I'm currently getting back in the trend of being able to consistently hit knuckle balls. I've never completely mastered it and it's my main aim this summer - to improve my efficiency at hitting dead ball knuckle shots. However, I'm a little uncertain on how often I should be practicing it. So far.. I can knock around 40 shots and then my technique just goes. I'm not sure why - maybe it's concentration, but I just seem unable to carry the process on. Any tips or suggestions?
Being a good fk taker can help keep you on the field. It can help make you a starter everything else being equal. Practice them every chase you get. One of our playersbused to officiate games he practice them at the half, and at the end of the game, with teams when not at practice. He would approach the ball then you heard a boom and the net would go back. Had a kid under 16 team an offensive mid he scored a goal of game in the run if play plus he was a great fk taker. That team at the time was one of the best in the US. They played on Saturdays Our under 19 was very good as well. They won the state cup as 16's and 17's. The coach thought all he needed was a great fk taker. He took our under 16 the under 19 played on Sundays. But he tried to make him a sweeper. He already had a talent offensive mid. Kid fought it. He was still a good fk taker but a bad sweeper because he did not want to do. Being good fk taker can get you on teams that maybe you should not be on. Practice
Don't just practice shooting from FK's, practice whipping balls in, corners and dinking balls. In the end, they will all help you to become more dangerous from set pieces. I am my team's set piece specialist taking most set pieces. I would say in terms of FK Shooting, practice 15 minutes after training on the odd day, try accumulate around 2 hours worth of practice a week. It's quite easy to do due to it's light intensity, so fit it around your training sessions. But like I said practice your corners and also free kick's into the box, this will help 2 things - your accuracy, technique and your concentration during training because your not doing the same thing for too long, you're switching set pieces up.
Knuckle balls are a very difficult technique to master so if you are able to shoot forty consistently then I say you probably got enough practice on the technique of the shot which is the most difficult part. I would scale back the time you are practicing them and when you do practice them mainly work on improving your accuracy with them. In the summer when I am training on shooting I usually take off my shirt and hang it in the top corner of the goal and use it as a target. I learned that when I make myself a target to shoot at my accuracy, technique, and power improves. As for why you are having trouble with the shot after taking forty of them it's probably a combination of things. It may be possible that special techniques like that employ smaller fine motor muscles that are probably not accustomed to that much use and they fatigue after that many shots. Another factor like your said might be loosing concentration or maybe even over-concentration. Best of luck!