Fixing our ****ing awful goal kicking

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

I m sure I mentioned it earlier in this thread, I still think our set shot misses are all in the players heads. We have missed so many times that players are over thinking and worrying they will miss. We have to get over the psychological factors.

It comes down to technique which is taught at a junior level by good Coaching. Schache and Dickson stand out with learned correct disposal.

[bornadog]

It comes down to technique which is taught at a junior level by good Coaching. Schache and Dickson stand out with learned correct disposal.

I believe we have the techique. We have some fantastic kickers in our team. Suckling, Lloyd, Schache, Richards, Dickson, Bont, Crozier, to name a few. However, when they get in front of goal, they have issues.

[Twodogs]

I believe we have the techique. We have some fantastic kickers in our team. Suckling, Lloyd, Schache, Richards, Dickson, Bont, Crozier, to name a few. However, when they get in front of goal, they have issues.

That's why we are talking about goal kicking technique which is very different to field kicking technique.

[bornadog]

That's why we are talking about goal kicking technique which is very different to field kicking technique.

Goal kicking requires your concentration, and you still need to hit a target. Players are more relaxed when field kicking as they don't even think about it, whereas in goal kicking all sorts of minds games can happen.

[mjp]

So Bont talked a lot about this and what the players are doing about it on the ‘freedom’ podcast...

What did everyone think?

[Twodogs]

Goal kicking requires your concentration, and you still need to hit a target. Players are more relaxed when field kicking as they don't even think about it, whereas in goal kicking all sorts of minds games can happen.

Precisely. So the idea is to empty your mind of any outside distractions. Taking a deep breath should help facilitate that. Walking back and worrying about your technique isn't going to help.

It's sort of like getting to November and realising that you haven't submitted your tax return. If you let it get to that stage then all the hand wringing and panic in the world isn't going to help.

[ratsmac]

These goal kicking woes run deep, real deep. In fact it goes all the way to the supporters. Today I played super rules (old man slow motion footy), I had a chance to ice the game with a minute to go with a set shot from 20 meters out directly in front, well it was lucky to be a point. The ball goes up the other end and the other team kicks a goal after the siren.

So I apologise to any player I've ever swore at for missing easy set shots, it happens to the best of us

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Goal kicking same as putting in terms of routine and being so deliberate and scary. I played golf with a nurse who takes suicide calls in emergency. Yet she could crumble at the pressure of a short put that we should get.

[The Adelaide Connection]

Does anyone else feel like the second Tory retires that another club will employ him as their goal kicking coach? The bloke has an incredible record.

I hope we have at least trialled getting him to mentor other players.

[bornadog]

Does anyone else feel like the second Tory retires that another club will employ him as their goal kicking coach? The bloke has an incredible record.

I hope we have at least trialled getting him to mentor other players.

That goal he kicked on Saturday in the rain was a ripper and sealed the game. I agree he should be employed as a goal kicking coach.

[The Adelaide Connection]

That goal he kicked on Saturday in the rain was a ripper and sealed the game. I agree he should be employed as a goal kicking coach.

Absolutely.
Heavy ball, 50 out on a 45 degree angle.
Rain falling and wind blowing every which way.
Puts it straight through the middle.

It wont get nominated for goal of the week, but their aren't many that could kick that.

[Mofra]

Does anyone else feel like the second Tory retires that another club will employ him as their goal kicking coach? The bloke has an incredible record.

I hope we have at least trialled getting him to mentor other players.

I'm just wondering if there is much of a difference between 'doing' and 'coaching'.

My theory on Tory's accuracy - he spent years outside the AFL system (including a huge season at Noble Park). He would have been kicking for goal on all types of grounds in all conditions and without sports scientists dragging players off the field the second they reach a certain loading, I suspect he took more shots on goal at training than guys in the elite system are allowed to.

Some guys are naturally good kicks (Gilbee) but accuracy is as much about repetition than anything. He would have had the opportunity to simply practice a lot more.

[Webby]

I have a theory on goal kicking whereby the weighting of the kick should be taken into account. Field kicking is as much about weighting a kick as it is direction.

When kicking for goal out in the elements, a shot at goal will consider weighting. By this I mean that, if a player is shooting from a 45 degree angle with a breeze blowing towards goal, they can weight the kick so that it reaches its zenith above the goal square, thus allowing the breeze to drop it over the goal umpire’s head.

With field kicking, even if the ball is kicked slightly off target, it tends to correct itself slightly with the lace direction. Players can get a feel for this. (A good, exaggerated example of this is the Buddy/Suckling effect of their kicks tending slightly rightwards until reaching their zenith, then drifting back leftwards again as they move between the zenith and the landing spot.

Players all have an ever so slight shape to their kicks. The ball rarely travels dead straight through the air. This seems more exaggerated with left footers (ie. Franklin, Suckling, Bont, Cloke etc.) These players become accustomed to knowing where their kicks shape and land. A bit like a golfer. This is because they field kick so much more often than they shoot for goal.

It’s also why so many of the aforementioned seem to be a better shot from distance than they are from up close. It’s because their brain is more attuned to where the ball will land than where it will be at a certain point in the air along the journey.

And this is where I believe Dickson’s got it worked out. If you watch him take a shot from ANY distance, he only tries to drop the ball 3-6m behind the goal umpire’s head. (And this is what the players mentioned above can effectively ONLY do when they are shooting from 50m plus.

It’s a process of popping the ball over the goal umpire’s head - not pounding it 20m back.
If the penny drops on that, a lot of players will benefit. I saw Macrae do it on Saturday from open play. Hopefully it twigs something!

[westdog54]

I'm just wondering if there is much of a difference between 'doing' and 'coaching'.

My theory on Tory's accuracy - he spent years outside the AFL system (including a huge season at Noble Park). He would have been kicking for goal on all types of grounds in all conditions and without sports scientists dragging players off the field the second they reach a certain loading, I suspect he took more shots on goal at training than guys in the elite system are allowed to.

Some guys are naturally good kicks (Gilbee) but accuracy is as much about repetition than anything. He would have had the opportunity to simply practice a lot more.

Having never coached at any level I can't answer that question.

I can say there is absolutely a difference between doing and teaching.

The old adage that 'those that can, do, that that can't, teach' is bunk. Those that can teach, teach.

In saying that, if we're not exploring utilising Tory as a mentor at the very least, we're wasting an opportunity.

[Twodogs]

Yep, teaching is a skill in itself. I've got an education degree so I'm not going to deny it!