Tips for taking a penalty kick

Tips for Taking a Penalty Kick in Soccer

Today I'm gonna explain how to handle a penalty from both the kicker's perspective. I'll start off with the kicker's perspective. Taking a penalty kick is a very nerve-wrecking thing to do. There are two ways to take a penalty kick. You can either use accuracy and placement, or you can simply use power. Usually people tend to use placement. When using placement there are a few steps to take. Step one, is the breathe. It is important to control your breathing while you are lined up and waiting for the whistle to take your kick. Step two, is to control your run up. You don't want to get to anxious and sprint towards the ball. Just keep a cool pace and calmly take your run up. Step three is to control your body language. The way your hips are facing and where your eyes are looking can be very revealing to the keeper as to where you plan to place the ball. Step four is to kick the ball. For a a placement shot, you are going to use the inside of your foot; this allows more control. Meanwhile, during this whole process, you have to pick a place to kick the ball and visualize the ball going exactly where you want it. If you're not much for the accuracy technique, you may go with a power approach. The first three steps are the same for both shots. The difference however, comes when making contact with the ball. While during a placement shot you are using the side of your foot, for a power shot you are using your laces (the flat top part of your foot). During a placement shot, you are going to be aiming for one of the four corners of the goal. For a power shot, you are more or less just picking either the right or the left side of the goal. The whole point of the shot is to kick it with all your might, so even if the keeper does guess the right way, the ball will be going so fast and hard that he still won't be able to stop it. Hopefully you are successful. The most important thing to do when taking a penalty kick however, is keeping your composure. You must stay calm and collective the whole time. If you go in nervous and anxious you are asking for failure. Thanks for hearing me out and I hope this information is helpful!