Research article - (2018)17, 74 - 81
The Influence of Task Conditions on Side Foot-Kick Accuracy among Swedish First League Women’s Soccer Players
Tomas Carlsson, Jenny Isberg, Johnny Nilsson, Magnus Carlsson
School of Education, Health and Social Studies, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden

Tomas Carlsson
✉ School of Education, Health and Social Studies, Dalarna University, 791 88 Falun, Sweden
Email: tca@du.se
Received: 18-10-2017 -- Accepted: 28-12-2017
Published (online): 01-03-2018

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the task conditions on 20-m side foot-kick accuracy among Swedish first league women’s soccer players. Twenty-three players performed three side foot-kick tests under different task conditions: stationary ball using match-relevant ball speed (SBRS) and maximal ball speed (SBMS) and a 5-m run with the ball from different approach angles (0°, 30°, and 60°) to a predetermined position, where passing of the ball on the move was executed using match-relevant ball speed (RBRS). With each test, the players performed 30 side-foot kicks, alternating between kicking legs with the aim of hitting a target stick. The accuracy was determined using video analysis. The side foot-kick accuracy was significantly greater for SBRS, compared to RBRS and SBMS. For all three test variables, the preferred leg displayed greater accuracy. The preferred leg’s accuracy was greater for the approach angle of 30° compared to both 0° and 60°. A significant deviation from the target stick was found for the straight-ahead approach, in which the right-foot and left-foot kicks deviated to respectively the left and right of the stick; in contrast, for the approach angle of 60°, the deviation from the target stick was on the opposite side of the approach side for both legs.

Key words: Football, passing, precision, approach angle, kicking effor

Key Points
  • Task condition had a significant influence on 20-m side foot-kick accuracy, with more complex tasks (i.e., higher kicking effort or kick of a moving ball with different approach angles) resulting in less accurate side-foot kicks.
  • The side foot-kick accuracy was greater for the preferred leg than for the non-preferred leg independent of task condition.
  • For the preferred leg, an approach of 30° was related to greater side foot-kick accuracy than approach angles of 0° and 60°.








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