Ways to Strike the Ball Footy Pups

The crowd are going wild.

Here come the Footy Pups.

# They play like a dream when they work as a team

# Footy Pups, go, go, Footy Pups

# There's Pickles and Rex and Geraldine next

# Footy Pups, go, go, Footy Pups

# Rozzie and Benny and Manager Freddie

# Footy Pups, go, go, Footy Pups

# There's Rachel too and, of course, all of you

# Footy Pups, go, go, Footy Pups

# Go, go, go, go, Footy Pups! #

Rachel Yankey,

top international footballer

and all-round sporting superstar.

But when Rachel is not scoring goals for her team,

she's playing with the Footy Pups.

CHEERING AND LAUGHTER

Hi, everyone. We're all warmed up, so it's time to get moving.

Today on my team, we have...

Number one, Zainab.

Well done!

Number two, Charlie.

Super dribbling!

Number three, Willow.

That's brilliant!

Number four, Jake.

Fantastic skills!

Number five, Sadie.

Amazing!

Number six, Jayden.

Ah, look at that!

And also joining us are Benny and Geraldine.

THEY GIGGLE

So that's today's team.

OK, guys - gather round, it's team talk time!

-KIDS:

-Yeah!

Today, we're going to look at different ways to strike a football.

What ways might we kick a ball?

-Jayden?

-You could chip it.

You could strike the lower part of the ball to chip it off the ground.

-Sadie?

-Shooting the ball at the goal.

To shoot at the goal, you need a powerful kick

in the middle of the ball with the top of your foot.

There are three things to remember when we're striking a ball.

Think about the distance you want the ball to go,

how high you want it to go

and how much power we need to strike the ball with.

-Think about the...

-ALL: Distance...height...

-And power!

-ALL: Power!

OK, let's go and have a practice.

I've split you into pairs.

In between you is a bar on top of some cones.

You need to pass the ball back and forth,

but you need to chip it over the bar.

OK, go.

A lovely start from the pups.

Oh, well done.

See if you can get it up. Oh, hit the bar!

Make sure you get your foot underneath the ball.

Then I lean back so it goes up.

Fantastic stuff, Zainab!

Yes!

Can you get it? Yes!

Next time you play outside, why don't you try this?

-You put your foot under the ball.

-Yeah.

-And then chip it up!

Fantastic.

Sadie has the right idea.

Yes!

Whilst these guys keep practising, here's a reminder for you at home.

When striking the ball,

remember to think about the distance you want the ball to go,

how high you want it to go,

and how much power you need to strike the ball with.

Now I'm going to challenge you. In front of you are some goals.

Some are close and some are further away.

One at a time, grab a ball and try and score a goal.

I'm going to be in the middle

and I'm going to try and stop you from scoring.

Off you go.

I wonder which goal Zainab is going to go for?

Rachel's given the goals points.

That's five points!

Ooh!

Charlie goes for the furthest goal. That's a whopping ten points!

Well done, Willow. She's really pleased with that.

You guys can't score past me!

-My go!

-Kick!

Oh, it's huge!

-THEY CHEER

-Oh, no!

Sadie lines it up.

Oh, ten points!

You guys are too good!

Yes!

Nice goal, Jayden.

You're not going to score...

Oh, straight between your fingers, Rachel!

Benny, you really are a super striker!

Thanks, Geraldine. Do you remember the time

I brought my inflatable ball to Pupton Park?

Oh, yeah!

Welcome to Pupton Park, where the pups are kicking off

an important training session.

Rrrruuff!

-ALL:

-Bow-wow!

Great shot, Benny! Why don't you show the other pups

different ways they can strike the ball?

Hurry, Freddie - today, we've got a special guest

who's coming to judge me for the Tidiest Tiny Groundskeeper award.

Pupton Park needs to look perfect if we're going to win.

But I've heard the judge is very fussy,

so whatever you do, keep those footballs under control.

Come on, Freddie - you can empty my grass cuttings.

-Ooh!

-Benny, why are we learning how to kick a ball?

Don't we know how to do that already?

Yes, but did you know you can make the ball do different things

by striking it in different ways?

I've brought along a special inflatable football

to help show you.

Here you go, Benny.

It's not supposed to be that big!

OK, Pickles - let's try a long shot.

This needs a powerful kick,

so take a big run-up and strike the ball in the middle,

then follow through with your foot.

Sure thing, Benny.

Rrrruuff!

-Go, Pickles!

-That would make a great goal kick.

-Or a long pass.

-Now, Rex - let's try chipping the ball.

This lifts it high in the air past a keeper or defender.

Just lean back and strike here on the bottom of the ball.

You've got it, Benny.

Ah! Ha-ha!

THEY CHEER

Let's try a driven shot, Rozzie.

You need to lean over the ball and strike it in the middle.

It's great for fast passes and tough for goalkeepers to save.

OK... Raaarrr!

Ha! I did it!

I hope you've got an extra special kick for me to try!

Just for you, Geraldine, I've got the toughest kick of all.

Meanwhile, the judging is about to begin

for the Tidiest Tiny Groundskeeper award.

Keep dusting, Freddie,

you've missed a bit!

Cheerfleaders, watch where you're putting your pom-poms.

That judge will be here any minute

and I hear he's super-snooty.

Pah! I'm not a cheerfleader!

I AM the judge.

Pom-poms indeed.

Oh, dear!

I'll be marking you on neatness, tidiness and most importantly,

the state of your grounds.

Huh!

It's a blade of grass out of place.

Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear.

CRIES

OK, Geraldine, this is the trickiest kick of them all.

You're going to curl the ball.

