Master your control

The first training session back after a long, relaxing summer can be a demoralising affair. Rust has set in and the ball treats you like a stranger. The gaffer’s eyes roll as he sees your first touch fly into the bushes.

Then you try a step over, but it turns into a step on and you trip over the ball and face plant into the ground with your shorts somehow ending up around your ankles. Whoops.

But FFT wants to help you avoid this embarrassing episode, by giving you a technical drill to use during the off-season.

The drill in this video, courtesy of Matt Wells, assistant coach at the Nike Academy, will help you maintain your touch during the summer, while your team-mates are idle.

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"The variations in this drill teach the players how to shift the ball away from an oncoming defender and develops their control in tight areas," explained Wells.

"This is a great drill to do over the summer and during pre-season because it's great for the maintenance of your touch and keeps you ticking over.

"You have to get used to playing off both feet and it really improves flexibility and helps maintains agility over a summer where you're not going to be playing a lot of football."

So make sure you're the shining light, rather than the laughing stock by doing that bit extra this summer.

You can find out more about how you can get involved with the Nike Academy, and watch the players’ progress this season, by visiting facebook and NikeFootball.com

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