Winning a Soccer Penalty Shootout: Cheering Convincingly Increases Chances of Success

Behaviour is contagious. If you see someone yawn or smile, it's often a matter of seconds before you do the same yourself. This copying behaviour also turns out to work on the soccer pitch. "The more convincingly someone celebrates their success with their teammates, the greater the chances that team will win," according to Dr. Gert-Jan Pepping, Sport Scientist and lecturer in Human Movement Sciences at the University of Groningen.

From an evolutionary point of view, this 'contagious' behaviour is easy to explain.The ability to copy certain behaviours is important to survive in social groups. Pepping: "A good example is the behaviour of a school of fish, such as herring or sardines. Only by synchronizing with each other, that is, doing exactly the same thing as much as possible, do they increase their chances of survival." In addition, copying behaviour has another function: learning from each other. These two functions imply that we communicate individual and group aims via movement. Also emotional movement behaviour, such as cheering, can be understood in this way.

Emotions are often understood and explained in the context of what has just happened. However, emotions can also influence the future, Pepping's research has revealed. His research group investigated whether the way soccer players express their delight at a successful penalty influences the final result of a penalty shootout. Pepping: "What's nice about a penalty shootout is that the individual aim of scoring a penalty directly serves the group aim of winning the match."

Positive attitude

Pepping and his research group (Moll, Jordet, & Pepping, 2010) studied a large number of penalty shootouts during important soccer matches, but only as long as the score in the shootout was still equal. After every shot at goal, the player was assessed on the degree to which he expressed happiness and pride after scoring. This revealed that the players who expressed this clearly, for example by throwing their arms up into the air, usually belonged to the winning team. "This enthusiastic behaviour infected the team with a positive attitude. Also important, the opposing team was made to feel that little bit more insecure." In the study this latter effect was shown by the finding that when someone cheered with both arms in the air, it was more than twice as likely that the next opponent would miss his penalty.

What's very important is that the scored goal is celebrated with the people you want to infect. Pepping: "If you cheer facing the supporters after you've scored a penalty, the supporters will get wildly enthusiastic. That's all very fine, but they're not the ones who have to perform at that moment. Your team members on the pitch are. It's very important to celebrate together -- that's what makes scoring contagious."

Motivating each other

The same principle is easy to project onto situations outside the sports field, according to Pepping. Even in an office situation you can motivate each other by dwelling on a good group performance and celebrating it with each other. That means that the whole team will share the feelings of pride and confidence, which raises performance levels. However, you should be careful not to exaggerate by taking the expressions of happiness or pride out of context, according to Pepping.

In some countries people tend to react to success in a less heated way than in in others. "In the Netherlands many people seem to have forgotten how to react exuberantly." According to Pepping, if you want to increase your chances of success, both on the sports field and in daily life, it's important to 'take the brakes off'. It's natural to cheer in reaction to a victory. What's more, as revealed by the research, when individual and group interests coincide it's also a very functional reaction. More cheering means more success.

Soccer Improves Health, Fitness and Social Abilities

Soccer is a pleasurable team sport that provides an all-round fitness and can be used as treatment for lifestyle-related diseases. Men worry less when playing soccer than when running. Women's soccer creates we-stories and helps women stay active.

The above statements are taken from some of the results from an extensive soccer research project involving more than 50 researchers from seven countries. The researchers studied physiological, psychological and sociological aspects of recreational soccer and compared it with running. Led by Professors Peter Krustrup and Jens Bangsbo from the Department of Exercise and Sports Sciences, University of Copenhagen, the 3-year project covered several intervention studies involving both men, women and children, who were divided into soccer, running and control groups.

The results from the studies are so remarkable that the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports are publishing a special edition issue entitled "Football for Health" containing 14 scientific articles from the soccer project on April 6, 2010.

Soccer for Health

The researchers studied the physical effects of soccer training for untrained subjects aged 9 to 77 years. The conclusion was clear. Soccer provides broad-spectred health and fitness effects that are at least as pronounced as for running, and in some cases even better.

