Volley: Soccer technique, drills and fixes

A volley is striking the ball out of the air before it bounces, here with your laces (instep) as you face it. It lets you shoot or clear without taking a touch, so the keeper and defenders get less time; one biomechanics paper counted volleys as 33 of the 171 goals at the 2014 World Cup. We read your balance on the standing leg, your knee over the ball, a locked ankle and a compact swing.

Read it

Pick your target first, then read the flight and move into line with the ball early. You want to meet it where it comes down, not reach for it.

Check who is near before you raise your foot. If an opponent is close enough to head or reach the ball, a high foot is dangerous play (an indirect free kick). Head it, chest it or let it drop instead.

Plant your standing foot pointing at the target, knee slightly bent, arms out for balance. Get your kicking foot behind the line of the ball.

eyes on the ball the whole way, not on the goal.

Strike it

Wait for the ball to drop below knee height. This is the hardest part. Swing early and you hit it while it's high, and it flies up.

Lift your kicking knee so your hip and knee are over the ball as it comes through. Take the leg back and up with a shorter backswing than for a shot off the ground.

Point your toes down and lock your ankle, the same foot shape as your laces drive. Lean slightly sideways, away from the kicking leg, so the foot can extend. Don't lean back.

an instep drive in the air.

Strike through the middle of the ball or slightly above it to keep it down. Hit slightly below the middle only when you want height. Watch your foot make contact.

Swing from the knee for a short volley, from the hip for distance. Keep the swing smooth; don't snatch at it.

Finish

Follow through with your kicking foot toward the target, head steady. For a short volley pass the follow-through can be shorter.

Look up only after your kicking foot is back on the ground. Lifting your head early is how clean volleys turn into scuffs.

Feel it

Your knee is up and over the ball, your foot is stiff with the toes down, and the ball cracks off your laces and stays low toward the target. You see your foot hit the ball. If it skies, you leaned back, struck under it or didn't wait for it to drop.

Fix-its

Ball flies over the bar You leaned back or struck under the middle. Get your hip and knee over the ball, stay upright, and hit through the middle or just above it.
You swing too early and loft it You didn't let it come down far enough. Wait until it's below knee height, then swing.
Kicking leg comes up too high Lift the knee only enough to get your foot level with the ball. A leg that's too high meets the bottom of the ball.
You scuff or miss it Your eyes left the ball. Watch your foot make contact and keep your head down until the foot lands.
Weak, wobbly contact Your ankle went loose. Toes down, ankle locked. Also let the ball drop lower: in one lab study, volleys struck higher off the ground came off slower.

Drill

On your own: drop the ball and gently punt it low and straight off your laces into a wall or net. Focus on toes down and a locked ankle, not power.
Partner serves: a partner about 5 yards away tosses underhand with both hands, low arc. Volley it back to their chest. 10 to 20 volleys with each foot.
Triangle: three players about 5 yards apart. One serves, you volley to the third player, then rotate. Use both feet.
Over the middle: the middle player serves and you volley over their head to the player behind them. Rotate after each turn.
Distance and goal: volley to a target 30 yards or more away, then volley shots and clearances from served balls near goal. Train both legs equally.

By position

Strikers and attacking midfielders: the instep volley is mainly a shooting tool for balls dropping into the box. Defenders: it's mainly a clearance, so aim for distance and height away from goal. Everyone: if the ball is too high to volley, you're into side volleys and scissor kicks, which are separate lessons.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-30.