Master your finishing: The serve and volley

Not every ball into the box is going to be perfect - as a forward, your job is to adapt to the delivery, before deciding on your course of action. Do you hit the ball first time? Or would it be better to take a touch?

Whatever you choose, it's important to have a clear idea in your head of what you want to do. From then on, it's all about the execution.

With this drill from the Nike Academy, two players feed balls from either side of the goal, with the striker in the middle choosing to either to control the ball or go for the headline-grabbing - albeit riskier - volley, depending on the trajectory of the delivery. 

"The idea is to make sure that we can get accuracy before power," says, Academy head coach Jimmy Gilligan.

"But the onus is on the technique of the volley, which can come from all angles in the game. What we want the boys to do is make sure they keep their eye on the ball and look at it whilst hitting it.

"They don't need to look at the goal, because the goal never moves."

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.

For more shooting drills see:
Master your finishing: 1 v 1 attacking
Master your finishing: Combination play in and around the penalty area
Master your finishing: Three finishes in one
Master your finishing: Heads and tails
Master your finishing: Power shooting
Master your finishing: Shots and blocks
Master your finishing: The toe poke
Master your finishing: The reverse pass to cross and finish
Master your finishing: The four-way finish