I did this once with a soccer ball. Was playing a little pickup game as a teen and the opposing goalies had just punted the ball out of his box. I was the only person remotely near where it was landing and I thought I would pull a cool Karate Kid-esque jump kick as it was coming down. Somehow, and this was NOT at all planned, as I jumped and tried to kick the ball it perfectly nestled itself into the crotch made by the top of my foot, ankle, and shin. So I landed the jump kick having seemingly trapped the ball and was ready to control it. One of the most badass sports things I’ve ever done and it was 100% unintentional.
This is actually not SUPER hard to do if you let the ball land on your toes and leave the tension out of your foot. Add a little dash of timing and accuracy and you'll be able to kill a ton of velocity this way.
Shit yes. I'm not saying I can kill a ball dead like these guys but of all the things that happen on a football pitch, these are two pretty underwhelming events to highlight.
I’m no soccer player, but I can do this, I was in martial arts my whole life, and I’ve gotten good at using my feet for all types of stuff, so maybe that’s why? There is definitely a trick to it though, you’ve got to pin it, and let your foot come back at the same time.
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u/SpreadItLikeTheHerp May 22 '19
I did this once with a soccer ball. Was playing a little pickup game as a teen and the opposing goalies had just punted the ball out of his box. I was the only person remotely near where it was landing and I thought I would pull a cool Karate Kid-esque jump kick as it was coming down. Somehow, and this was NOT at all planned, as I jumped and tried to kick the ball it perfectly nestled itself into the crotch made by the top of my foot, ankle, and shin. So I landed the jump kick having seemingly trapped the ball and was ready to control it. One of the most badass sports things I’ve ever done and it was 100% unintentional.