A half-volley is a strike made just as the ball comes up off the bounce. Hit it before it lands and it's a volley; hit it as it bounces and it's a half-volley. It lets you shoot, pass or clear a bouncing ball without controlling it first, but the timing window is small: US Youth Soccer introduces half-volley shooting at U12 and keeps building it at U14. We read your balance, your knee over the ball, a locked ankle and the follow-through, not the timing or where it flies.
Read the bounce
Pick your target first, then your surface. The laces (instep) give the most power, for a shot or a clearance. The inside of the foot gives the most control, for a pass or a placed finish.
you know where it's going before it lands.
Read where the ball will land and move straight there, quickly. Spin and the pitch surface can change the bounce, so arrive early and square your hips and shoulders to the ball's path, arms out for balance.
you're waiting at the spot, not chasing it.
Set your plant foot
Plant your standing foot alongside the ball as it bounces, toes pointing at your target. Keep that knee slightly bent and the whole foot on the ground, so you're balanced and the kicking leg can swing freely.
Keep your head and kicking knee over the ball. For the laces version, lean slightly away from your kicking leg so the foot can extend, but don't lean back.
head still, eyes down on the ball.
Strike it
Swing the leg back, then snap it forward just as the ball comes off the ground. US Youth Soccer's target is to hit it no more than about 2 inches (5 cm) off the grass. Keep the kicking foot low; the ball is barely in the air.
you catch it right off the grass, not on the way up to your knee.
Laces: toes down and curled back, ankle locked, and strike through the middle of the ball. Punch through the contact point. Hitting below the middle makes the ball rise.
Watch your foot make contact. Keep your head steady until you see the foot hit the ball.
Follow through
Follow through hard for power, and raise the kicking knee as you do. The foot travels generally forward. The raised knee is what keeps the ball under the crossbar.
Inside-of-the-foot version (to pass or place it): raise the kicking foot level with the ball, turn the leg out from the hip, toe up and heel down with the ankle firm, and meet it with the arch. Stay upright, pivot on the standing leg, and use a short follow-through toward the target, with the arm on your kicking side swinging back for balance.
a firm, flat side of the foot pushing the ball, not a swing.
Feel it
A clean strike right as the ball leaves the grass, your head still and over it, the knee coming up through the finish, and the ball staying low. If it sails high, you usually leaned back or got there late.
Fix-its
- Ball flies over the bar The two usual causes are leaning back and not getting to the ball fast enough. Arrive early, keep your head and knee over it, strike through the middle (not under it), and lift the kicking knee on the follow-through.
- Kicking leg comes up too high A common beginner habit. The ball is only a couple of inches off the ground at contact, so keep the foot low and swing through it, not up at it.
- Striking it late, as it rises toward your knee The later you hit it after the bounce, the higher it goes. Plant as it bounces and snap the leg forward the moment it comes off the ground.
- Off balance or falling away Plant fully on the ground with the standing knee slightly bent, arms out, and stay over that foot so the kicking leg swings freely.
- Inside-foot half-volley sprays off target The ankle is loose or the toe has dropped. Toe up, heel down, ankle locked, and hold the foot side-on to the ball's flight.
Drill
- Solo: drop a low ball and strike it on the bounce into a net, against a solid wall with no windows, or to a partner about 5 yards away. Use both feet.
- Served: a partner about 5 yards away serves underhand with two hands and little arc. 10–20 reps of each half-volley on each foot, then switch roles.
- Pairs both ways: the server returns your half-volley with an inside-of-the-foot half-volley. Swap roles and feet.
- Threes: a triangle about 5 yards apart using both types and both feet, then a version where you half-volley over the middle player's head.
- Distance and games: instep half-volleys to a target 30+ yards away, then shots near goal and clearances in game situations.
By position
Strikers and midfielders: a shot or pass off a bouncing ball without stopping it first. Defenders: the laces half-volley is a clearance option for a bouncing ball. Goalkeepers: the drop-kick works on the same idea, striking the ball just as it begins to rise from the bounce. For a ball dropping out of the air, see Volley; to kill a bounce instead of striking it, see Half Volley Control.
Sources
- US Youth Soccer — Skills School Manual (2017), ball properties p. 12, high/low pass table p. 22, half-volley passing p. 30, half-volley shooting p. 43, goalkeeper drop-kick p. 55, age groups p. 5
- John C. Harves, Coaching American Soccer — Intermediate Passing: Half-Volley
- England Football Learning — Different finishing techniques in football (2022)
Last checked 2026-10-31.