Movement Analysis Of Soccer Essay

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world with an estimated 200 million active players. The sport of soccer is performed by men, women, children and adults with different levels of expertise. The game is played on a rectangular field (100-110m by 65-75m) with a goal at each end. Each team has eleven field players including a goalie. The main objective of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal without using your hands. Soccer is an intermittent, labor intensive sport that requires players to perform repeated high-intensity about over the course of the game. Players maintain heart rate averages close to 85% of their maximum. Performing sprints, jumps, kicks and other explosive actions throughout the match increased
blood lactate levels, and are largely responsible for fatigue towards the end of the match Stolen, et.al (2005). In light of the recent World Cup this paper will focus on soccer, specifically the instep soccer kick performed by the right foot. Kicking the soccer ball is an essential, common and distinctive part of a soccer player’s activity. According to Brophy, et.al, (2007) during a 90-minute game, a player has 51 contacts with the ball, 26 with the foot. The soccer kick is the main offensive action during the game and the team with more kicks on target has better chances to score and win the game. Kicking is a complex motor task which we learn as children. Our kicking skill develops rapidly between the ages of four and six, and by the age of nine the pattern is mature. Soccer kicking involves the controlled recruitment of a large number of muscles in a way that during such a kick, the input of muscle force to the leg system is typically evaluated considering the nature of the resultant joint moment acting at a particular joint (Amiri-Khorasana, et.al, 2011). When performing an instep soccer kick, the ball is struck by the dorsal aspect of the foot. The harder the ball is kicked creates a faster ball speed and a better likelihood of a goal. The intensity of the kick depends on how far the kicker needs the ball to travel and how fast it has to go.
Kicking is an action that lasts less than 10 seconds, the kicker uses the anaerobic metabolic pathway to produce the necessary energy to kick. They are relying heavily on the ATP-PC energy system for this action. The phosphagen system uses phosohocreatine to produce ATP. Since the stores of PC in the muscle are limited this system only provides energy for very short periods. Fast twitch muscle fibers are a type of fiber with fast contractile characteristics that have a low capacity to use oxygen and a low resistance to fatigue. Fast twitch fiber recruitment is essential is generating force quickly such as when kicking a soccer ball. Type II muscle fibers will generate more force more rapidly at a specific time. The instep soccer kick is described in three phases; phase 1: the kicking preparation and backswing, phase 2: the approach and kick and phase 3: the follow through.
During phase 1, the abdominals, psoas major, erector spinae and spinal postural muscles are used to stabilize and rotate the trunk to the right. The gluteus maximus and hamstring group produce extension of the right hip while the gluteus med, gluteus min, hamstring group and adductor magnus externally rotate and eccentrically extend the left hip. The hamstring group and popliteus create flexion of the right knee while the quadriceps eccentrically extends the left knee. The plantarflexors cause plantarflexion at the right ankle and eccentrically plantarflex the left ankle. Lastly the middle and anterior deltoid and supraspinatus cause abduction of the left shoulder. This phase is defined as beginning with toe-off of the kicking limb and ends at maximum hip extension and knee flexion. (Brophy, et.al,
2007) During phase two, the abdominals, psoas major, erector spinae and spinal postural muscles stabilize the truck. The tensor fascia lata, rectus femoris, psoas, illiacus, Sartorius and adductor group create internal rotation and flexion at the right hip while the gluteus maximus, hamstring group and adductor magnus produce extension of the left hip. The quardriceps are used to extend the right and left knee and the plantarflexors plantarflex the right ankle. Lastly the anterior deltoid, biceps brachii and petoralis major are used to horizontally adduct the left shoulder. (Brophy, et.al, 2007)
The hamstrings are active to slow the forward thigh movement eccentrically, the leg/foot begins to accelerate because the release of stored elastic energy in the knee extensors. The knee extensors powerfully contract to swing the leg and foot forwards towards ball contact. At the point of impact on the kicking leg, the hip and knee are slightly flexed and the foot is moving upwards and forwards.
In the last phase of the instep soccer kick the hamstring group, gluteus med, quadriceps, piriformis and gluteus maximus are used to eccentrically rotate, extend and abduct the right hip and the hamstring group is used to eccentrically flex the right knee.
This phase is used to slow the body back to the starting position.
Kicking motion is achieved by a combination of muscle moments and motion dependent moments. Muscle moments are the result of high activation patterns of several muscles such as the hamstrings, quadriceps and iliopsoas whereas some muscle activity serves to stabilize the involved joints and segments in order to achieve a fine coordinated movement (Kellis & Katis, 2007).
In soccer the main source of energy is provided by the aerobic system. Soccer players need to be able to sustain a high rate of work for a period of at least 90 minutes. Though endurance is a huge component of soccer, soccer also is characterized by high intensity anaerobic efforts such as kicking. In kicking which is a short duration exercise, high energy intramuscular phosphagens and anaerobic glycolysis are used to produce maximal
power.

Soccer is played by alternating aerobic and anaerobic engagement. It interchanges high intensity phases (kicking) and phases in which players carry out active recovery. Well trained athletes can make use of the system of oxygen transport without creating high lactate levels in the muscles and in the blood. Soccer involves all three metabolic systems to derive ATP. Since the phosphagen system produces ATP at a rapid rate, for a short duration, it is the predominant supplier for high intensity exercises such as kicking. Muscle contraction is a huge part of the soccer kick to produce the most force and generate the most powerful kick. To have a successful kick fast twitch muscles fibers are recruited.
In high intensity bouts, many factors such as speed, power, strength, agility, flexibility and anaerobic capacity all combined with aerobic capacity contribute to a successful game. By having a higher fitness level, a higher work rate and maintenance of good kicking technique is likely to occur. Good kicking technique, high power and strength along with a higher resistance to fatigue allows a soccer player more instep soccer kicks and more shots on goal leading to a greater likelihood of goals and winning games.