bornadog
14-09-2017, 11:27 AM
Are AFL players wearing flippers? The art of goal kicking failing the modern game (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-14/are-afl-forwards-wearing-flippers-art-of-goal-kicking/8941016?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)
Your team has possession of the football most of the game. They are leading in tackles, in centre clearances, in 50-metre entries, and yet on the scoreboard they are barely in front.
They risk being overrun by the opposition at any minute and the crowd is losing their minds. Why?
Because key forwards have been kicking like they're wearing flippers and missing the goals.
The Adelaide Crows did it in round 22 against the Sydney Swans. Port Adelaide Power did it against the West Coast Eagles on Saturday.
But nearly every football fan has watched their team kick themselves out of a game they should otherwise win.
So how does a professional footballer, who earns hundreds of thousands a year to kick goals, line up directly in front from 20 metres out, hit the post, score a point, or put the ball out of bounds on the full?
Ex-Swans player Tim Schmidt runs a specialised kicking school and said the game was quicker and faster than ever.
He said players were often fatigued by the time they got their chance at a set shot.
"The game is obviously a lot different to what it was years ago, when you'd have your Tony Locketts, Jason Dunstalls, Gary Abletts [senior] kicking 10 goals a game," Schmidt said.
"Nowadays it's more of a spread. You've got a lot of midfielders pushing down and kicking goals."
At the same time, however, he said it was frustrating to watch modern players miss what should be simple set shots.
"They're professional footballers and they should be kicking them. They should be practising their goal kicking enough to be able to kick those goals," Schmidt said.
"There's so much riding on it."
Players psyching themselves out of kicking truly
Psychological pressure on players is intensifying as the AFL becomes increasingly high profile through television coverage.
The impact on footballers is so obvious that supporters often have running jokes on some of the game's biggest names.
They can fight for the ball and clear it with acts of brilliance, yet when it comes to kicking the ball they can send it just about anywhere other than its intended target.
For players in the grips of a kicking disorder and plummeting confidence, Schmidt advised them to go back to basics, go through their routine, block everything out and focus on the goal umpire or somebody behind the goal umpire.
"You need to concentrate on what you need to do to kick the ball and not on the actual result," he said.
"If you worry about what you can control, your technique, then the result takes care of itself.
"If you worry about the result, there's more chance for error in the actual technique."
But modern goal-kicking techniques were an area that had largely changed for the worse, Schmidt said.
He said the greats kept everything in line with the target, moved forward in a straight line while kicking and followed through in the same straight motion.
"Nowadays you look at a lot of players and they'll either lean back or they'll twist, and they don't have heaps of momentum going towards the target," he said.
"That just makes it harder to get all the timing right and therefore there's going to be more chances for error, and that's why the kicking percentages have been decreasing over the years."
Schmidt said one of the simplest and most effective practice routines was lane kicking — groups leading and kicking to each other in straight lines.
"Generally when you keep everything straight towards the target, and you keep the momentum going towards it, the kicks go straight."
He said he altered his own routine to focus on forward momentum while playing in the AFL and said it improved his consistency.
Follow the same routine no matter what
Another problem with AFL kicking, Schmidt said, was players often relaxed their routine if, for example, they were kicking from just 20 metres directly in front and believed it to be a simple shot.
"When I teach kids and adults about their kicking technique, I tell them they should be kicking through the footy every time," he said.
"The more you do that, you're going to be consistent in your techniques.
"Whereas if you're doing something different for 20 metres than you would for 40 metres, there is more chance of error happening."
Just ask West Coast Eagles player Luke Shuey, who, after kicking the winning goal after the siren in extra time at Adelaide Oval, explained how he put his focus into going through his usual routine to kick the ball regardless of the pressure.
Schmidt said the greatest stars reached the top through hours of practice doing the same thing over and over again until it became muscle memory.
"Have a look at [basketballer] Michael Jordan. How many hours did he practise doing the same thing?"
But asked if football players today were a worse kick than those last century, Schmidt said it was hard to compare because the sport was constantly evolving.
