The Flip Throw In Soccer, 4 Things You Should Know

Soccer players have come up with a lot of moves overtime that are very weird without breaking any of the game rules. One of these moves is the flip throw.

This article will answer everything you need to know about soccer flips so stick around to learn more.

What is a flip throw in soccer?

A flip throw (aka acrobatic throw in) is a move in which the player flips forward by putting the ball on the ground while holding it with both hands, then flipping forward and throwing it inside the field.

Here is how the flip throw looks like.

A flip throw is usually attempted by a player that is taking a throw-in. If you don’t know what a throw in is, you can check this detailed article about the soccer rules.

But in simple words, a throw-in is basically when a soccer player stands on the sideline of the field and throws the ball from behind and above their head inside the field using both of their hands

Usually, when a soccer team wins a throw in, one of their players just stands outside the field and throws the ball as mentioned above, however, a few players decide to take it to another level and perform a flip throw.

Here are the exact steps to do a flip throw in soccer:

  • Give yourself enough space by moving a few meters/yards away from the sideline (aka touchline) of the field.
  • Bend your upper body down and place the ball on the ground while holding it with both hands
  • Push yourself forward the same way you would do when you are attempting to stand on your hands.The difference here is that you are standing on the ball with your hands and not on the ground.
  • Land on both of your feet once you flip and immediately throw the ball with both of your hands above your head to one of your teammates inside the field.

Is the soccer flip throw legal?

Even though a flip throw is very rare in soccer it is legal and some players still go for it when they can. 

There isn’t a specific rule that states that “flop throws are legal”, however, as long as the flip throw satisfies the rules of the throw-ins in soccer, then they are allowed by the referee because they don’t break any of the game rules.

Here are the conditions that needs to be met for the flip throw to be allowed during a soccer game:

  • The player should be facing the field when they release the ball from their hands.
  • The player should throw the ball from behind and over their head
  • Both of the player’s feet should be touching the ground when the player releases the ball
  • The player shouldn’t enter the field of play before they release the ball.

These are the throw-in rules and if the player who is performing the flip throw respects all of these rules, then the flip throw will be considered legal.

What is the purpose behind the soccer flip throw?

There is no doubt that a soccer flip throw requires a lot of talent and accuracy to be executed well and to meet the soccer rules in place, so why do some players do it when they can just take the throw-in like any other regular player does?

Well, there are 2 reasons why soccer players perform a flip throw:

1- To throw the ball further

The main goal behind the flip throw is for the player to be able to throw the ball a little bit further inside the field.

It is usually attempted when the throw-in is close to the opponent’s goal. In this case, the team who won the throw-in will treat it as a corner kick. They will go inside the penalty area and wait for the throw-in taker to throw the ball towards them so that they attempt to score a header goal or any other type of goal.

The flip throw helps the player throw the ball a further distance because the spin gives the player enough momentum to be able to throw the ball with a higher force.

2- To show off

The other reason behind the soccer flip throw is just to show off the player’s acrobatic skills and nothing more.

The audience in the stadium will definitely enjoy a flip throw because it is a unique way of taking a throw-in and it looks great especially if it leads to a goal.

So in simple words, some soccer players do the flip throw just to entertain the audience and to gain some publicity because the flip throw might catch the eyes of the media and the social platforms’ users.

Why don’t we see the flip throw often in professional soccer matches? 

I have been watching soccer for more than 10 years, and I have only seen a flip throw a few times in the big soccer leagues

There are a few reasons why very few professional soccer players have attempted the flip throw in soccer, and here are some of them:

1- No enough space outside the field.

There are many professional soccer stadiums around the world that do not contain a lot of space outside the field. Most of the space outside the field will usually be occupied by screens that display ads and other things like mikes, cameras and so on.

For this reason, there isn’t always a lot of space for a player to be able to perform a flip throw even if they wanted to.

2- A flip throw is sometimes useless

If a soccer player has enough strength in their hands to be able to throw the ball with a lot of force without doing any tricks, then the flip throw becomes completely useless and unnecessary for them if the objective from a flip throw is just to throw the ball further.

Most of the soccer players that play in big soccer leagues are well trained and they have enough strength in their arms to throw the ball inside the penalty area when they are close to their opponent’s goal, and this is why you don’t see a lot of these players do the flip throw.

3- The flip throw can cause the player an embarrassment

A flip throw might not always end up well, and sometimes the player performing it might fall in a way that can cause them some embarrassment especially if thousands of people are watching them.

4- The risk of injury

Attempting a flip throw can be physically demanding since the player will be putting all their weight on a ball (a moving object). If the ball slips for some reason while the player is performing the flip throw, then the player might hurt themselves.

Since the flip throw isn’t really important, the players usually decide to not take any risks and to just take the throw-in in a normal way.

With that said, I will end my article here. Here is a summary of what you have just read.

SUMMARY

Flip throws in soccer are just another way to take a throw-in. A flip throw gives the player the ability to throw the ball further inside the soccer field. Flip throws are allowed as long as they respect all of the throw-in rules.

You don’t see many professional soccer players perform a flip throw either because there isn’t a lot of space outside the field, or because the players already have enough strength to throw the ball far enough without having to do any tricks, and because of various other reasons.