Soccer is a popular game that relies on skill, precision, and pure athleticism. Fans enjoy the breathtaking moments of the game, including expert dribbling, cunning tackling, careful passes, etc.
But one of the most heart-throbbing moments in a soccer game is the rocket-like strike of the ball, targeting the opponent’s goalpost. Audiences just succumb to the shooting of the ball that’s hurtling toward the goalpost in a matter of seconds.
That’s where the question comes in, how fast can a player kick a soccer ball?
A number of factors contribute to shooting speed, force, and accuracy. This article will point out those factors as well as other relevant aspects to satisfy your query. Let’s jump right in!
How Fast Can a Player Kick a Soccer Ball?
It depends on the level of practice and experience a player has gathered in soccer to determine how fast he can kick the ball.
Usually, young soccer players aged 15 to 20 or above usually kick the ball at 40-50 miles per hour (60 km/hour or above).
The speed may exceed 50 mph as the player grows stronger in his kicks over the years based on stronger muscles, more agility, and sharper accuracy.
How Fast Do Professional Players Kick a Ball?
Players at professional levels are capable of kicking the ball in an awe-inspiring manner. Their shots mostly make other players inferior while the audience drops their jaws.
Those superhuman-like kicks are something special. Typically, most professional and seasoned players are able to kick a soccer ball at speeds ranging from 50–80 miles per hour (80–129 km/hour).
Nonetheless, the speed limit mentioned above is just an average. Did you know that some players are exceptionally great at kicking with clocked speeds of 90 miles per hour and above (145 km/hour)?
Believe it or not, that’s a fact.
Which Professional Soccer Players Have the Fastest Recorded Shots?
Several players have earned legendary status for their extraordinary ability to strike a soccer ball at blistering speeds. Among them, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham stand out as two of the fastest shooters in the history of the sport. Oh, to be one of them!
The former Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson registered the fastest-recorded shot in 2006. Ronny launched a missile of a free-kick that reached 210 km per hour in its trajectory! Insane, right?
That kick by Ronny was also significant due to being shot in the 88th minute of the match, winning it for his team. Without any doubt, Ronny carried a rocket launcher for a left foot that busted the opponent’s net that day!
How Fast Does the Average Player Kick a Soccer Ball?
You might’ve started dreaming of kicking the same kind of shot while dribbling through the rival players or attempting for a free kick. To be honest, it’s almost an impossible feat to achieve in the first place.
But hey, do not be turned down so easily. It’s difficult, not impossible. With sheer dedication, the right amount of practice, and technique, you can extend your shot speed as best as possible.
But do you know what the average kicking speed of most soccer players is?
A recreational soccer player’s average kicking speed may range from 30 to 50 miles per hour. However, a professional player, on the other hand, let’s say, Christiano Ronaldo, can hit around 80 miles per hour on average with his kick.
While it’s highly inspiring to know such feats, you must concentrate on your drills to constantly improve your shot’s velocity.
What Factors Affect the Speed of the Soccer Ball?
It’s not just the kick, after all; there are a few vital factors that go into an effective and thunderous shot done by a professional soccer player.
Let’s read about some of these factors below:
Technique
It’s crucial to learn proper techniques of shooting the soccer ball to gain sufficient momentum along the way. Besides, it’s not just speed you’re aiming for; the ball must be shot through the right trajectory, too.
To apply a perfect technique during a kick, a player must focus on the following:
- Contact point on the ball
- Angle of approach
- The follow-through
All these aspects make up the whole mechanism of a powerful soccer kick. A player must comprehend this mechanism regularly while improving his precision, timing, and speed.
Eventually, it’s not just brute force; proper techniques must work together to make a successful, fast-paced soccer kick.
Leg Strength
Whether you’re a lightweight or a heavy athletic soccer player, your leg muscles need to be in shape. Without strong leg muscles, producing swift kicks is a cumbersome job.
How do you develop strong leg muscles? Opt for exercises like squats, lunges, and plyometrics to improve foot strength, including muscles, bones, and joints.
But how do sturdier legs help increase shot speed? Actually, your hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf muscles work in combination to generate force while kicking. Hence, working these parts of your legs is vital to appropriately land forceful kicks.
Proper and regular strength-training workouts are also necessary to keep you going throughout the match. Maintaining stamina and producing a net-buster kick in the nick of time can win you games.
Foot-to-Ball Contact
To produce the kick with the right speed and force, you need to know where the sweet spot is in your leg. Technically, it’s just above the ankle. You can maximize accuracy and power with the right contact between this and the ball.
The point of contact on the ball also contributes to its perfect direction. As you ensure an accurate and powerful kick from above your ankle, sheer energy will transpire to take the ball in your desired direction.
Run-Up Speed
In both short and mid-run-ups before kicking the ball, speed matters. An appropriate speed while approaching the ball will affect your shot’s force.
Think of it like a simple bike ride. You start pedaling slowly. But as you push forward, you gain momentum to speed up. Similarly, your run-up and associated speed will determine how fast you can kick the ball.
Although essential, the run-up aspect is often neglected by most young players. Remember, a well-timed and controlled run-up will allow your kinetic energy to transfuse into the ball, hence, a faster shot.
