Why is kicking important in soccer

Much remains to be learned about how kicking is organized and how kicking performance might be improved. Researchers are increasingly realizing that kicking is a whole-body movement that is responsive to a wide range of constraints related to the task, the environment, and the performer.

Recent research has confirmed that control of balance plays an important role in kicking performance, though clearly more work is needed in this area. Further studies on the relationship between balance and kicking can make broader contributions to our understanding of how complex skills are organized and acquired.

Such understanding can in turn contribute to the development of strategies to facilitate the acquisition and reacquisition of movement skills. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. LER Magazine bridges the gap between lower extremity foot orthotics, custom and prefabricated ankle and knee bracing, diabetic custom foot orthotics and diabetic foot wear, shoe manufacturers and lower extremity central fabricators with lower extremity practitioners by providing:.

All rights reserved. Skip to content. Interested in Advertising? July Anderson DI, Sidaway B. Coordination changes associated with practice of a soccer kick. Res Q Exerc Sport ;65 2 Coordination changes in a discrete multi-articular action as a function of practice. Acta Psychol ; 1 An ecological approach to perceptual learning and development. London: Oxford University Press; Massion J, Deat A.

Two modes of coordination between movement and posture. Tutorials in motor neuroscience. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; Reed ES. Changing theories of postural development. Development of posture and gait across the lifespan. Rochat P, Bullinger A. Posture and functional action in infancy.

Early child development in the French tradition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum; Curve and instep kick kinematics in elite female footballers. J Sports Sci ;30 4 Kellis E, Katis A. Biomechanical characteristics and determinants of instep soccer kick. J Sports Sci Med ;6 2 The influence of the Cardan rotation sequence in the reconstruction of angular orientation data for the lower limb in the soccer kick. J Sports Sci ;28 4 Dynamics of skill acquisition: A constraints-led approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; Newell KM.

Coordination, control and skill. Differing perspectives in motor learning, memory, and control. Amsterdam: North-Holland; Lees A, Nolan L. The biomechanics of soccer: A review. J Sports Sci ;16 3 Biomechanical differences in soccer kicking with the preferred and the non-preferred leg. J Sports Sci ;20 4 EMG activity of the iliopsoas muscle and leg kinetics during the soccer place kick.

As such, it can move in all three planes. With this level of movement freedom comes great responsibility — stability! A skilled player can not only move their hip through a large range of motion, but they can also control their hip from moving in unwanted directions.

Control at the hip is important in the kicking leg, but even more so in the stance leg. The strength and stability required of the stance leg is substantial. The forces that the athlete gains from the ground are initially transferred from the stance leg through the body to the kicking foot. An interesting twist in the research is that the vertical ground reaction force measured in the stance leg has no correlation to kicking foot speed.

The mediolateral forces DID show a correlation, but only with the dominant leg. The postural balance of the rest of the body, in addition to the strength and stability of the stance leg is highly correlated to coordination and skill-level.

With your younger or less skilled players, have them hold onto a rigid support on the stance leg side. Providing this postural assistance on the stance leg should significantly increase ball velocity and accuracy. This highlights the importance of balance and stability in performance. Get measured! Find out how you are really moving! Using 3D motion capture and force plate technology, we can measure performance mechanics and balance to discover the real strengths and weaknesses that are hindering the development of athletes of all skill levels.

The unique timing and speed requirements of various kicking skills are precise and make an enormous difference in performance. Uncovering unique postural, balance, and mechanical inefficiencies in athletes allows trainers to design programs to maximize improvement in a shorter amout of time. The majority of the energy is dissipated by the eccentric activity of the hamstrings to slow the leg down.

This is the stage in the kicking action which is most likely to produce injury to the hamstrings due to the large forces involved. The follow-through is the final aspect of kicking mechanics.

It is important for two reasons: 1 to maintain foot contact with the football for a longer duration, and 2 to reduce the risk of injury. Before all of these additions, an individual must be mentally prepared, with Agape Treatment Center you can talk to a therapist to get your mind into playing a better game. A longer foot contact time is important for the power and speed of the pass or shot. The longer the contact time with the ball, in combination with fast acceleration, will generate the highest amount of force, therefore resulting in a powerful pass or shot.

In terms of the second point, the follow-through is important to reduce the risk of injury as the body needs to dissipate the kinetic and elastic forces produced from kicking action.

If a sudden stop of the kicking leg occurred, muscles such as the hamstrings could be damaged and strained as the large forces involved would need to be stopped abruptly.

Barfield, B , The biomechanics of kicking in soccer. Clinics in Sports Medicine. Roseville: McGraw-Hill. Biomechanics and collision injury. Am J Sports Med. Isokawa, M, and Lees, A , A biomechanical analysis of the in-step kick motion in soccer.

Routledge: London. Kellis, E. J Sports Sci Med. June; 6 2 : Lees, A. J Sports Sci. The energy stored, is transferred downwards as the leg straightens, allowing for greater force as the foot moves towards the ball. It is in this phase of the process where a push-like movement pattern occurs. This is when all joints are extended in what is an open kinetic chain simultaneously in a single movement Blazevich, As previously mentioned, an angled approach to the ball provides maximum swing velocity of the kicking leg.

This means that due to the angle created on approach, the kicking leg can be tilted in the lateral plane, allowing the foot to be placed further underneath the ball, in order to make better contact with it, producing higher ball velocities Reilly, ; Lees et al.

Figure 4. A kinetogram of the leg motion during the kick Plagenhoef, According to Blazevich , the coefficient of restitution is described as the proportion of total energy that remains with the colliding objects after collision Figure 5. When initial contact is made with the ball, it compresses, storing energy that is released when the ball leaves the foot.

The coefficient of restitution during a kick obviously depends on where ball contact is made, with the greater coefficient of restitution coming from a connection in the centre of the ball. As stated before, the more force applied to the ball, the greater the acceleration of the ball during flight time.

At the point of contact, both the hip and the knee of the kicking leg begin to flex in preparation for the follow through of the limb. Foot-ball contact can be made either correctly or incorrectly, depending on this, contact will cause either less or greater plantar flexion of the ankle joint respectively.

Figure 5. Many people think that the area with which foot-ball contact is made will determine the balls flight path and spin placed upon the ball, but this is incorrect. The factors that determine these outcomes are the shift in weight forwards and the follow through of the kicking leg after contact. A shift in weight forwards helps the player to maintain stability, ensuring a more accurate shot.

The follow through keeps the foot in contact with the ball for longer, which in turn maximises the transfer of momentum onto the ball and increases its speed.