kicking the ball hard:
It doesn't matter if you're a boy or girl, 8 or 18 , a funny thing happens when we place a soccer ball on the grass in front of a goal. Something in our mind seems to ‘snap’ and we try and strike the ball as hard as we can. Most of us however don’t realize this actually slows down the soccer ball’s speed.
Talk to the “long drive golf champs” and you will find a common thought among them. Swing at 80% of your top force. Now, why would a golf ball go farther at 80% vs. 100%? It comes down to the “speed of the club head” which is the last part of several body parts involved. Swinging, or “kicking”, at 100% of force often causes us to TENSE UP many of the muscles involved in the full “multi function process” of the swinging / kicking motion. Think of this as a “whipping” motion. Staying slightly “loose” during the kick allows our foot to be at the end of an accelerating chain of events. Tighten up any of those events and you slow it down. Try throwing a baseball with a totally STIFF arm. The ball travels about half the speed. Keeping a loose arm with a whipping motion increases the speed greatly. The same applies to the soccer kick.
A couple of key points to a stronger, longer and faster soccer kick.
1) Relax.
Allow your entire body to go limp. Shake it out. Let your head, neck legs and every part of your body relax.
The only part of your body that will have tension is your ankle.
Allow your entire body to go limp. Shake it out. Let your head, neck legs and every part of your body relax.
The only part of your body that will have tension is your ankle.
2) Large last stride / loading.
Make your last stride a long “forward hopping” load. Your heel should come close to your behind.
Make your last stride a long “forward hopping” load. Your heel should come close to your behind.
3) Allow your knee to come through first.
This is known as “storing the load”. Your lower leg will form a V shape. Keep that V shape as long as possible and at the last minute let it extent in a WHIPPING motion through the ball.
This is known as “storing the load”. Your lower leg will form a V shape. Keep that V shape as long as possible and at the last minute let it extent in a WHIPPING motion through the ball.
4) Kick with the big toe knuckle.
Approach the ball from a slight angle. The largest bone in your foot is the first metatarsal which is just above the big toe knuckle. This translates into FORCE or energy at impact.
Approach the ball from a slight angle. The largest bone in your foot is the first metatarsal which is just above the big toe knuckle. This translates into FORCE or energy at impact.
5) Break the pane.
Pretend that the ball is sitting in front of a large pane of glass. You want to break the pane with your body, not just your leg or foot. This means that your forward momentum should continue through the shot. This will also cause you to land on your SHOOTING foot, not your plant foot.
Pretend that the ball is sitting in front of a large pane of glass. You want to break the pane with your body, not just your leg or foot. This means that your forward momentum should continue through the shot. This will also cause you to land on your SHOOTING foot, not your plant foot.
6) Watch your foot contact the ball.
If you can see your foot strike the ball you are kicking properly. Doing this also keeps your body in a slightly “bent over” position. Straitening up will kill some of the power release.
If you can see your foot strike the ball you are kicking properly. Doing this also keeps your body in a slightly “bent over” position. Straitening up will kill some of the power release.
" So my question to you is, are your shots hard enough"?
"soccer tough".
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