Juggling is it Worth the Time?

Is Juggling important to player development?

It is an age old debate, is spending time juggling worth it for developing soccer players?  Some coaches say, you don’t juggle in games and juggling just creates highlight reels for Youtube. Those coaches place little to no emphasis on juggling ability.  Other Coaches say juggling is vitally important to developing individual skills as a player. It is understandable that coaches have different opinions on this subject as coaches must maximize the time they have with players. That limited time is spent doing those things that are going to provide the greatest improvement to the team.  Spending valuable team practice time on juggling may not be the most effective way to improve the entire team.  

Team development and player development may not be in sync, so players have a responsibility to continue to develop outside of team practices.  Juggling is a necessary skill for all soccer players, but time limitations in practice don’t allow for much emphasis during actual practices.  It is incumbent on players to juggle on their own and make it a central part of their individual home training sessions.

The Benefits of Juggling

• TOUCH – especially first touch is vitally important for a top soccer player. A good first touch allows for a player to be comfortable under pressure or in tight field situations.  Juggling directly relates to the first touch ability. With a great or even good “touch” a player will be comfortable with the ball. A comfortable player is more likely to keep possession, even in difficult situations.  
• BALANCE, AGILITY, AND COORDINATION – the ability to juggle helps players with their balance, agility and coordination.  Balance and agility are needed for competent soccer players. Juggling improves a player’s balance by consistently moving, but keeping control of the ball.  Agility is improved as maximum effort is used to keep the ball off the ground.  Foot to eye coordination is improved with more touches and the repetitive nature of juggling 
• RECEIVING THE BALL IN THE AIR OR ON A BOUNCE – balls are not always passed perfectly on the ground, players need to be able to take a ball out of the air or after it takes a tough bounce.  Being able to bring the ball down and control it quickly allows the player to put their opponent into difficult situations.  The quicker you can gain control of the ball the faster you can do something with it
• PASSING A BOUNCING BALL – this is the combination of touch and receiving less than a perfect ball.  A player with the ability to take a bad ball and get it back under control by being able to redirect it to a teammate in a usable fashion, quickly puts their team back into quick control of the situation.
• THE VOLLEY – often the difference between a shot on goal or losing possession. The ability to shoot off the volley is key to goal scoring.  Players who juggle have trained their leg muscles to adjust the touch to control different angles and speeds of balls in the air or on the bounce. Control of bouncing balls is often the difference in finishing the goal.
• REPETITION – in sport, like life, doing something over and over again leads to competence and finally mastery.  Juggling provides opportunities for players to touch the ball a large number of times in different situations.
• CONFIDENCE – juggling creates confidence in players, if a player can juggle competently, they will feel a lot of pride and confidence in their abilities. 

Individual Effort and Motivation  

As discussed in our article on pick up soccer, there is only so much a player can learn in the current American soccer structure.   Juggling is something that players can do individually to improve themselves.  Self training outside of structured practices signals to coaches and teammates the desire to improve as a player.  Additionally, juggling helps players hone their focus, concentration and discipline, all important attributes for soccer players.

Juggling is a soccer activity that players can do on their own.  It does not require much time, a daily 5-10 minute juggling session can provide significant player improvement over time. 

Juggling can be done in small and even indoor spaces. 

Players can also practice juggling at pick up soccer events or if they come early to organized practices.

Juggling needs to be a part of every player’s home workout regime.  

Tips for Practicing Juggling

• Juggling with only your non-dominant foot for as long as you can
• Start the juggle from the ground (don’t use your hands)
• Juggling in a set sequence (for example, right foot, right thigh, head, left thigh, left foot, repeat)
• Remove thighs from the juggling options
• Juggling with no spin (or topspin, or sidespin)
• With a partner, juggling for a set number of touches before sending a ball chest-high to your teammate who does the same
• Juggle while you are jogging forward
• Challenging yourself to reach a certain number of juggles, such as 10 to start and then 100 and then 500 (use a juggling aid if needed)
• Juggling a set number of times, then catching the ball on the top of your foot and holding it there for a couple of seconds before resuming juggling
• Juggling while keeping the ball below your waist at all times (or above your head, or some other height)
• Juggle with smaller soccer balls

Take a look at this instructional video for beginning jugglers. 

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