Soccer Passing Skills

Along with dribbling, passing is going to be the single most important skill you will need to master in order to succeed at soccer. Out on the field a team's strength lies in its ability to present to the other team a single united front; the offense is nothing without the defense there to back them up if the other team breaks through their line, and the defense can't do very much without the offense there to help them move the ball out of their territory as quickly as possible. Since teamwork is such a vital part of soccer success there is going to be no room for showboating out on the field; one single person is not going to be guaranteed to be able to take the ball into the goal at any given point in time. You are going to have to be able to work with your teammates.
You are probably sitting there thinking, "What's so hard about kicking a ball to someone else?" The difficulty with proper passing is not getting it to the other person, it's maintaining control of the ball so that it goes precisely where you want it to go. Picture this: You are standing on the field, you have control of the ball and you are headed for your goal. The next thing you know you are rushed by four members of the opposing team. You need to get rid of the ball and you need to do it quickly; however, you can barely make out the other players on your team. You hear a shout, and a quick glance to the diagonal off of your shoulder reveals one of your own open and ready to receive the pass. The only problem with this picture is that you are going to have to slide it past two of their defense.
In this situation, which is going to be all too common when you get out on the field, you are going to have to hit a very small target while ensuring that the ball is traveling along a clean, smooth path at a speed high enough to ensure that it will be out of your custody before the other team has time to register what you have done-and you are going to have to do all of this while simultaneously running down the field, dribbling the ball and dodging your opponents.
Fortunately, the fact that you are already dribbling means that you are in the perfect position to pass the ball. Since you are already dribbling the ball off of your instep anyway, you always want to pass using your instep as well. Again, using the top of your foot will give you a little more distance, but your instep provides you with more control. You will be able to target your teammate and pass the ball without ever having to relinquish control.
When you practice passing at home be sure that you are practicing using the proper form. Choose a target off of any angle of your body and use the instep of the opposite foot to propel the ball. For example, if you were attempting to make a pass to a teammate who was at an immediate diagonal to your right as you were in the example above you would use the instep of your left foot to make the pass. If your teammate is directly to your left you would use the instep of your right foot to slide the ball on over. Using the opposing foot allows you to maintain your balance and your forward propulsion while making the pass, which will allow you to keep control of the ball at all times until it leaves your possession and may temporarily disorient the opposition focusing on you.