Motion differences in goal kicking on natural and artificial soccer turf systems

Even though the importance of artificial soccer turf systems is increasing, the interaction of players with different surface systems during movements specific to soccer is not well understood. As the behaviour of the supporting leg might be crucial for the success of kicks at goal, the purpose of this study was to investigate the movement of the whole body and the supporting leg when kicking at goal on one type of natural turf and two different types of artificial soccer turf. Four synchronized high speed cameras were used to record the movements of 17 players when kicking at goal. The type of surface systems significantly influenced the kicking speed, accuracy, foot eversion of the supporting leg and player comportment during deceleration over the last step before ball contact. Difficulties in controlling the lower leg motion on one certain type of artificial turf might be the reason for variations and kicking performance.