Soccer Tip

Presented by Kyle Jones, Coach
Nike Soccer Camp in Lake Geneva

Nike Soccer Tip: Getting Out of Tight Spaces with Quarter and Three-Quarter Turn Skills

There are many times in a game when players have to navigate getting out of tight spaces in order to maintain possession for their team and to start or participate in an attack. Some examples of these situations include:

• A wide midfielder is trapped in the corner of the field by a defender and they need to get out of the corner to cross for a teammate to score.

• A center midfielder is in a congested center of the field with lots of players around them, but there is space out to the side of them for one of the wide midfielders so they need to protect the ball and turn three-quarters or 270 degrees to make the play.

Quarter turns and three-quarter turns can help players to get out of these tight spaces. These skills are called quarter turns and three-quarter turns because they have players rotate 90 degrees (quarter of the way around a circle) or 270 degrees (three-quarters of the way around a circle).

Here is an example of a quarter turn: https://youtu.be/-L7FuP54Fu4

Here is an example of a three-quarter turn: https://youtu.be/_UYgvJiMoRE

Learn over 20 other quarter and three-quarter turns at a Nike Soccer Camp with coach Kyle Jones of Illinois Skill School this Summer. Players will also learn how, when, and why to perform this type of skill during games that are designed specifically to draw out these skills from players. At the end of the camp, players will be better prepared to get out of these tight spaces. The camps will be held at Lake Forest Academy, in Lake Forest IL, and at Big Foot H.S. in Lake Geneva, in WI.