He was born with soft hands. The so-called experts want you to believe this. It is not the truth. Anyone who is willing to follow my simple instructions can develop soft hands and become more than adept at catching soccer balls.
There are three options available when preparing to catch a soccer ball with your hands. The first option, move your hands towards the ball. This is the worst of the three options. When you move your hands toward a fast-moving soccer ball, it turns your hands into a virtual baseball bat. Most likely, on contact, you will repel the oncoming soccer ball and miss the catch.
The second option is to keep your hands to yourself. It’s not as bad as the first option, but it still creates a situation where your hands act like a backboard that could easily repel the ball. Most soccer players realize this way. Teaching them to use their fingertips helps, but it’s not the best solution to the problem.
The third option, the one I recommend and seems to be used instinctively by the most successful wide receivers who are considered to have “soft hands.” It consists of moving the hands slightly backwards, approximately between the thumb and the middle finger, just before the ball comes into contact with the hands. You create a basket effect. For a brief period of time, your hands match the speed of the ball, in the same direction, of course, and then slow down to secure the catch. Creates less chance of fending off the ball and missing sacks.
The movement is similar to that of a tennis player when crossed by an errant ball. He just reaches out with his racket and catches the ball. It seems that the ball just sticks, almost magnetically, to the racket. However, it is the rapid acceleration and then deceleration of the hands that makes it work.
Wide receivers, grab an old tennis racket and a tennis ball. Start by holding the tennis racket in your dominant hand and tossing the tennis ball into the air with your non-dominant hand. Once the ball bounces, point the racket head toward the ball so you can make contact with the strings at that end. Just before making contact, you rapidly accelerate or decelerate the racket and bring it to a horizontal position to cradle the ball and therefore catch it. Once you’ve mastered the bounce, try tossing the ball into the air and catching it out of the air with your racket using the same technique. Once you master this technique, you’ll be on your way to being a better catcher.