Developing that soft touch

I had my first one on one soccer lesson. Hurray. It was all I had hoped, except for duration (8 minutes short of the full hour).

My favorite part was "body blocks." Here, my coach tossed the ball at various parts of my anatomy, and I returned it while back peddling. It was only 3/4^th of the way through that she explained I was supposed to return the ball on the ground.

I was given homework: develop a soft touch suitable for dribbling the ball on a basketball court. My main advice on this was to pass the ball hard and straight against a wall. I'm not quite sure how this will help with the soft touch.

Twenty four hours later my better half and I had a kick on the front lawn. I tried passing with a locked ankle on the top half of the ball. I found that my passes were slightly crisper and spent more time on the ground. (Ankle locked in an up position.)

Previously, I had tried hitting the ball dead center and frequently found my passes a few inches off the ground. This may be a breakthrough. In the past, when I needed an accurate and friendly pass, I always used my laces--like a very gentle shot. This hurts my shins. Developing a proper pass with the inside of my foot (like everyone else) will go along way towards--well towards good things.