Technical Coach
Bencher
Jamie really has some technical flaws in his goal kicking that need to be addressed.
First off the overly simplistic suggestion of "keeping your head down" is not about keeping your eye on the ball.
Keeping your head locked down and chin tucked in compresses the upper body and shoulders into the mid section which promotes a more steady core during impact---you must try and hold this position as long as possible before during and after impact.
What this does is reduces the amount of natural body movement moving away from the ball and keeps your momentum moving forward during the swing arc and follow through.
It is very noticeable on kicks out wide that Jamie plants his lead foot too far to the left of the ball which increases the amount his body is already fading away from the strike zone forcing his kicks to the left more often than not.
The better kickers tend to have a controlled draw due to planting their lead foot closer to the ball with more upper and mid body compression over the ball at impact---the swing arc coming from a more tighter in angle.
Not all good kickers have a draw or they might have a slight draw some are dead straight but as long as you keep good compression during impact you will improve accuracy.
During my high school years i studied Ridge, Halligan and Taylor--- just for fun in my spare time i would practice goal kicking and take note of the changes of ball direction.
After two weeks i was kicking around 80% from all angles within a 35m zone, yeah i know easy to do under no pressure but we are looking at the structure of a swing not a players mental state for improvements.
First off the overly simplistic suggestion of "keeping your head down" is not about keeping your eye on the ball.
Keeping your head locked down and chin tucked in compresses the upper body and shoulders into the mid section which promotes a more steady core during impact---you must try and hold this position as long as possible before during and after impact.
What this does is reduces the amount of natural body movement moving away from the ball and keeps your momentum moving forward during the swing arc and follow through.
It is very noticeable on kicks out wide that Jamie plants his lead foot too far to the left of the ball which increases the amount his body is already fading away from the strike zone forcing his kicks to the left more often than not.
The better kickers tend to have a controlled draw due to planting their lead foot closer to the ball with more upper and mid body compression over the ball at impact---the swing arc coming from a more tighter in angle.
Not all good kickers have a draw or they might have a slight draw some are dead straight but as long as you keep good compression during impact you will improve accuracy.
During my high school years i studied Ridge, Halligan and Taylor--- just for fun in my spare time i would practice goal kicking and take note of the changes of ball direction.
After two weeks i was kicking around 80% from all angles within a 35m zone, yeah i know easy to do under no pressure but we are looking at the structure of a swing not a players mental state for improvements.