"I'd almost say they were more skilful now because it's a full-time job so they're touching the footy more. But it is frustrating to see the goal-kicking percentage not increasing with that skill level as well."
Your team has possession of the football most of the game. They are leading in tackles, in centre clearances, in 50-metre entries, and yet on the scoreboard they are barely in front.
They risk being overrun by the opposition at any minute and the crowd is losing their minds. Why?
Because key forwards have been kicking like they're wearing flippers and missing the goals.
The Adelaide Crows did it in round 22 against the Sydney Swans. Port Adelaide Power did it against the West Coast Eagles on Saturday.
But nearly every football fan has watched their team kick themselves out of a game they should otherwise win.
So how does a professional footballer, who earns hundreds of thousands a year to kick goals, line up directly in front from 20 metres out, hit the post, score a point, or put the ball out of bounds on the full?
Ex-Swans player Tim Schmidt runs a specialised kicking school and said the game was quicker and faster than ever.
He said players were often fatigued by the time they got their chance at a set shot.
"The game is obviously a lot different to what it was years ago, when you'd have your Tony Locketts, Jason Dunstalls, Gary Abletts [senior] kicking 10 goals a game," Schmidt said.
"Nowadays it's more of a spread. You've got a lot of midfielders pushing down and kicking goals."
At the same time, however, he said it was frustrating to watch modern players miss what should be simple set shots.
"They're professional footballers and they should be kicking them. They should be practising their goal kicking enough to be able to kick those goals," Schmidt said.
"There's so much riding on it."
Players psyching themselves out of kicking truly
Psychological pressure on players is intensifying as the AFL becomes increasingly high profile through television coverage.
The impact on footballers is so obvious that supporters often have running jokes on some of the game's biggest names.
They can fight for the ball and clear it with acts of brilliance, yet when it comes to kicking the ball they can send it just about anywhere other than its intended target.
For players in the grips of a kicking disorder and plummeting confidence, Schmidt advised them to go back to basics, go through their routine, block everything out and focus on the goal umpire or somebody behind the goal umpire.
"You need to concentrate on what you need to do to kick the ball and not on the actual result," he said.
"If you worry about what you can control, your technique, then the result takes care of itself.
"If you worry about the result, there's more chance for error in the actual technique."
But modern goal-kicking techniques were an area that had largely changed for the worse, Schmidt said.
He said the greats kept everything in line with the target, moved forward in a straight line while kicking and followed through in the same straight motion.
"Nowadays you look at a lot of players and they'll either lean back or they'll twist, and they don't have heaps of momentum going towards the target," he said.
"That just makes it harder to get all the timing right and therefore there's going to be more chances for error, and that's why the kicking percentages have been decreasing over the years."
Schmidt said one of the simplest and most effective practice routines was lane kicking — groups leading and kicking to each other in straight lines.
"Generally when you keep everything straight towards the target, and you keep the momentum going towards it, the kicks go straight."
He said he altered his own routine to focus on forward momentum while playing in the AFL and said it improved his consistency.
Follow the same routine no matter what
Another problem with AFL kicking, Schmidt said, was players often relaxed their routine if, for example, they were kicking from just 20 metres directly in front and believed it to be a simple shot.
"When I teach kids and adults about their kicking technique, I tell them they should be kicking through the footy every time," he said.
"The more you do that, you're going to be consistent in your techniques.
"Whereas if you're doing something different for 20 metres than you would for 40 metres, there is more chance of error happening."
Just ask West Coast Eagles player Luke Shuey, who, after kicking the winning goal after the siren in extra time at Adelaide Oval, explained how he put his focus into going through his usual routine to kick the ball regardless of the pressure.
Schmidt said the greatest stars reached the top through hours of practice doing the same thing over and over again until it became muscle memory.
"Have a look at [basketballer] Michael Jordan. How many hours did he practise doing the same thing?"
But asked if football players today were a worse kick than those last century, Schmidt said it was hard to compare because the sport was constantly evolving.
"I'd almost say they were more skilful now because it's a full-time job so they're touching the footy more. But it is frustrating to see the goal-kicking percentage not increasing with that skill level as well."