The performance of female players is increasing worldwide. It seems important to be able to kick a fast ball for scoring goals in a high level soccer game. To kick a fast ball, clarifying the leg swing motion mechanism, and conducting training suitable for female which is based on scientific evidence are inevitable. This study was designed to compare the swing motion between female and male soccer players to extract the mechanical and technical characteristics of female players. The motion capture system (250 Hz) were used to compare ball velocity, foot velocity, average peak knee joint torques, angular velocity of thigh and shank, and average energy ratio of female and male soccer players in an attempt to elucidate the mechanical and technical characteristics of female players before ball impact. The ball velocity, foot velocity immediately prior to impact, and average peak knee and hip joint torques, average thigh and shank energy were smaller for the female players than for the male players (p < 0.05). Moreover, the mean thigh-to-shank energy ratio for female players was lower than that of male players. Female and male players' swing motions presumably include energy transfer by means of a kinetic chain technique between the thigh and shank; however, our results suggest that female players may have a lower thigh-to-shank energy ratio than male players. In order for female players to increase ball velocity, effective transfer of energy from thigh-to-shank seems to be vital important.
The Proceedings of Joint Symposium: Symposium on Sports Engineering, Symposium on Human Dynamics