Rrrruuuff!

That move is magic!

You make the ball spin by kicking it on the side.

As it spins, it curls through the air.

See if you can get it past that goalie.

Got it. Allez-oop!

Whoops!

Hm...

Well, just look at that.

BOTH: What?!

It's a speck of dust. Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear.

Argh! I can't get the ball to curl.

Remember to kick the side of the ball, so it spins.

Hm, spins...

Ah! I know!

Allez-oooooops!

Look out!

-Argh!

-Uh-oh!

Isn't she a magnificent tractor?

The tyres look a bit muddy to me.

Oh, dear!

This is a disaster! I've got to stop that ball!

Argh...arrrggghhh!

This is all my fault.

We've got to stop that ball, before it wrecks Pupton Park!

-Hmmm...

-Ah-ha-ha! Help!

Right, let's see how tidy you are in here.

That's a brilliant idea.

Ahhh!

Help!

I've got a puppy plan.

If we can hit the valve on the side of the ball,

we might be able to let the air out.

I'll try my long shot.

Strike in the middle and follow through...

Ruff!

Ah, it's high up now.

I'll try a chip shot.

Lean back and strike the bottom of the ball.

Oh...!

A driven shot might catch it -

lean over the ball and strike the middle.

Rrruuff! Ohh...

I can hit it with a curling shot.

Rrrruuff!

-Oh!

-What a howler.

It's heading back to the shed.

I think you should come out now, Mr Judge!

I've got the last ball - I'll have to try a curling shot, too.

Allez-oops!

ALL: Wow! Huh?!

Uh-oh...

Oh, I've seen enough in there.

Time to look at that pitch.

Oh, the game is up now!

Well, I have never seen anything like this.

Oh, er...

It's perfect! It's the most amazing, tidy pitch I have ever inspected.

There are many ways to strike, you can learn them all.

Shoot long, drive, chip and curl the ball.

# Go, go, go Footy Pups! #

Wow, well done, Geraldine!

That was an incredible curling shot.

You stopped that runaway ball and saved Pupton Park

before that snooty judge could notice.

Ahem! Attention, everybody.

With his perfect pitch,

I declare Pete the winner of the Tidiest Tiny Groundskeeper award.

ALL: Oh, wow!

Well done, Pete!

Argh! Oh!

Congratulations!

You won the grand prize!

A beautiful, brand-new shed.

THEY CHEER

Oh, well done for stopping my runaway training ball, Geraldine.

Thanks, Benny.

-Hi, guys!

-BOTH: Hi, Rachel!

Do you guys want to practise

-striking the ball in different ways?

-Definitely!

Let's make sure we give it loads of power.

OK, let's go for a really long distance.

Ready, steady... Go!

BOTH: Bow-wow!

Ow!

Wow, did you see that power?

Yes! They went all the way to the moon!

And back!

Do you guys remember what to think about when striking the ball?

Think about the distance you want the ball to go,

how high you want it to go,

and how much power you need to strike the ball with.

-OK, guys - who fancies a game?

-ALL: Yeah!

So, I've split you up into two teams.

We've got the Reds - Reds, can you give me a cheer?

REDS: Yeah!

-And the Yellows, give me a cheer?

-YELLOWS: Yeah!

Let's take a look with the Footy Pups to find out how to play.

To play this game of Crazy Football,

you need to strike the ball in different ways.

Strike the ball through the tunnel with a little power.

Dribble it to the duck pond and chip it over.

And finally, shoot it at the castle goal.

The winners of this game will be the team

who complete the course in the fastest time.

Three, two, one..

-PEEP!

-Off you go, teams!

Well done, Charlie.

Great power through the tunnel.

Dribble over towards me.

See if you can chip it over the pond.

You're going to need some height.

Fantastic, Charlie. Go, go, go!

Take it to the white line. See if you can score in the castle.

It's a beautiful goal!

Make sure you use a lot of power through that tunnel.

Can you chip it over the duck pond?

See if you can get your foot under the ball.

Well done, Sadie! Fantastic.

-TEAM:

-Sadie, Sadie!

-Fantastic support!

It's a big distance, so lots of power.

Can she make it two for the Reds?

Yes!

Zainab lines it up, no messing.

She's off to the duck pond.

Make sure you miss those ducks.

Oh, straight over!

She makes her way to the castle goal.

Can you score?

PEEP! Let's have a replay.

The Reds were brilliant at controlling,

chipping and shooting the ball, but can the Yellows do any better?

Three, two, one...

-PEEP!

-Go, Jayden, quick as you can!

Think about your power.

What a start from the young pup.

So you need to get your foot underneath the ball.

Chip it over those ducks. Fantastic!

He shoots for goal!

THEY CHEER

Go on, Willow - grab a ball, off you go!

That ball nearly got away!

She runs round to collect it.

See if you can get it over those ducks.

Mind the ducks - excellent! Take it on to the castle.

She's looking determined.

And it's in! No problem.

Jake's the last of the Yellows. He makes light work of the tunnel.

-TEAM:

-Go, Jake! Go, Jake!

It's a huge chip!

-See if you can score.

-It's all to play for...

-PEEP!

-And time!

Let's have a replay.

The Yellows raced through this game of Crazy Football,

but were they faster than the Reds?

Let's go to Footy Pups Benny and Geraldine for the final score.

The Yellows completed the course in the fastest time,

making them today's champions!

My team have been superb at striking the ball.

We've chipped the ball, kicked powerful balls

and we've shot long distances at goals.

Most importantly, we've remembered to think

about distance, height and power.

That's it for today. Well done.

Now you've got the skill,

remember to pass it on.