Study leader Peter Krustrup concludes "Soccer is a very popular team sport that contains positive motivational and social factors that may facilitate compliance and contribute to the maintenance of a physically active lifestyle. The studies presented have demonstrated that soccer training for two-three hours per week causes significant cardiovascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal adaptations, independent on gender, age or lack of experience with soccer."

Professor Jens Bangsbo continues: "The effects can be maintained for a long period even with a reduced frequency of training to one to two times one hour a week. Recreational soccer, therefore, appears to be an effective type of training leading to performance improvements and significant beneficial effects to health, including a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases, falls and fractures. In a number of aspects, soccer training appears to be superior to running training. Soccer training can also be used to treat hypertension and it was clearly superior to a standard treatment strategy of physician-guided traditional recommendations."

The two researchers foresee a great perspective in using soccer as a health promoting activity: "The studies have convincingly shown that soccer training is effective to enhance fitness and the health profile for the general population. Future studies are needed to understand what is causing the beneficial effects of football, how well football can be used to improve heart health in early childhood and how other patient groups such as those with type II diabetes or cancer can benefit from playing soccer."

Soccer creates we-stories and helps women stay active

One of the many aspects of the study was to examine the level of social capital for women gained from running and soccer. Even though both the soccer players and the runners trained in groups, there were significant differences in the way they interacted and what they considered the most important aspects of the sport they were engaging in. The runners were more focused on themselves as individuals, whereas the soccer players developed "we"-stories as they began to see themselves as a team. From the beginning, most of the women, both soccer players and runners, thought running would be an easier form of exercise to stick to after the intervention programme was over. That turned out not to be the case:

"The most important finding was the difference in social interaction and creation of we-stories between the groups, which may impact the possibilities of long-term compliance. A year after the study, many of the soccer players continue to play soccer, some have even joined an organised soccer club. Not many from the running group have continued their training. This can very well be due to the fact that the runners focussed on their health and on getting in shape, whereas the soccer players were more committed to the activity itself, including the fun and not letting down team mates," says Associate Professor Laila Ottesen.

Men worry less when playing soccer than when running

Another study examined the exertion experienced during training for untrained adults and their experience of "worries" and "flow." This study, based on 6 groups of untrained men and women, showed that all groups experienced an overall high level of flow during the intervention, which underlines that the participants felt motivated, happy and involved to the point where they forgot time and fatigue. There was no difference in the level of worry for the female soccer players and runners, but the running men seemed to worry quite a lot more than their soccer playing counterparts.

- "The men that played soccer elicited lower levels of worry than during running, 2.8 vs 4.0 on a 0-6 scale, and although they are training at the same average heart rate they do not feel the exertion as strongly as during running" says Associate Professor Anne-Marie Elbe and adds: "Further research is needed to examine why men and women experience playing soccer differently but it could be that the men just have had more experience with football in earlier years than the women."

Documentation for FIFA, Michelle Obama and others

F-MARC, the research unit of FIFA, is a central partner in the project and the research provides scientific documentation for initiatives such as FIFA's newly launched "The 11 for Health" campaign that uses soccer as an educational health tool for children in order to raise awareness and improve health in African and South American communities. Also Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" project aiming at eliminating obesity in American children through diet and sports have recently promoted soccer as a favourable activity. The research results are also used in Europe, where the research group is directly involved in implementing the results through projects focusing on adults and children, such as "The Open Soccer Club project," "The Soccer at Work project" and the "Intensity in Pupil School Sport project." Sports Confederations, Football Associations, Ministries of Culture and Health and researchers from Universities, Hospitals and Centres for Working Environment are cooperating about the implementation and scientific evaluation of those projects.

The Psychology of Penalty Kicks

Keepers Should Stay Put

Goalkeepers don't have much time to react to a penalty kicker, so they have to guess which way the ball will go before it's kicked. Most keepers start in the center and dive right or left, often away from the ball. An analysis of 286 penalty kicks found that when keepers jumped right, they had a 12.6 percent chance of stopping the kick, and when they jumped left, they had a 14.2 percent chance of stopping it, but when they stayed in the center the succeed 33.3 percent percent of the time. So why do they jump? To avoid feelings of regret after inaction.

