What if that right there is the problem?

While they obviously do many things way better than us, what if the greatest improvement to our own game is visible in what they don't do?

In this video, I'll tell you 8 common mistakes that you may be making which are costing you goals.

Welcome back to the channel, or welcome if you're new.

The first common mistake we're making when we're finishing is picking your head up as you shoot.

Oftentimes, when we're shooting, we get so excited to shoot and score, we pick up our head as we strike the ball.

This can result in us getting worse contact with the ball and not striking it properly.

I learned this tip at a young age.

When you shoot, you should not see yourself score.

Focus on keeping your head down and watch your foot strike through the ball.

Then you can pick your head up.

I don't know how many of you have golfed before, but it's just like that.

When you golf, you want to keep your head down because pulling up too early can cause your shot to go off to the right or left.

This is the exact same for soccer.

Even just a couple of centimeters from where you wanted to make contact with the ball can cause your shot to either blaze over the bar, get topped and be bouncy, or get pulled wide of the goal.

The next common mistake we make when we're finishing is trying to take the net off the goal.

And while I don't mean that literally, we often are trying to hit the ball too hard and because of that, we don't strike the ball properly causing our shot to be inaccurate.

Even if you're taking a shot from range, you're better off taking just a little bit of power off your shot to make sure you shoot with the proper technique because if your shot is off target, there's absolutely no way it goes in.

Even if the shot has less power, but it is placed in the corner of the goal, at the very least you're making the keeper work to save it and it may still hit the back of the net.

But even if you don't score, you could still get a corner or score off a rebound if the keeper can't catch it.

I'm not telling you to strike the ball softly, but ensure that you use the correct technique and the power in the shot comes naturally.

If you're struggling to shoot with power and accuracy, then watch this video next, but don't go yet since we're just getting started here.

The third mistake goes along with the last one.

In order to score in the top corner, it makes sense that you aim there, right?

Wrong.

And that's because it's such a small target that any slight inaccuracy will cause it to go off target.

Instead of aiming to score the worldie, try to keep your shots low, aiming for the bottom half of the goal.

That way, if you strike the ball and it starts rising, it is more likely to be on target and go to the top corner.

Whereas if your shot rises as you aim for the top corner, your ball will go to the moon.

While scoring goals that hit the top corner may be more exciting, each goal counts the same and every team would rather have a player who scores 3 goals all tucked in the bottom corner as opposed to a player who scores one that flies into the top corner while all his other efforts blaze over the bar for a goal kick.

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Thank you.

The fourth common mistake we make is picking the wrong technique and this all comes down to decision making.

As a forward, there's many different ways you can shoot the ball.

You can use your laces, pulling your shot across your body, going across the keeper.

You can shoot straight with your laces or even put some outside swerve and curl on it to tuck it into the far post.

You could use your instep, wrapping your foot around the ball to hit a curler.

You can even punch the ball with the inside of your foot, redirecting it in the goal or punching it with your toe to catch the keeper off guard.

It's important to master each of these techniques and know the strengths and weaknesses of them.

That way, when you're in the game and the ball is bouncing out to you at the top of the box, you know how to strike it with your laces since it will be hard enough to get enough power using the inside of your foot and vice versa.

When the ball is passed across the six, don't smash it with your laces.

Lean over the ball and pass it through with the inside of your foot so it's more likely to stay under the bar.

Picking the wrong technique to shoot with is costing you more goals than you realize.

Now this mistake is a common one, but it is also very specific.

Now more so than ever, lots of goals are scored off of low crosses fizzed across the box at shin height or below.

Many teams try to create overloads or numbers up situations out wide before releasing a player down the line to put one of these crosses in.

They are dangerous because any deflection or mishit clearance from the defender can result in an own goal.

Plus, all they require is a redirecting shot from the forwards with the inside of their foot, using the speed of the cross to place it in the corner of the goal just like a pass.

While this isn't really a mistake, here's the fifth tip for you.

If you're the player on the end of one of these crosses, pay attention to the goalkeeper before you shoot.

If he's been caught at the near post, then finish at the far post since he won't have enough time to get across the face of the goal and save your shot.

But if he's a little more central and scrambling towards the far post, finish back across his face.

