Soccer- detailed observations made of Eagle & Wildcat pattern aerial-dribble runs

This morning I worked for 3 hours in the YMCA gym, on the two soccer aerial-dribble patterns which are most ready to be implemented in actual games, the 'Wildcat', & the 'Eagle' patterns. Both patterns involve 4 touches on the ball and one bounce.

I felt that though I had advanced far in my understanding of the application of aerial-dribble to actual games, I was in danger of using my sense of accomplishment as an excuse for resting from and avoiding further mental activity regarding the implementation of aerial dribble in actual games.

I wanted to measure out exactly what happens where on the court, during the Eagle & Wildcat aerial-dribbles. I had no access to an overhead camera to record my movements. I set up a grid using colored cones and colored rubber plate-like-things, to mark off various positions on the court. My intent was to, after each aerial-dribble run, note down the coordinates of where on the court each event took place during the course of the aerial dribble run. Before I started I felt like I would not be intellectually speaking be up to the task remembering the exact location of the four events in the run that come after the initial starting kick of the run.

I found to my surprise, that I was able to record each event in the run from the very beginning (I admit sometimes my memory of an event was relatively uncertain). At first I found it useful to map the events out on graph paper. I placed a chair with my notebook pen and pencil on it near the end of the course I was running, so that I would have access to the paper and pen immediately after the run ended as opposed to having to walk back to the desk at the start-point to start writing in the notebook. I worked backwards, noting down first the last event in the run, then the second-last, and so forth. The first event of the run was always the hardest event to remember.

I took notes on 27 Eagle-pattern runs, and 25 Wildcat-pattern runs.

My ideas were: Knowing what a typical natural Eagle or Wildcat run is like, will help me set up the cones and markers for practicing such runs; marker targets for such runs should at first reflect what such runs are naturally like; practicing using markers that reflect natural typical runs will strengthen the skills involved with such natural/typical runs; I will be able to use my refined improved natural/typical skills, to perform new variations of the Eagle and the Wildcat; I need to know how far away an opponent should be if I am to commence an Eagle or Wildcat run; I need to know at which point the ball is airborne above everybody's head during such runs.

In general I was thinking along short-term lines hoping to be able to implement the runs in games next month, as opposed to long-term development of dazzling new tricks that will not be ready for a year. Hence I felt inclined to focus on skills that are relatively speaking more ready to be implemented during an actual game compared to other skills.

Facts I discovered re how things are initially and naturally with the 'Eagle' & 'Wildcat' Patterns:

Eagle: ideally, ends in ball being trapped to ground as soon as it bounces; on average covers 33 feet in distance from start to end; on average ball is chipped up at point 13 feet from start point; average chip to re-entry reception distance-- 20 feet; direction imparted to run via chip; angle of turn or slant relative to direction at start-- 18 degrees [http://www.visualtrig.com] (in fighter-pilot lingo, given 12:00 as straight ahead, to 11:30 or 12:30); suited for use when no defender in direction of movement for at least 10 feet; ball is airborne above players' heads from point 16 feet from start of run to point 26 feet from start of run.

Wildcat: on averages covers 32 feet in distance from start to end; on average ball is naturally headed at point 9 feet from start point; average header to kick distance-- 11 feet; average kick to bounce distance-- 7 feet; average bounce to kick distance-- 5 feet; direction imparted to run via header; angle of turn or slant relative to direction at start: 18 degrees (in fighter-pilot lingo, given 12:00 as straight ahead, to 11:30 or 12:30); suited for use when no defender in direction of movement for at least 6 feet; ball is airborne above players' heads from point 6 feet from start of run to point 16 feet from start of run.

Looking at the facts I now can see, that I should experiment with changing the Eagle pattern, so as to reduce the distance an opponent who is in the direction I intend to go, must be from me when I start the run. Such changes could involve changing events in the run, or changing how those events are performed.

Long distances between touches are glamorous and something I naturally strive for. Attempting to achieve long distances between touches produces acceleration in rate of skill improvement. Yet paradoxically in actual indoor games, conditions are crowded and short distances between t0uches are advantageous.

