Soccer Goal Kick Techniques

The goal kick is sometimes called a penalty kick or a free kick. Kicks on goal from a dead-ball situation often provide match-winning goals. In major tournaments penalty kick shoot-outs are used to determine results if the score remains tied after regulation and added time have been played. Thus it is important for players to develop good technique when taking penalty or free kicks toward goal.

  1. Developing Accuracy

    • Anyone who has watched a soccer match on TV has seen a player awarded a penalty kick step up to take it and put the ball wide or high of target. Missing the target is something that happens to even the best players at the highest level. Adrenalin, nerves, fatigue and wind can all play a factor on the day. However, through developing accuracy it is possible to minimize the chance of putting a shot wide or having it go off the crossbar. Successfully converting a penalty kick can be a golden opportunity to score a relatively easy goal.

    Deciding Where to Send the Ball

    • Penalty kicks on goal are like an Old West showdown between the kicker and the goalkeeper. Body language is read and poker faces are on. Many keepers decide which way they are going to go before the kick is launched. Similarly, the kicker should decide which direction to send the ball before it is kicked. Calm should be maintained and the poker face worn to keep the goalie guessing. The kicker should perhaps allow his eyes to quickly glance in one direction before stepping up and driving the ball in the opposite one.

    Bending the Ball

    • Free kicks on goal, of either a direct or indirect nature, are often awarded during free play. When this happens, the opposing team will be allowed to assemble a defensive wall between the kicker and the goal. To get the ball into the goal, the kicker must somehow get by the wall and beat the keeper. Great dead-ball kickers like England's David Beckham and Holland's Wesley Sneijder are experts at bending the ball around the wall and into the net. Shots are bent by striking the ball low with the inside of the foot on the opposite side from the direction the ball is to be bent. As the ball is kicked, body weight should be centered over it, the ankle locked and the hips swung in the direction the ball is to bend.