Football, known as soccer sometimes, is the game with eleven players on each side attempting to score more goals than the other team. When the ball leaves the floor, it goes through the air and can be headed, chested or volleyed. A volley is the skill of kicking the ball while it is mid-flight.
The volley is one of the most difficult skills to perfect, with timing and co-ordination playing a major part in its success. One of the most important things to pack when you travel to volley-town, is a bag full of confidence. Fill your boots and take aim for a successful volley to hit the spot.
The volley is a difficult skill and with this difficulty comes great accolades and rewards. The most impressive volley will be the one that ends in a goal, often in a spectacular fashion. Some of the greatest goals ever scored will be volleys, because of the skill involved and the outcome looks great for fans to really appreciate.
Once you feel positive enough to attempt to volley the ball, make sure you practise so that your skills won't let you down in the matchplay situation. The key point in a good volley is the foot's contact with the ball. Strike it cleanly and with power for the most-effective volley you can possibly achieve.
Your hips will play a pivotal role in the volley, providing you with a great swivel motion to bring your striking foot towards the ball. With your standing foot firmly placed on the floor, your raised foot will be allowed to rotate on a flexible axis so you can adjust the direction in which you will volley the ball.
One of the most common problems with volleying will be the direction the ball travels after contact. Often, the volleyer will attempt to hit the ball so hard that it goes too high to trouble the opposition goalkeeper. Keep the ball down by only striking a volley when the ball is at a manageable height and ensure you don't raise your head when you strike.
Similar to golf, volleys can sometimes be hooked or sliced with the ball ending up far wide of its intended target. Try to strike the ball with the laces of your soccer boot and only use the sides to create swerve and curl. Do not attempt to volley with your toes as this could severely damage your foot and will make you look rather silly.
The best volleys are powerful, accurate and technically perfect. Some of the best goals are volleys, including the amazing angled-volley by Zinedine Zidane in the UEFA Champions League Final, 2002. Zidane, as the most technically-perfect footballer of his generation was one of the best volleyers in world football.
Some of the best footballers in the world still can't score as many great volleys as my next example. Tony Yeboah produced a series of stunning strikes in the English Premier League in the mid-1990s before fading to obscurity in the European leagues. The Ghanaian's strike against Liverpool rocketed off the underside of the bar and cemented his place in football history.
The art of volleying relies a lot on circumstance as you need to be in the right place at the right time during a game. However, if you fail to prepare properly then the ball will end up in Row Z of the stadium and you will be red-faced hiding under a hat on the way home. Practise, practise and more practise is needed or you will receive a volley of abuse from the crowd and your manager when you fluff a great chance.
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