futsal-soccer-coaching

Billy Wingrove, is a British Football Pro-Freestyler. Born 15 November 1982 in London, England. Billy began learning his football freestyle skills as a child. Beginning with the standard keepie uppie skills in the local park, Billy would stay behind when all his friends had gone home, to practice some extravagant football skills that would impress his friends and family.

Billy comes from a football family, but unlike his father, who played for Tottenham Hotspur and cousin who played for Arsenal, Billy preferred to use and express his skills as an individual instead of as part of a team, although his talents have still established him with local semi-professional sides.

As he grew older he learned more and more tricks and became part of the network of young football freestylers in the London area. In 2003, Billy entered the NIKE freestyle competition in London Earl's Court, and out of 6,000 contestants, he reached the semi-finals.

He began to study and copy some of the tricks shown on TV by Ronaldo, Romario and the rest of the Brazil squad in the famous Nike 'Airport' commercial. Billy has been working as a "professional" football freestyler since the 2003 NIKE Freestyle event in London.

Billy became the first football freestyler to be signed up as professional "Football Freestyler" by a professional with his friend Fidan Morina from Kosovo club. When Premiership team, Tottenham Hotspur signed him up. Billy displays and teaches his freestyle tricks and skills for Tottenham's coaching in the community schemes, corporate sponsors and on the pitch for half-time and pre-match entertainment for Premiership games. He has also appeared as half time entertainment for England international matches.

In 2005 Billy appeared in KDDI TV commercial with japanese footballer Shinji Ono. Shortly after this Billy appeared with Wayne Rooney for a Coca Cola promotion and was also featured J-league stars in Japanese football magazine "Footival". Billy work has also been featured in the UK magazines FourFourTwo and Match. Coca Cola, O2, Barclaycard, Disney, and Sky Sports have all since used Billy for promotions or advertising.

Once upon a time, this skill was one of the most important components of soccer. However, in today's modern game with it's intricate patterns and elaborate coaching schemes, there are few opportunities for long sprints with the ball without being chopped in half. Still, in certain circumstances, fast runs with the ball can give a team invaluable advantages.

Let's admire Cristiano Ronaldo for a while.

The Madrid striker has supersonic speed and the safest ball control going around. He scores goals with the greatest of ease. But it's his ability to run with the ball that is his priceless asset.

Let us emphasize again that in the modern game we should aim at minimizing long runs with the ball which slow the game down unless they open up passages for the quick counter attack. When you run with the ball, usually you prod it in front of you with one of three parts of the foot; inside of the foot, full instep and outside of the instep. A player looking for a career in soccer must be able to use all three variations even if the full instep technique is rarely needed.

Inside of the foot

We push the ball with the same inside part of the foot that we use for passing. The ankle is loose and relaxed and the foot is turned slightly outwards. The ideal sequence is to use the same foot for every prod or touch of the ball with every second step. When a great player runs with the ball, he gives the illusion of the ball being tied to his foot, with the ball being under his body which gives his opponent no chance of intercepting the ball. Zidane and Figo were the best at this technique and it seemed like they never lost the ball.

Full Instep

This is the most difficult of the three techniques. We keep pushing and prodding the ball with the full instep about where the bootlaces are. The foot is turned down towards the ground and it hits the ball near the top. The real advantages of this method is that the running style is more continuous.

Outside of the Instep
The foot is turned inwards and we keep pushing the ball with the outside of the foot which all but embraces the ball. When the opponent is running alongside or parallel with us, we keep the ball on the foot away from him on his blind side, preferably with the inside of the foot or outside of the instep.

When the opponent is approaching directly ahead, we lead the ball with the inside, giving us a better chance to dribble past him. With beginners or kids begin coaching with the inside of the foot variety. First, let them walk with the ball, taking care of their balance, the distance between the foot and the ball and the direction. Later, when the kids get the hang of it we can speed this up, first through jogging and then running with the ball.

Let's teach youngsters to be able to use both feet. The ultimate is the player who can run with the ball, pushing it ahead of him with both feet, changing direction whenever necessary, slowing down and speeding up to get rid of an opponent. South Americans are the master of this technique, shielding the ball perfectly and changing directions with the slightest movement of the hips. The English on the other hand prefer the direct, energetic sprints which may appear more spectacular but where the ball may be lost from the foot.

When training youngsters always remember to encourage, be patient and train them with the biggest smile you can produce.