Standing Off-Center is Better
If goalkeepers do plan a jumping strategy, they should begin 6-10 centimeters to one side of the center-point. According to a study, this will subconsciously induce the kicker to shoot to the side with more space an extra 10 percent of the time. Knowing this, the keeper can then jump to that side.

Don't Rush a Kick
Scientists who looked at the amount of time players took before making a penalty kick after the ref blew the go-ahead whistle found that those who took longer performed slightly better. Players who rushed may have been trying to escape a stressful situation. On the other hand, the longer the ref delayed the blowing of the whistle, the worse the kickers performed.

Tell Yourself Not to Screw It Up
Researchers asked players to take five penalty kicks each. Those told not to miss more than two scored more than those told to score at least three. When you're expected to score (about three quarters of penalty kicks go in), you're better off framing the task as a duty to avoid messing up than as a chance to succeed.

Stick to a Target
Kickers should pick a spot and try to hit it no matter what, rather than attempt to react to a keeper's movements during the run-up to the kick. Last-moment alterations lead to errors.

Don't Stress
A survey of hundreds of penalty kicks from championship matches revealed that stress (how much was riding on the kick) determined kickers' success more strongly than their skill or fatigue did.

Goals From the Left Look Stronger
In most languages we read sentences from left to right. Our experience reading biases us to imagine actions happening from left to right. (See: Aesthetics: Reading, Writing, Rembrant.) In one study, people watched clips of soccer goals going left to right or right to left. Italian speakers rated the LTR goals stronger, faster, and more beautiful. Arabic speakers, who read right to left, preferred RTL goals. Not really useful, just interesting.

Credits: Matthew Hutson and the Science of Psych

Curl a Free Kick Like David Beckham

HOW TO TAKE A DIRECT CURLING FREE KICK

Free kicks are an exciting and important element to the game of soccer. Beckham, Ronaldo, and Pirlo are incredible masters of this skill and with a bit of practice you will enhance your ability to put the ball in the back of the net with the deadly combination of pace and spin.

Preparation

Place the ball down on the spot where the free kick is to be taken from. Start in a stationary position with the ball up to two meters ahead of you. You may want a longer run-up if the free kick is further out. Beckham would start his run up from a wider position, but generally players approach the ball at an angle of around 45 degrees.

A good tip to get more power is to make sure the valve is facing the player and strike the valve when taking the free kick as it is the hardest area of the ball. Cristiano Ronaldo is known to employ this tactic. This will make for a more vicious kick, meaning the goalkeeper will find it harder to deal with.

Make sure that your run-up to a free kick is pre-measured, taking three, four or five paces back (run-ups can vary). This will ensure that you do not wrong-foot yourself.

Getting Ready to Strike the Ball

Keep your head steady, eyes on the ball before striking it and start a measured run up from side on. The more you swing your leg back and the quicker you move your foot forward, the harder the ball will go.

It is also possible to inject more curl into the shot by using the movement of your hips - move the hip on your non-kicking side forward as you go to strike and the other hip will automatically withdraw. Remember to use your arms to keep balance.

Approaching the ball from side on will mean more curl is applied to the ball.

Japan international Shunsuke Nakamura, scorer of two free kicks for Celtic against Manchester United in the Champions League, believes psychology is also an important factor. It is helpful to be calm when preparing to shoot and not too eager.

Making Contact

Striking the ball with the inside of your foot will ensure that more curl and spin is applied. It is also important to strike the outside of the ball as this will create even more curl. Placing the plant foot near to, and slightly behind, the ball (make sure this area of the ground is secure, as some pitches are softer than others) should also result in more accuracy, although do not put it too close as this will make it more difficult to lift the ball.

The closer you are to goal, the less force you need, so try to cut through the side of the ball more in this instance.

