
- Weerdesteyn, Groen, van Swigchem & Duysens — Martial arts fall techniques reduce hip impact forces in naive subjects after a brief period of training, J Electromyogr Kinesiol (2008)
Last checked 2026-10-31.