Study of kick feint motion for quick changes in whole body movement direction in football

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate which joint motions are involved in achieving the quick turning movement with kick feint motions that are frequently used in soccer games. Ten healthy male experienced soccer players performed a turning movement with a kick feint. Their movements in a three-dimensional plane were recorded using four high-speed cameras, and then we calculated the kinematics of the whole body and lower extremities. We found that subjects with higher velocity in the turning movement flexed their trunk laterally and forward more than subjects with lower velocity and rotated their upper and lower trunks simultaneously. In addition, the right hip flexion displacement during the ball manipulation was smaller with these turning movements. These results suggest that, in feinting motions involving the manipulation of a soccer ball, it is important to keep the position of the ball-handling foot in a lower position and the flexion and rotation of the entire torso to achieve a quick change of direction.