Simple idea to improve your shot

Simple idea to improve your shot

Today, I was watching my boys in backyard kicking the soccer ball.  The favorite soccer activity in our backyard is shooting on goal (which is actually the swing-set).  The thought occurred to me that you could make the activity significantly more productive without expending any more energy.  To understand the productivity boost, you should first understand the way shooting on goal is typically done.

The steps go something like this:
1. Line up a ball in front of you
2. Back up a few steps
3. Step forward and kick the ball

Sometimes the steps are more like this:
1. Step to the ball in front of you
2. Tap it foreward a few pases and wait for it to settle
3. Step forward and kick the ball

As I observe soccer games, I have noticed that very rarely is the ball stationary, and waiting for someone to kick it at the goal.  The great majority of shots have to be taken while the ball is moving.

So I recommend the following modification to the shoot-on-goal activity which would yield game-time results:

1. Step to the ball in front of you
2. Tap it forward
3. Strike the ball before it settles

The amount of energy expended would be no different, but, at least initially, it would require extra focus as it will require more concentration to strike a moving ball.  After a couple weeks of doing this, it would become the new normal, and striking a moving ball would achieve the same accuracy that you now have when striking a stationary ball, and your run-up would inherently shorten in the process.

Battleship Tournament Results

We did complete our first Battleship tournament this morning.  I have an observation about it that I think is noteworthy.

The boys who won this event were the ones who were most aggressive on the ball.  They always attacked the ball, and went for points.  They did this even when the ball was short, or obviously out of bounds.  The boys who were more discriminating in choosing when they would go for points were much slower to get in position to attack an in-bounds ball.

The winner of our first 2013 Battleship tournament was (and :
Landon

2nd place,
Peyton

3rd & Fouth
Brendon & Ben

Congratulations gentlemen!!