The foot on contact comes across the ball from inside to outside, and finally makes contact with the right side of the ball (the left side if you are left footed). This enables the ball to swerve from right to left.

Direction of Free Kick

If you are aiming for the far post, the ball should swing out and then come back in. A player has to get enough height on the ball to lift it over the wall by getting his foot underneath it on contact, and enough curl to keep it away from the goalkeeper.

In order to get the ball to curl and drop down at the right moment, it is good to turn your ankle upwards on connection. If you can get the ball to go just above the wall, it is harder for the goalkeeper to determine where it is heading.

Placement

An ideal free-kick will finish up in the corner of the goal. The more you lean back, the higher the ball will go, so if you are aiming to keep a free-kick low, reduce the amount you lean back.Practice is the key to perfecting free kicks, although many professionals will tell you not to spend too long, perhaps limiting this to 10 minutes, hitting 20 or 30 balls.

Lightning Safety for Toronto Rush FC Games

The safety of players, spectators, and staff is the primary concern in
any weather event that occurs during all matches of Toronto Rush FC.

By understanding and following the below information, the safety of everyone shall be
greatly increased. Ultimately the referee has the final say over delaying or restarting a
match due to weather.

Waiting to stop play or not waiting to start play may result in a
serious injury or loss of life. Referees are expected to act responsibly when dealing with
such events during matches they are controlling.

When lightning is detected, you can determine the distance of lightning in your area by
counting the number of seconds between the flash and the first sound of the thunder and
dividing by five(5). This will give you the distance in miles from your location. Remember,
if you are in a higher elevation, the lightning can come upon you much quicker and your
reaction time is greatly hindered.

30/30 RULE

When you see lightning, count the time until you hear thunder. If this time is thirty (30)
seconds or less, seek proper shelter. Wait thirty (30) minutes or more after hearing the
last thunder before leaving the shelter. If you can not see the lightning, just hearing the
thunder is good back up rule.

Additional Information:

Please note the following recommendations from Environment Canada:

The existence of blue sky and absence of rain are not protection from lightning. Lightning
can and does strike as far as ten (10) miles away from the rain shaft. It does not have to
be raining for lightning to strike. Many lightning casualties occur in the beginning, as the
storm approaches, because many people ignore initial precursors of high winds, some
rainfall and cloud cover. Generally, the lightning threat diminishes with time after the last
sound of thunder, but may persist for more than thirty (30) minutes.

Lightning can strike ahead of the parent cloud – take action even if the thunderstorm is
not overhead.

Be aware of how close lightning is occurring. The flash-to-bang method is the easiest
and most convenient way to estimate how far away lightning is occurring. Thunder
always accompanies lightning, even though its audible range can be diminished due to
background noise in the immediate environment and its distance from the observer.
Lightning awareness should be increased with the first flash of lightning or the first clap
of thunder, no matter how far away. This activity must be treated as a wake-up call to all.

The most important aspect to monitor is how far away the lightning is occurring, and how
fast the storm is approaching, relative to the distance of a safe shelter.
Recognize that personal observation of lightning may not be sufficient. Additional
weather information may be required to ensure consistency, accuracy and adequate
advance warning.

The Canadian Soccer Association / l’Association canadienne de soccer
Lightning Safety

Severe Weather Policy

When larger groups are involved, the time needed to properly evacuate an area
increases. As time requirements change, the distance at which lightning is noted and
considered a threat to move into the area must be increased. Extending the range used
to determine threat potential also increases the chance that a localized cell or
thunderstorm may not reach the area giving the impression of a “false alarm”.
Know where the closest “safe structure or location” is to the field or playing area and
know how long it takes to get to that safe structure or location.

Safe structure or location is defined as:
Any building normally occupied or frequently used by people, i.e., a building with
plumbing and / or electrical wiring that acts to electrically ground the structure. Avoid
using shower facilities for safe shelter and do not use the showers or plumbing facilities
during a thunderstorm.

