Foundations

     Back when I first started working with the group of players who would become Girl Power* one of my favorite ways to warm up the team at the start of training or before games was to play keep-away. I'd take off with the ball and challenge the whole team to try and take it away from me.  The kids always loved it and it gave me an opportunity to introduce them to the idea that soccer is a game of dribbling as opposed to "kicking and running".  I would do my best to keep the ball very close to me and to keep possession while never simply running away from the kids.  If one of the players did get the ball from me it was gratifying to see some of them emulate me and try to dribble and control the ball rather than just kick it.  

    Over time I began to introduce my players to fundamental ball control exercises like "toe-taps" and "foundations" (bells) and I regularly noticed that for many players these exercises felt silly and pointless, unrelated to the game.  To convince players that it was worth their effort to apply themselves to becoming competent at toe-taps and foundations I would challenge them to steal the ball from me in a 1v1 game of keep-away.  Before we started I might explain to the whole group "I'll dribble to keep the ball but only using toe-taps" or "only using foundation touches and we'll see if they can get if from me."  By doing that regularly I was able to convince most players that the fundamental skills we were learning from just those two exercises were skills they could use effectively in games, skills that would make them better at the game they loved.

     As we progress through learning different change of direction moves and deceptive techniques those two control skills, controlling the ball with your toes (toe-taps) or with your instep (foundations), turn out to be the fundamental touches that most of our 1v1 moves are built from.   Below are some video clips from a recent Girl Power game in which I've isolated aspects of their game that demonstrate how important those fundamental control touches are, how they just show up everywhere in a game.

Above you see Abby stealing the ball cleanly out of the reach of an opponent by using a little instep chop or "foundation" touch.

This video also shows the value of the "foundation" or bells touch as Hailey deftly makes a little right-left move that completely bamboozles her opponent.  I can remember clearly how frustrated all the girls were with learning "foundations" and yet here it is helping them get to goal.

In this clip you see Ava using a move that we practice until the team is sick of it, the Cruyff turn.  It's a move that builds directly off of that foundation instep touch and here you see Ava using it to escape from a player who is a good head taller than her.  Also note that Ava's confidence in this skill after so much practice allows her to dribble directly at our own goal in order to set her opponent up for the deceptive turn.

I wanted to include one example of some very heads-up passing too as the ability to look up and see opportunities even before the ball comes to you is something that requires the confidence you develop from being comfortable with the ball at your feet.  In this case Ava isn't concerned about the tight spot she's about to be in with the ball.  Rather she's only thinking of the next move, how to get the ball to Hailey. 

Finally, here is that "foundations" based Cruyff turn again, this time from Zoe.  It's as smooth as can be and that's the result of hundreds of repetitions so that now Zoe can execute this skill without thinking about it.

*Girl Power parents should remember that it was originally "Girl Power Plus Micah" and if you haven't noticed Micah lately at Legends you need to be on the lookout for him.  He's become an amazing player.