Comparison of Kicking Speed between Female and Male Soccer Players

A comparative study of the ball-kicking motion for the instep kick of female and male athletes was conducted by using an optical motion capture system. The results showed that the thigh and shank energies were lower overall for female athletes, and that the average thigh-to-shank energy ratio was significantly lower for female athletes than for male athletes (p < 0.05). This suggests that female athletes may have poorer thigh-to-shank energy transfer techniques than do male athletes. Furthermore, a forward dynamics simulation was performed to examine the impact of the vertical force component of the hip joint on the swing velocity. As the vertical translational force increased during a forward swing, the swing velocity also tended to increase. Therefore, accelerating the hip joint of the kicking leg in the vertical direction during the forward swing of the instep motion may be assumed to increase the swing velocity. Such hip acceleration is one of the technical elements that could be improved to increase ball velocity in female athletes.