Effect of Instruction and Target Position on Penalty Kicking Performance in Soccer

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of instructions that prioritize either speed or accuracy in experienced senior football players when taking penalty kicks at five different targets in a goal. Sixteen male experienced senior football players performed in total 80 penalty kicks with instructions that prioritized either precision or speed at five different targets in the goal. Ball velocity and hit accuracy were evaluated between the two instructions and the five targets. The main findings showed that aiming for velocity resulted in higher ball velocity and lower kicking accuracy than aiming for accuracy. However, kicking accuracy was only lower when kicking to the bottom corner targets. Furthermore, when shooting high at the middle, the percentage of balls on target was higher when aiming for speed rather than accuracy. Based upon the findings of the study, it is suggested that a player should try to kick as fast as possible and aim for the middle of the goal, as ball velocity is faster than when aiming for accuracy and hit percentage in the goal is also at its highest, thereby increasing the chances of outdoing the goalkeeper, who most often goes for one of the sides.