How to increase kicking distance

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Ahern2Boof

Ahern2Boof

Norm Smith Medallist
Veteran Shiny Penny
Aug 13, 2012
6,353
12,280
Waiting for Josh Kelly #2020
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I was wondering if any BF users could give some tips on how to increase the distance when kicking the ball. I'm quite a bulky player with big, strong legs, yet I struggle to kick over 45 metres. I am a very accurate kick, apparently one of the best at the club, but I really struggle with kicking beyond 50. Are leg weights the only option?
 
Spitta2Azza said:
I was wondering if any BF users could give some tips on how to increase the distance when kicking the ball. I'm quite a bulky player with big, strong legs, yet I struggle to kick over 45 metres. I am a very accurate kick, apparently one of the best at the club, but I really struggle with kicking beyond 50. Are leg weights the only option?
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Sounds more like a timing and follow through issue to me. The best long kicks I've seen don't put a heap of grunt into it. Are you flexible enough to follow right through?
 
BlueWaterHawk said:
Sounds more like a timing and follow through issue to me. The best long kicks I've seen don't put a heap of grunt into it. Are you flexible enough to follow right through?
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Tbh a lot of my kicks are on the run so follow-through can get forgotten a little. When kicking for goal, I struggle. I tried emulating Tom Lee's way of doing it but that didn't work at all. The only way I can get decent distance at a goal kick is to give the goals away on go out on a bit of an arc.
 

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You gotta wonder why so many NRL kickers are halfbacks. The smallest on the team. My personal theory, besides timing, is that they bend their leg at the knee more. That generates extra speed at the point of impact and generates a greater follow through.
 
yeah its probably similar to a golf swing, in that you're really best to get an expert to analyse the mechanics. Ah the advantage of professional sport.
 
Fish 20 said:
I'm no expert, but I'd start by increasing your core strength by completing daily strengthening exercises, google is your friend here.
Bridging (planking), crab crawling, various squats are a good start.
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That is what Lions Academy coaches advise. They promote to the kids to improve their core strength, as well as kicking form and balance.
 
I'd just like to add that in the soccer world researchers found that by utilising graduated high velocity hip flexion (bending the hip towards your head) throughout full range of motion (starting with hip in extended position) significantly improved power and ball striking speed. Being an international sport there is much more research available.
 
Technique mate. Go and kick the footy, measure your distance, try different styles, run ups, follow throughs, etc. Stretch and get flexible, especially in your hamstrings. Try a few things and work out what lets you kick a greater distance and what technique works best for you.
Also, don't try and "overkick" it if that makes sense. You'll kick further going at 80-90% of your capacity with good technique than you will just launching at the ball with 100% power where you're more likely to shank it or have it come off the boot the wrong way.
 
Nothing I'm going to say is declarative, but simply a compilation of my own thoughts on kicking.

When talking about explosive actions like kicking, I think power is critically important. Power is the combination of speed and strength, and as such, to increase the distance of a kick, you need to optomise both speed and strength of the kicking leg. To best achieve this I think the following areas can be highlighted (no particular order).

1. Strength training - Increased recruitment of muscle fibres obviously enables more force to be utilised in the kicking action. In terms of improving power, I would think kick specific muscle groups of the swing leg should be trained with emphasis on speed as well as resistance/ weights.

2. Core stability - The swinging leg requires a solid foundation from opposing muscle groups and joints on the stance leg as well as the lower back in order to ensure the energy and muscular processes being carried out can occur in a focused, singular direction. (Imagine trying to hit a tennis ball hard whilst hula hooping!)

3. Technique - When combining speed and strength you must consider the angular velocity of each body part at specific ranges of motion. To put it simply, let's say your thigh region, will swing at varying speeds depending on what position it is in (and thus how well the muscles involved can carry out that swing). The same can be said for every body segment involved. The most efficient way to maximise the velocity at which your leg can impart force on a ball during a kick is to ensure that contact with the ball occurs when each body part is in an ideal position/ range of its motion. People generally refer to this as technique. And I completely agree with juss, the only way you can perfect your own technique is to work out what works best for you. That could mean your lower back is in a slightly different position to others, it could mean you have to kick with the ball closer to your body, it could mean anything. Everyone has too many individual differences to give a specific routine that will ensure a 50m plus drop punt.

I would add to this the importance of contact, and where your foot strikes the ball. Personally, I find it much easier to point my toes and 'lock' my ankle into end of range when striking a soccer ball from the ground as opposed to kicking a drop punt. I think that plays a key part in me being able to impart much more power and thus kick a soccer ball further than a drop punt, though admittedly I have had much more practice at it.
 
Just an update on my progression, my GF bought me a proper leather footy for Christmas and i've been having a kick at the local oval every couple of nights. Compared to the synthetic balls that I have been used to kicking, I get a lot more air-time with my kicks now. I have also decided to change my run-up and ball grip when kicking for goal. During games when I took a mark and was in range for goal, I would normally just go back a few steps, fiddle with the ball in my hands, take a few steps forward and shoot without any fluency or routine. It worked most of the time, but I feel like I need a proper rhythm now that i'm playing reserves footy.

