Freestyle soccer- The journey begins

There is an old Chinese proverb which says that the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Given below are some general outlines that a neophyte can look into, preparing to launch himself/herself into the world of Freestyle soccer as a career or just a hobby.

Freestyle soccer is the art of juggling a football with your legs, feet, chest, knees and lower legs. While juggling, the player performs various creative moves while not allowing the football to touch the ground.

There are two main basic steps that a person needs to learn first before attempting to perform any of the tricks, and these two things are:

1) Jugging the ball
2) Planting the ball

Juggling the ball
By getting the ball thrown at your waist and then kicking it as it lands is called juggling. It is a very important part of this sport and as it is a basic skill. You will see that as you improve in this practice, all your other skills will also improve. Keep practicing this skill over and over again. As get better you should notice an improvement in the following areas:
a) Touches
b) Balancing
c) Coordination of the ball

Planting the ball
This skill requires you to balance the ball on different parts of your body. The various parts of the body which are used for planting are:
a) Foot
b) Thigh
c) Shoulder
d) Head

The longer you can balance on a part of your body the better. Planting is also known as stalling.

Your first freestyle trick- Around the world
This is a simple trick, just the next level from juggling, that you can learn after learning the above mentioned skills. ATW or Around the world is a simple trick wherein the player rotates his/her knee around the ball. The three key steps in this trick are:

1) Balance the ball on a foot plant.
2) Toss it up and rotate your knee around the ball.
3) Kick the ball as it lands.

How to prepare for your practice sessions and the gear you need

Equipment
The most important thing you need to remember while practicing freestyle soccer is the comfort factor. You need to feel comfortable in the gear you use. Ignore what other people might think. So if you have to wear some extra pads for your practice, go right ahead.
Most people wear:
1) Three quarter pants
2) A T-shirt
3) Trainers
4) or five aside shoes

Warm up
Jog a little bit around the court to avoid muscle cramps.

By following the above steps you should be on your way to being a successful freestyle soccer player.