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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Biomechanics and Control of Human Movement
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1434096

Quantification in shooting precision for preferred and non-preferred foot in college soccer players using the 95% equal confidence ellipse

Provisionally accepted
Yusuke Shimotashiro Yusuke Shimotashiro Masahiro Shinya Masahiro Shinya *
  • Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Shooting precision is a fundamental characteristic in soccer, yet the probabilistic structure and magnitude of precision in soccer shooting remain quantitatively unexplored. This study aimed to quantify shooting precision using measures derived from the bivariate normal distribution for both preferred and non-preferred feet. Sixteen right-footed collegiate soccer players participated by performing instep kicks aiming at targets which are placed close to the left and right top corners of the soccer goal. We used bivariate normal distribution modeled the ball positions, revealing an ellipsoidal distribution, and the area of the 95% confidence ellipses served as an index of precision. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed a significant main effect of the kicking foot. For shots aimed at the same side as the kicking foot, the area of the 95% confidence ellipse was 6.17 ± 1.93 m² (mean ± SD) for the preferred foot and 10.22 ± 3.53 m² for the non-preferred foot. Similar results were observed for shots aimed at the opposite side of the kicking foot. These quantitative findings hold promise for advancing soccer research and enhancing practical applications in soccer skill assessment.

    Keywords: variability, accuracy, Football, Kick, motor control, Bivariate normal distribution

    Received: 17 May 2024; Accepted: 27 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shimotashiro and Shinya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Masahiro Shinya, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, 739-8524, Hiroshima, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.