During the practice I discovered that I now have a natural ability I never knew I had: the ability to chip the ball up in the air to a point so it eventually reaches a point on the floor 20 feet away, sprint at full speed, and then trap the ball as soon as it hits the ground. Of the Eagle pattern runs done during the practice, the following numbered runs featured both sprint at full speed and also the ball being trapped as soon as it hit the ground, after the chip: 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27. 11 out of 27 or 41% of the Eagle runs, manifested high speed and the ball trapped against the ground after the chip. This skill/ability does not manifest until I have been warmed up, but after I have been warmed up, becomes almost ever-present.

I was thinking, how did I develop this ability to chip the ball up, sprint at full speed, and then trap it against the ground at a point about 20 feet away as soon as it hits the ground? Then I realized that previously for a long time, my practices had consisted of air-dribbling the ball, keeping the ball under tight control whil I ran, without letting it bounce. When the ball is in such fashion air-dribbled without bounces, the foot usually hits the ball when the ball is close to just a foot above the ground. Similarly, when I trap the ball to the ground after I chip it, the timing is such that my foot reaches the ball when it is close to the ground.

Cobbler-altered soccer shoes working great

On May 18 (David Virgil's Blog: Adidas Top Sala X IN my choice for soccer shoes) I reported how I had bought a new pair of indoor soccer shoes.

For 3 months, until August 22, I suffered through what could be called a 'defect' in the Top Sala X IN shoe: it features a stout high thick horizontally and vertically prominent toe-ridge, in between the sole and the soft top of the shoe.

This toe-ridge caused problems for my style of game: it was very difficult to roll the ball back with the right foot and then immediately flip it up and forwards to start an aerial run (I am left-footed). It was very difficult to start a run by flipping the ball up high with the right-foot after rolling it back, so as to be able to contact the ball with the thigh not the foot on the first touch of the run; it was difficult to do such with the left-foot.

I suffered through the impairment caused by the prominent toe-ridge for too long. I felt as if I would simply be able to tough it out, and develop the skills I wanted to develop, despite the toe-ridge issue. Since the toe-ridge generally speaking was impairing my right-footed work and not my left-footed work (I am left-footed) I felt as if the problem was a skill problem not a foot problem.

Darius from Lithuania showed me that when it comes to doing the 'sombrero' move wherein the ball is flipped up without it first being rolled back, that this move could be done with my Top Sala shoes featuring the prominent toe-ridge.

Finally I got around to looking around for a cobbler who would be able to sand down the prominent toe-ridge, and who would take a credit card I use to spend a certain private fund's money. Most of the cobblers did not take credit cards. The closest one was working only two days a week, and I remembered how he usually told me that the work I wanted to do on a shoe should not be done because it would be too expensive and a new pair of shoes should be bought instead.

I found a cobbler (Shoe Repair Newton, MA - The Cobbler Shop) who did an excellent job sanding down the toe-ridge, using a powered machine-sander type tool he had in his shop; and he only charged me $10, the credit card minimum. This cobbler looked like a soccer player; the result produced by the machine sander was so perfect it looked like the shoe came straight out of the factory after he sanded down the toe-ridge.

The cobbler warned me before he did the work, that there was a possibility that my shoe would not survive the work, but I told him to go ahead, and everthing worked out great.

The first couple of days after he sanded down the toes on August 22, I did not notice improvement, but after August 24th improvement accelerated dramatically, compared to how things were going before the cobbler machine-sanded down the toes.

I am now convinced that the Adidas Top Sala X IN shoes with the prominent toe-ridge sanded down, are the best shoes available for my kind of game. The mesh helps to catch the ball like a basket for glancing blows to the underside of the ball with the top of the foot; the shoelaces run down the middle which enhances backspin; the prominent toe-ridge is no longer a problem for flipping the ball up, or in terms of having to get the foot extra low when kicking the underside of the ball.

Come to think of it, the toe-ridge is not a defect, in that if you know how to work with a competent cobbler, you can customize the size and shape of the toe-ridge.

Note: Darius seemed convinced that his method of flipping the ball up, which does not involve having to roll it backwards immediately before flipping it up and forwards, was superior to my method involving flipping the ball up after rolling it backwards. However I am sure that my method is superior. Fact is that in reality, to use Darius' method, one must first stop the ball with the sole of the foot on top of the ball. Once the ball is thus stopped, taking the foot off the ball without rolling it back, & then flipping it up, simply greatly reduces speed, accuracy and range.