Flexibility
Heavily built soccer players don’t necessarily generate the most powerful or fastest kicks all the time. Rather, a soccer player should preferably be more flexible. It lets you achieve a greater range of motion.
A broader range of motion lets you extend your leg, increasing the required force to kick the ball. You can achieve such flexibility by doing stretching workouts, yoga, etc.
Believe it or not, you can produce surprisingly powerful kicks by being flexible. For many sports physicians, a player’s flexibility is key to smooth, accurate, and powerful shots.
What Are the Benefits of Kicking the Soccer Ball Fast?
So why is it necessary to kick the soccer ball fast? Does it contribute to the match result? Can it turn the match condition over to your side?
We’ll know shortly as we share its benefits below:
Increased Goal-Scoring Opportunities
If you ever want to jolt the opposing goalkeeper, a faster shot will do the trick. The faster you kick the ball to the goalpost’s direction, the fewer chances for the goalkeeper to stop the ball.
Even the most lucid and athletic goalkeeper will miss the heartbeat. He’ll react late as he’s watching the ball rocketing toward him to destroy the defense. If he misses, you hit the goal!
Whether you’re unleashing a long-range or close-range kick, if it’s electrifying fast, the goalkeeper will mostly find it too difficult to tackle and deter the ball’s direction.
Competitive Edge
If you wonder what could be called a game-changer in a soccer match, this is your answer—a forceful shot, a sudden out-of-nowhere lightning shot from the mid-field or D-box to barge inside the fort.
Such a staggering shot can change the game even in the last remaining minutes. When things look depressing, a mighty kick may spurt an electric wake-up call among the players and the audience.
That’s why a powerful shot-maker is a vital asset to a soccer team. He can create opportunities from a seemingly hopeless match. He can further slide through a strong opponent’s defense and produce a perfect shot to hit the goalpost.
Strategic Advantage in Set Pieces
Strong players with powerful kicks can also extend their capacity by participating in free kicks, penalties, and corners.
These moments are called set pieces. Such set pieces are priceless moments where your precision and force can make a real difference. Free kicks or penalties are vital since you can utilize these opportunities by shooting a hammering kick to get a goal.
Psychological Impact
Reading out the above factors, you might think only physical attributes regulate a soccer match on the field. However, that’s not the complete truth.
Along with physical strength and agility, a player must adhere to the psychological advantage in a game of soccer. And with a blistering kick toward the goalie, you can just do that.
Don’t take it lightly, as the psychological impact of a speedy shot can momentarily demoralize the opponents. That single moment sometimes can work in your favor to change the game and get the upper hand.
Conversely, on your side, your teammates on the ground can joyously take note of that dominating moment. It can boost their confidence to come back to the game.
How Can I Get a More Powerful Shot?
If you want to launch shots with tremendous velocity in soccer games and win matches for your team, take note of the following tips:
Practice, Practice, and Practice!
How many hours should be enough to develop mighty soccer kicks? Ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty? In fact, even a hundred hours can’t be enough sometimes if you’re devoted to continuously improving your shot.
That being said, you don’t need to despair of the outlook. Rather, start on your drills today, master the techniques, and dispatch twenty to thirty kicks a day. Also, don’t shy away from applying them to real matches.
Set aside specific training sessions. Focus on building strengths besides mastering the techniques. Repeat as long as you’re not gaining the optimum speed in your shots. Install a basic kick-measuring clock behind the goalpost during practice to check your progress.
Focus on Technique
How to focus on speed-gaining techniques?
Start from your stance before the kick, then your run-up, front-foot positioning, and lastly, your striker foot’s angle and motion as it approaches the ball.
Don’t miss the follow-through, like keeping the ankle straight, even after the ball is launched through the air. A well-shaped follow-through is absolutely important to set the ball to its optimum velocity as it’s kicked off the ground.
Strengthen Leg Muscles
Like we’ve said before, your leg muscles play a crucial role in generating the right amount of speed in the ball. So focus on strengthening your leg muscles, including hamstrings, quadriceps, calf muscles, etc.
Try regularly doing workouts, like lunges, squats, plyometrics, etc., to build your leg muscles for stronger and speedier kicks.
Work on Flexibility
To improve the range of motion, you must work on your flexibility. A longer range of motion may help you accumulate more power the moment before your striker’s foot touches the ball.
To attain flexibility, you may do stretching exercises like lying hamstring stretch, core, long adductor stretch, etc. You can also do yoga to attain enough flexibility.
Analyze Professional Players
Watching professional soccer players doing magical tricks and tackling is a treat to the eyes. But you need to do a bit more than just enjoy their performances. You must study their techniques repetitively.
After all, what could be a better option than learning from the best players in the game? Watch their videos, analyze their movements, take notes, and try applying them to your game to improve your shot’s speed and accuracy.
Conclusion
A quick shot of the soccer ball isn’t just a fancy feat in the game. It’s something that sets you apart from the others while attempting to win it for the team.
As a serious soccer player, you must improve your leg muscles, kicking techniques, shooting accuracy, and more. So whenever you find the opportunity to make a thrusting kick to the opponent’s goalpost, it must pierce through the air and hit the net.
With proper dedication and regular practice, you can also learn to kick the soccer ball at a monumental speed that debilitates the opponent players while putting the audience in awe!