In the absence of a sturdy, frequently inhabited building, any vehicle with a hard metal
roof (not a convertible or golf cart) and rolled-up windows can provide a measure of
safety. A vehicle is certainly better than remaining outdoors. It is not the rubber tires that
make a vehicle a safe shelter, but the hard metal roof which dissipates the lightning
strike around the vehicle. Do not touch the sides of any vehicle!

If no safe structure or location is within a reasonable distance, find a thick grove of small
trees surrounded by taller trees or a dry ditch. Assume a crouched position on the
ground with only the balls of the feet touching the ground, wrap your arms around your
knees and lower your head.

Minimize contact with the ground because lightning current often enters a victim through the ground rather than by a direct overhead strike. Minimize your body’s surface area and the ground! Do not lie flat! If unable to reach safe shelter, stay away from the tallest trees or objects such as light poles or flag poles), metal objects (such as fences or bleachers), individual trees, standing pools of water, and open fields. Avoid being the highest object in a field. Do not take shelter under a single, tall tree.

Avoid using the telephone, except in emergency situations. People have been struck by
lightning while using a land-line telephone. A cellular phone or a portable remote phone
is a safe alternative to land-line phones, if the person and the antenna are located within
a safe structure or location, and if all other precautions are followed.

When considering resumption of any athletics activity, it is recommended that everyone
should ideally wait at least thirty (30) minutes after the last flash of lightning or sound of
thunder before returning to the field.

People who have been struck by lightning do not carry an electrical charge. Therefore,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is safe for the responder. If possible, an injured
person should be moved to a safer location before starting CPR. Lightning-strike victims
who show signs of cardiac or respiratory arrest need emergency help quickly. Prompt,
aggressive CPR has been highly effective for the survival of victims of lightning strikes.

The Role of the Defender | Active.com

The Role of the Defender | Active.com

Injury Prevention - Importance of Warming Up

Injury Prevention

Probably 75% of Football injuries are preventable. The best protection from injury is correct warm up and conditioning which can help you avoid unnecessary injury that can ruin the season.

Warm Up

Warming Up is often overlooked but should be part of your injury prevention routine. A good warm up will:

• Increase the temperature of muscles - they work better at a temperature of 40 degrees.
• Increase blood flow and oxygen to muscles.
• Increase the speed of nerve impulses - making you faster.
• Increase range of motion at joints reducing the risk of tearing muscles and ligaments.

Warm up will not only help avoid injury but will also improve performance.

A warm up should consist of:

• Gentle jog to circulate blood and oxygen supplying the muscles with more energy to work with.
• Stretching to increase the range of motion at joints (see below).
• Sports specific exercises and drills.
  
  

The warm up should last between 15 and 30 minutes. Do not warm up too early. The benefits are lost after about 30 minutes of inactivity.

FIFA Injury Prevention Programme

Prevention of injuries

The 11 – injury prevention programme

You have probably already made this painful experience yourself: Playing football carries a risk of injury. But the good news is: Scientific studies have shown that the incidence of football injuries can be reduced by targeted prevention programmes.

"The 11" is a simple, catchy and time-efficient preventive programme that comprises ten evidence-based or best-practice exercises and - as number 11 - the promotion of Fair Play. It requires no equipment other than a ball, and can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes. The programme is efficient as most of the exercises simultaneously train different aspects and can replace other exercises.

The exercises focus on specific training methods coaches might be familiar with: core stabilisation, eccentric training of thigh muscles, proprioceptive training, dynamic stabilisation and plyometrics with straight leg alignment. Proprioception is the ability to sense the position of your body, your limbs and their movements. Plyometrics is a type of exercise that uses explosive movements to develop muscular power.

You should perform "The 11" in every training session after warm-up and stretching of all the important muscle groups. To ensure their effect, you should perform the exercises as precisely as possible and follow their sequence on the poster. Before each match, you should go for a shortened version: exercises 4, 5, 8.

"The 11" was developed by FIFA's Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) in cooperation with a group of international experts. What are your benefits when following the programme? You may improve your performance and suffer less injuries!

FIFA Prevention Programme website page