Learn how to improve as a player with exercises at home, personal coaching and at our international events.

Below we are sharing some exercises that we teach through our virtual program, NF Virtual Academy. You can try these exercises on your own spare time as we are focusing on the shooting aspect of the game and how to improve your shooting technique as well as building up your physicality. You are free to share these exercises with your local team and coach.

You are also welcome to take part in our events if you want to get a complete feeling of all our training methods to improve yourself in all of the aspects of the game.

Meet our professional coaches from NF Academy, with coach experience in top Portuguese academies.

The plan is that you do all the psychical training exercises of three sets with 15 or 20 repetitions. It’s really important that you focus on your technique, body position, and your breathing while doing the exercises. Rest 30 seconds between sets, eat well before you start your training, drink a lot of water and do your best!

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Here are four exercises for which you can use at your spare time and/or show your local coach to use during your training sessions with your local club. To begin, you will need specific targets in mind when shooting, lower and top corners.
If possible, place small goals inside the big goal to have specific areas as targets. Focus on different surfaces when you are doing your shooting.

We have also listed variants to the exercises if you want to go further, you can also challenge yourself with the exercises by counting how many goals you have scored or create a punctuation system accordingly to the areas where you score (for example bottom corners 10 points, medium or high corner 25 points).

We recommend a duration of 8-10 repetitions with each foot on the first exercise and a repetition of 4-6 repetitions for the second, third and fourth exercise with a 30-second rest between the repetitions for all exercises.

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Exercise 1
Receive a back pass from a second player and after a “fake counter movement”, finish on first touch. Shoot close to the penalty area using the same foot as the side where you receive the ball from. Work on the precision shot to the same corners where you are oriented for. Use of the inside part of the foot.

Try also to receive the ball in the air to make a 1st touch finishing at the height of the waist

Exercise 2
Drive the ball from the starting point with a good pace attacking the cone (defender) and apply a dribble from the inside to the outside to the “finishing area”, there you are going to make a crossed shot to the far post.

Try also to work on your first post shooting on precision to both corners, bottom and top

Exercise 3
Drive the ball from the starting point with a good pace and before the cone (defender) make a 1-2 combination with a secondnd player to receive the ball on the back of the “defender”. Guide your first touch to the inside of the “finishing area” and on the second touch make a crossed shot to the far post.

Try also to work on first post shooting on precision to both corners, bottom and top, first touch shooting and you can also start the exercise by receiving and orienting a ball coming from the air.

Exercise 4
Player with the back to the goal receives a pass on a free (creativity)way with a technical move, without the ball touching on the cone (defender) to turn and immediately on that turn to make a shot.
Ideally players work on few touches, 2 to 3 the most to prepare that turn and shot. Start from coming behind the defender to avoid being on his range of vision and relate to real scenario.
Shoot with the opposite foot of the side you go: on the left you shoot with the right foot and on the other side is the opposite. At the center you choose but should always work on both.

Try also receiving to the outside on the sides and/or receive the ball when starting in the air.

The exercises mentioned are a part of the NF Virtual Academy program, which is a great program for players to further to develop and improve from home where you will work closely with a professional NF Academy coach.

In our one- or three-month Virtual Academy programs, players receive weekly physical, technical and theoretical training challenges and exercises from the coach. That means you can be anywhere in the world and train.

Each player will also receive individual follow-up and feedback through weekly video calls to evaluate the training and improvement areas for optimal development.

Try for free by signing up here for our free trial.

Check the complete Event Calendar here.