The toe bounce is foot-only juggling: you keep the ball in the air with soft taps off the top of your foot, the laces just behind the toes, not the tip of your toe. It's the next step after basic Juggling: no catches, no thighs, both feet, and a steady run of low touches. Be honest about what it gives you: it's good touch practice and fun on your own, but one six-week study found juggling practice improved juggling and not receiving a ball, so practise your first touch separately.
Set up
Stand upright with your standing knee slightly bent. Eyes down on the ball, arms bent at the elbows and held a little out at your sides, as if carrying a crate.
balanced, light, ready to shuffle.
Pick firm, flat ground and start from a drop. Hold the ball, let it fall, and tap it before it hits the ground. If you can't do two or three foot-only taps yet, go back to the bounce-tap-catch steps in Juggling first.
Bounce
Lift your kicking knee a little so the foot comes just off the ground, and meet the ball low. One coaching guide puts the contact about 20–30 cm above the ground.
the ball drops to your foot; you don't reach up for it.
Tap directly under the ball with your laces, foot firm and flat. Coaches differ on the toe: one says toes slightly up, another says extend the ankle so the sole stays parallel to the ground and the ball doesn't spin. Either works if the laces are flat under the middle of the ball. Both guides use the laces, not the tip of the toe.
a soft pop under the ball, not a kick through it.
Keep every touch the same small height, below your hip. Low, even taps come back faster and are easier to repeat than big ones.
same height, same tap, again and again.
Alternate feet: right, left, right. Each tap should go straight up so the other foot gets an easy ball. Take small shuffles to stay under the ball instead of stretching for it.
Feel it
Calm and repetitive: small, soft taps off the laces that rise straight up and drop back to where you're standing. You're on your toes making little adjusting steps, upper body upright and relaxed, arms out a little. If you're lunging around chasing the ball, your touches are too big or you're hitting the back of the ball.
Fix-its
- Ball shoots forward away from you You're kicking through the back of the ball or using the toe tip. Lift the knee and tap directly under the ball with the laces flat.
- Ball spins off to the side Your foot is tilted or you're hitting off-centre. Keep the foot firm and the laces flat under the middle of the ball.
- Bounces get bigger and wilder You're hitting harder each time. Soften the tap and aim for the same low height, below the hip, every touch.
- Flat-footed, always reaching Get up on your toes and take small steps so your body is under the ball before it drops.
- Weak foot breaks the run every time Do a few rounds on the weak foot alone, then go back to alternating.
Drill
- No-bounce ladder: drop, tap, catch. Build to 2, 3, 4 or more taps before catching. Several rounds on each foot.
- Alternating run: right, left, right, left, every touch. Count your longest run and try to beat it.
- Height control: keep every touch below your hip, then switch to keeping every touch above your knee.
- One foot per leg: in a 10 m lane, juggle with only your right foot out to a cone and only your left foot back. If the ball drops, sit on it before you carry on.
- On the move: walk slowly while you keep the ball up with alternate feet. Keep the touches low; speed only once the touches stay clean.
Sources
- easy2coach — Juggling alternating left and right (n.d.)
- Soccer Coach Weekly, Dave Clarke — Soccer juggling drills for better ball control (n.d.)
- FIFA Training Centre, Branimir Ujevic — Mastering ball control (2024)
- FIFA Training Centre, Angelo Schirinzi — Beach soccer #03: Juggling (2023)
- Raastad, Aune & van den Tillaar — Effect of practicing soccer juggling with different sized balls upon performance, retention, and transfer to ball reception, Motor Control (2016)
Last checked 2026-10-31.