Relationship between Soccer Shooting Speed and Trunk Angles in the Frontal Plane during One Leg Drop Landing and Standing Hip Abduction Tasks

Background Shooting speed is a crucial skill required to score a goal against the opponent goalkeeper, but the factors influencing shooting speed have been rarely investigated. Purpose This study aimed to explore whether the trunk angles in the frontal plane during one-leg drop landing and standing hip abduction tasks could explain shooting speed. Study design Cross sectional study Methods We recruited elite high school soccer players to participate in the study. They performed the one-leg drop landing task and the standing hip abduction task. In addition, they were asked to perform a penalty kick shoot as strong as possible. All tasks were recorded by a smartphone camera, and shooting speed was measured outdoors on the practice field. Results The trunk angles during one-leg drop landing on the opposite side of the kicking leg and standing hip abduction task on the same side of the kicking leg accounted for 45–50% of the variance in shooting speed for each side. Conclusions This suggests that shooting speed is related to the strategy for controlling the trunk during weight bearing and unstable tasks. Furthermore, the shooting speed can be evaluated through simple functional tasks and analysis, and training programs aimed at improving shooting skills can involve musculature coordination and balance training in unstable conditions.