His momentum is shifting one way, making it difficult for him to react and cover the near post.

The next mistake is far more general rather than being common in one specific situation, and I've talked about it in previous videos, but it is too important to leave out.

When finishing, do not do a stutter step in your run up.

Players do these short, choppy steps to help them get their feet sorted for their shot.

While it is important to feel comfortable in your run up and have good timing, you need to learn how to do this without these extra steps.

The problem with the stutter is twofold.

Firstly, it slows your momentum, making it more difficult to get the same power in the shot as you would if you were just sprinting up to the ball.

You want more force to go through the ball so it travels faster, and part of your force from running also goes through the ball too.

So the faster you're running, the more power on the shot comes from your run up.

Think of it this way.

Shoot a ball just by taking one step and then hitting it.

Then do the same thing but running up from 5 yards away.

The second one has more power, right?

Same thing with the stutter step, but the difference isn't as large as it is in that example I just gave.

The other problem with the stutter step is that it takes longer to get the shot off.

This extra split second it takes for you to release your shot may be the difference needed for the defender to run you down and block the shot or for them to step out to you and block the shot or even just close the angle down, making your finish way more difficult.

While this may be a challenging habit to break, it is a small detail that makes a big difference.

Similarly, the next common mistake is shooting off balance, and this one is self-explanatory.

As much as possible, try to keep your balance as you're shooting.

One way to improve your balance is to use the correct shooting technique, but sometimes defenders will nudge you and try to put you off balance so you mess up your shot.

To get around this, initiate the contact with the defender.

Don't foul him, but giving him the bump first will help you maintain your balance since you're being proactive rather than reactive.

Now let's say that you're already off balance and you're about to shoot.

You have two options and this comes down to your own decision making.

If you choose to shoot, then try to make sure that you make good contact with the ball.

It is better to have a weaker shot with less power in this case rather than prioritize the power of your shot and have a wildly inaccurate shot because you made poor contact.

The other option is to cut the ball back and keep possession.

This is good because you might be able to beat the defender or pass the ball off to a teammate who has a higher chance of scoring since they aren't off balance like you are, but sometimes cutting it back may mean the opportunity to score is gone, so use your soccer intelligence and make the best decision for your team.

And that leads nicely into the last mistake we commonly make when shooting, but I do have a bonus tip for you after this, so stick around.

Anyways, the last mistake is picking the wrong times to shoot, and one example of this I described was being off balance.

While the phrase reigns true, you have to shoot to score, sometimes you're costing your team a golden opportunity to do so because of selfishness.

One great example is when you're 1v1 with the keeper and your teammate is open to square it across for an easy tap-in.

Shooting here is selfish since your teammate has almost a guaranteed goal if you pass it to him.

So engage the keeper, then pass it off so that way he has an easy tap-in.

At the end of the day, it is your decision, so if you don't pass the ball, you better score.

Then it's all good.

Take the shot if you believe that it is the best option, but if a teammate has a better chance of scoring, then be just as happy to get an assist.

Look here for an example.

The player is marked up in the box, and in order to shoot he must turn the defender and score, but the easier thing to do is make this pass to set up his teammate to shoot since he is actually facing the goal.

That hunger to score is important, just make sure you control it, and don't let it get in the way with your decision making when it clearly isn't the ideal option.

Now here's that bonus tip for you.

It isn't really a mistake, but it is something that you should add to your game.

When you're shooting, compensate for the scenarios you're in and your skill set.

Here's an example.

When you curl a shot, it naturally comes towards the keeper, right?

This makes it easy for you to hit your shot at the keeper rather than in the corner.

Don't aim for the side panel, instead aim just outside of it, and then the curl of your shot will bring it back inside the post, making it a better, more accurate shot that is more likely to go in.

Another example is when the ball is rolling towards you and you're going to shoot it one time.

Compensate and really lean over the ball, since you know the natural tendency of the ball is to fly over the bar.

Learning these cues and adjusting your technique will make you a better forward and more likely to put the ball in the back of the net.

But you can't make adjustments to your technique if you don't even have the technique mastered.

Watch this video next, where I walk you through 5 shooting techniques, taking you step by step, so that way you can learn on your own.

Thanks for watching.