How To Lift A Soccer Ball Up

Getting good lift on your soccer kicks can help you send the ball downfield if you are a goalkeeper, like Hope Solo of the U.S. Women's National Team. It's also useful if you play in the back line and need to the clear the ball to win time for your defense to regroup. Kick with power to get the process started. A powerful kick takes advantage of a principle of physics that dictates that greater ball speed and spin creates more lift, as air molecules flow irregularly over the surface of the ball and pull it higher.

Step 1

Stand three steps behind the ball and slightly off to the side. Run up to the ball and plant your foot about 6 inches to the side of its midpoint.

Step 2

Swing back your other leg and then swing it forward. Strike the ball so your toe goes under the ball. "Instead of pointing your foot to send the ball forward, you lift your toe up to get the ball on top of your laces, and then you scoop it up in the air," says Wes Harvey, former coach of the Morgan State University men's soccer team in Baltimore, Maryland. Follow though by continuing to swing your leg, lifting up both your foot and your toe.

Step 3

Lift your head back instead of having your head over the ball. "The proper opposition for a low shot is with your head and knee lined up over the ball," Harvey notes. On a shot that needs to go up, extend your foot forward compared to your knee and head, so that your body leans slightly back.