The nature of football is such that the list of skills that you can learn is virtually endless, with the stop-go skill being another on a long list. Each skill is there to be used for different reasons and they all boast various levels of difficulty, with the stop-go certainly being on the list of easier ones.
That being said, pull it out at the right moment and it could make all the difference in your gameplay. It is something that an opposition player won’t necessarily see coming, in spite of its simplicity, meaning that you can use it to create some space for yourself during a game.
Stop And Then Go
This is one of those skills that the name tells you everything that you need to know. The most important thing to start with is that you have possession of the football. You can obviously use it as a skill all over the pitch, but more often than not, you will find that it is at its best when it is pulled out against a defender. That is because, typically speaking, defenders tend to be less mobile and agile than players in other positions of the team. You will begin moving towards your opponent before putting your foot on top of the ball and stopping its movement altogether, as well as your own.
From there, you will need to look at what your opponent is doing, because this move is at its most successful when the other player has planted their feet and assumes that you’re looking at your options of what to do next. In reality, you already have your next move queued up in your head, so the second your opponent stops, you can pull it out by kicking the ball in front of yourself into space, moving with it quickly. You can also do this when you shield the ball from an opponent, keeping them at bay whilst also giving yourself plenty of different options of what to do next.
The skill is also one that you want to use somewhat sparingly. You don’t want to bring it out every single time your opponent comes near to you, or else they’re going to learn to expect it. Instead, you might want to save it until later in a match, when the opposition has started to tire and you can offer them the chance of a rest before pushing the ball away from them and into space. Depending on where you are on the field, you will then be able to do something like get a shot away or find a pass to a member of your team so as to allow them to continue the attack, all thanks to the simple stop and go.