Heel Flick: Soccer technique, drills and fixes

A heel flick, usually called a back-heel, is a short touch with the back of your heel that sends the ball straight behind you, to a teammate or into space. It works because you can face one way and pass the other, so use it rarely and only when you know what's behind you. This is different from the Okocha Flick, where the heel pops the ball up over your head. Most of it is touch; the camera checks your balance and the backward flick of your leg, not the heel-to-ball contact.

Set up

Look around before the ball reaches you, so you know there's a teammate or open space behind you.

Know what's behind you first.

Plant your standing foot beside the ball, about 20 cm to the side, and get balanced so your kicking leg can swing freely. If the ball is rolling, plant a little further ahead to allow for its movement.

Steady on the standing leg.

Bring your kicking foot over the top of the ball, or around its side, knee bent, so your heel ends up just ahead of the ball's centre.

Flick

Lock your ankle with your toe pointing up and the sole of your boot roughly parallel to the ground.

Firm ankle.

Strike back through the middle of the ball with the middle of your heel. Make it a short, quick pop from the knee down, with no wind-up and little or no follow-through.

Just a little pop.

Keep the ball on the ground and turn your hips and shoulders square to the target so it travels straight back. Take a quick peek at the contact.

Chest to the target.

Weight it so a teammate can take it without breaking stride. If you played it into space to escape a trap, turn and go and get it.

Flick, then move.

Feel it

A good back-heel feels small: a firm ankle and a quick pop from the knee, not a big swing. The ball rolls straight back along the ground at a pace your teammate can run onto. Aiming is the hard part, because a curved heel is meeting a round ball, so expect misses early and go slowly at first.

Fix-its

The ball dies or stops short You're hitting it with your studs or on top of the ball. Lock your ankle, toe up, and strike the centre of the ball with the centre of your heel.
The ball goes off to the side Get your heel just ahead of the ball's centre, square your hips and shoulders to the target, and peek at the contact.
A big swing that feels awkward and gives it away Cut the wind-up. Power comes from the knee down; a short pop is enough.
You miss a rolling ball Plant your standing foot further ahead so the ball arrives under your heel as you strike.
It goes to nobody, or to a defender Look before you receive and only use it when someone or open space is there. Coaches advise against back-heels in your own defensive third.

Drill

Shadow it: practise the over-the-ball step and heel pop without a ball, then on a still ball, slowly.
Pairs about 10 m (10 yd) apart: back-heel to each other with both feet, using both the step-over and the swing-around-the-ball versions.
Run-past: partners start about 10 m apart; dribble toward your partner, who runs past you to take your back-heel. About 10 minutes, then repeat with the weaker foot.
Three cones: dribble to the top cone, back-heel the ball between the other two, retrieve it and repeat with each heel.
Small game, 4v4 on about 30 x 20 m: look for back-heels to switch play. Add a standing defender first, then a live one.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-30.