Touches create practice opportunities
A player who spends a session waiting in line has fewer opportunities to attempt a skill. FIFA’s grassroots coaching guidance recommends activities that keep the ball in play, encourage frequent contact and progress toward game-like situations. This is coaching guidance for younger players, not a clinical trial of Touches.
Source: FIFA Training Centre, coaching children to master ball control (2025).
Practice design matters alongside repetition
Bergmann and colleagues reviewed 35 soccer skill-acquisition studies. Repetition-based approaches improved technical outcomes in some studies, while practice encouraging exploration in representative situations also had support. Study methods varied, and the transfer of technical-drill improvements to match performance remained insufficiently established.
This supports a balanced approach: use individual repetitions for a specific task, then practice that skill with the information and decisions of real play.
Source: Bergmann et al., soccer skill acquisition systematic review (2021).
Better juggling does not automatically mean better reception
A study of 22 adolescent soccer players compared juggling practice with different ball sizes over six weeks. Juggling performance improved, but the tested ball-reception performance did not. The result is a useful reminder that progress is often specific to the practiced task.
A longer juggling streak is a juggling achievement. To work on receiving a moving ball, include receiving practice rather than assuming the juggling streak proves it.
Source: juggling practice, retention and transfer to ball reception (2015).
There is no universal daily touch prescription
The sources above do not establish a daily target of 1,000, 1,500 or any other number for every player. Experience, task difficulty, technique and other practice all affect what a useful goal looks like. Touches’ adjustable goal is a personal tracking tool.
What a counter can help you notice
A record can show whether you practiced regularly, how many supported contacts were counted and whether your juggling streak changed. It cannot by itself establish technical quality or match performance. Treat counts as one piece of feedback alongside how the drill feels and a coach’s observations.
Count your touches with Touches for iPhone.
Juggling and wall pass counting, personal bests and practice streaks.
