When you look for the greatest soccer or football goals online, you’ll be greeted by an endless slew of video montages counting them down. Click on one of them, and you’re guaranteed to be inspired by the sheer athleticism and luck players like Lionel Messi, Alex Morgan, and Neymar have. While they make it look easy, their consistently amazing shots weren’t developed overnight. It took years of practice and coaching to get them right.
Apart from turning their legs and feet into cannons that launch soccer balls which get high readings on sports radar guns, these players were also trained to kick safely. According to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Sports Medicine department, soccer is all about fast starts and stops, which may lead to injuries.
In fact, a recent study from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that using the wrong form when kicking may increase your risk of injuring your ACLor anterior cruciate ligament. This ligament is crucial for the stability of the knee, as it prevents your lower leg from overextending and ultimately dislocating itself.
Now that you know the importance of a proper kicking technique, it’s time to hit the field and work on yours. Here’s how you can score clutch goals while keeping your legs and feet injury-free.
All in the Touch
Whether you’re striking or passing, touches are important in making sure your kicks are accurate. It’s embarrassing to strike the ball awkwardly because you got it stuck between your feet. It’s even more heartbreaking when your midfielder went through so many defenders just to deliver that opportunity to you. Take your time in touching the ball to make sure it’s at a perfect distance for you to kick it in one move.
There’s no shortcut when it comes to improving your control over the ball. Some coaches ask their players to do 10,000 touches a day. Keep doing touching drills as frequently as you can, and invite other players to do pass and touch routines with you as well. After all, repetition is one of the best ways to improve in sports.
Aim and Estimate
Now that you’ve figured out how to continually put the ball at the perfect distance for a shot, practice locking into your target. Before making any efforts to kick, take a quick glance at the zone where you want the ball to land. This will give you an estimate of how strong you want to shoot.
Plant for Success
After you’ve assessed what’s in front of you, it’s time to look at the ball and prepare for your kick. Plant your non-kicking foot a few inches away from the ball and point it towards where you want to shoot. Doing so not only moves you towards the ball, but it also makes sure your kicking leg swings in the right direction.
Lace it Up
With your eyes still on the ball, make sure you’re bending your kicking leg and locking your ankles before you swing it. This makes it easier for you to hit the ball with your upper foot to make the shot more powerful. To land this consistently, make sure your shoelaces meet the ball. Once you get your kick in, let your leg swing for the follow-through so that the ball travels at full force.
These steps make for a consistently great shot because it not only sends the ball flying at incredible speeds; it also ensures that you don’t trip and injure yourself in the process. While your technique may not be perfect yet, incorporating it into your drills can make you a better player. Take it from soccer legend David Beckham, who once said that “if you want to achieve anything special in life, you have to work, work, and then work some more.”
Measure Your Improvement with Proper Equipment
As an athlete, nothing is more satisfying than realizing you’ve improved, no matter how small your growth is. Here at Radar Sports, LLC, we make sure that you track the speed of your shots accurately with our high-quality and versatile radar guns. Our collection includes units from top brands like Stalker and Bushnell, so you get precise readings every time.
Contact us today to start tracking your speed data with ease.