So with my new ball, i've been taking about 10 metres from the man on the mark, hanging over the ball, focusing on connecting a line between my kicking leg and the middle of the goals (sounds weird but it seems to help focus me) and holding the ball straight, right out in front of me (sort of like what Ahmed Saad does, without the long run-up) and really trying to kick through the ball, which i'm not used to. Tonight I had a shot from about 45m and put it straight through and it landed a good five metres behind the goals, so I am making progress, just got to get use to the ball drop as I am so used to just taking a few steps, going out on a little arc and sort of kicking it like it's a midfield kick. Not used to running in a straight line and kicking it straight through, but it seems to be working for me at the moment.
 

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Spitta2Azza said:
I was wondering if any BF users could give some tips on how to increase the distance when kicking the ball. I'm quite a bulky player with big, strong legs, yet I struggle to kick over 45 metres. I am a very accurate kick, apparently one of the best at the club, but I really struggle with kicking beyond 50. Are leg weights the only option?
Click to expand...

Spent years trying to get a long leg and got it.

What finger do you hold on the seem? I used to use middle, then ring, then finally pinky. When I became a good set shot from 40m, I'd then spend hours/days/months trying to boot the cover off it from outside 50m, always falling short and some making the line.

Then after hours/days/months I would then line up knowing I'm going to hit it from 45m, mentally I felt I was going to get the journey (because visually it was shorter) and did. Then spent hours from 45m getting technique right, so that when I lined up, accuracy was my only thought.

Then I wanted to hit them from 50m with only accuracy being the thought. I would spend hours/days/months kicking from the CHF line occasionally hitting the goal line if I timed it sweet enough. People would see me sometimes doing this and must have thought why don't you practice your distance instead of falling short. Remembering I'm going to get EVERY ball I kicked!!

Then when it came to letting fly from 50m, visually I'm thinking I'll get the journey, so the belief was there for starters, and bang full/3qtr post high. Then I wanted to become an enormous kick, so started kicking balls from in between CHF and the centre circle, always falling short. More hours/days/months.........I could then line up with a player standing on the 50m line usually saying "are you kidding".

I now have a booming kick that people always comment on, but shit I spent time on it and it's my weapon. I love going to a new club and people reel off the line 'oh can kick from 60 off one step" about some player (usually a father of a young bloke). Then in a game this certain player that can hit it from 60 off a step is kicking some shitty whirly gig to 'try' and get the journey from the 50m line.

The hot days I spent chasing that footy around all in the name of getting a long kick was epic!! It was straight up robotic but I was desperate. No-one gave these instructions on how to get a longer kick I just tried it and it worked. Hope that helps :thumbsu:
 
Spitta2Azza said:
So just practice, practice, practice? What's your run-up routine like?


Sent from *james *hird's IPhone. Better go, Dank is calling
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Everyone has a different run up and some just waltz in on feel. I've put a lot of time into my kicking for distance and my run up. I walk 6 steps and always start with my left first. I also have my legs apart instead of my inner ankles/feet touching. I count the 6 steps when I walk in (guy on mark usually says other numbers to put me off but I'm to focused on my routine) then stoll 4 slow run steps for momentum, and the last 4 are power. I use this if I'm a mile out or shooting from 15/20m. I always belt the ball, keep my head over the football and my head only lifts after I've struck the ball.

But that's my run up and it works for me. Heaps of trial and error with the steps etc.
 
Follow through-timing and balance, and you said something about an arc when goal kicking over distance? That's pretty normal mate, also look at your point of contact, it may be to high.
 
Whatever you do, do not try to smash the ball. You'll just shank it. Try a longer run up, bring ball closer to foot before dropping and follow through so that your leg swings up fast and loosely at the hips but have the leg straight. Also try to swing your knee a tiny bit, but not too much to loosen it during the kick to accelerate the leg for more power


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BomberHarro said:
Whatever you do, do not try to smash the ball. You'll just shank it. Try a longer run up, bring ball closer to foot before dropping and follow through so that your leg swings up fast and loosely at the hips but have the leg straight. Also try to swing your knee a tiny bit, but not too much to loosen it during the kick to accelerate the leg for more power


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
It's all about levers

There's one at your hip and one at your knee, ideally if you can connect with the ball at the point of greatest force from both your hip and knee joint it will generate most power (got a mate who worked in biomechanics).

Not many can do that effectively though, the hip joint should generate as much force as you need. Sounds like a timing issue, make sure your toes pointed also
 
Spitta2Azza said:
I was wondering if any BF users could give some tips on how to increase the distance when kicking the ball. I'm quite a bulky player with big, strong legs, yet I struggle to kick over 45 metres. I am a very accurate kick, apparently one of the best at the club, but I really struggle with kicking beyond 50. Are leg weights the only option?
Click to expand...

Alot of people are the same as you! It may come down to timing, contact point, momentum etc. There are alot of different factors that can contribute to this without actually seeing footage of you kicking!

Best kicking school I have heard of is in Sydney called Kicking Dynamics.
 

How to increase kicking distance


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