How to Curve a Soccer Ball

If you've ever watched David Beckham score one of his famous goals on a free kick, the curve on the ball is notable. Making the ball curve makes it much more difficult for the goalie to stop your shot, can make it easier for you to pass to a teammate and will just improve your overall soccer ability. Here is how you do it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A soccer ball.

Don't Make it Straight

1. Understand how the physics of movement works.You don't need to be a rocket scientist for this one at all. But the more spin a ball has, the more it will curve. It has to do with the way the forces act on the ball and how they differ on each side that makes it curve one way or another, but the point is the more spin, the more curve.
2. Know how your ball will move. Before you give it spin, make sure you understand exactly how your foot's motion will effect the ball. A ball that is spinning to the left, will curve to the left. A ball spinning to the right, will curve to the right.It's important that you also know where you want the ball to go and exactly how it should get there. Corner kicks often have spin on them, curving towards the goal area. This makes it much harder for the goalie to intercept the cross. But when you are passing to a teammate, you probably don't want the same type of action. Make sure you know what you are looking for before you curve the ball.
3. Kick it in the right spot.Curving the ball (putting spin on it) is all about where you kick it and how hard. Let's say you are looking straight on at a soccer ball at eye level. The part right in front of you is 6 o'clock, the part on the back is 12 o'clock, the right side is 3 o'clock and the left side is 9 o'clock.If you want to curve the ball to the left, you would kick it at around 7-8 o'clock on the ball. This will cause it to start spinning rapidly counterclockwise, and make it curve to the left. If you want to curve the ball to the right, you would kick it at around 4-5 o'clock on the ball. This will cause it to start spinning rapidly clockwise, and make it curve to the right. It's all about how much the ball spins. So the closer to the sides of the ball that you strike it (which is 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock) the more it will curve.
4. Curve it both ways.The ball can curve either way and you can do this with either foot.Let's say you want to kick with your right foot. To curve it to the left, you would kick the right side of the ball (7-8 o'clock), causing it t spin counterclockwise, and it will curve to the left.But if you wanted to curve it to the right, you can still use your right foot. You just kick the left side of the ball (about 4-5 o'clock) using the outside of your right foot, causing it to spin clockwise, and it will curve to the right. (Brazilian soccer stud Roberto Carlos is famous for this type of move).Again, the same can be said for your left foot. You can make it curve either way.

Tips & Warnings

• When making the ball curve one way or another, it is important to remember that you should still kick it the same way you always do. Use the inside of your foot (at the arch of the shoe) and make it swipe against the soccer ball at the point of impact. This will cause the spin and make the ball curve.
• Or if you are using the outside, kick the ball with the side your pinky toe, making it spin the other way, and curve another direction.
• Don't get curve-happy. Sometimes curving the ball can get the job done, but it's more difficult and often unnecessary. Do what you need to do to get the job done, but try to keep it simple when you can.