The Difference Between Kicking- Soccer vs Football

Kicking footballs and kicking soccer balls- not the same thing.  Even though many would say it is, whether one is kicking a football or soccer ball, it is the same concept.  For those that actually know the skill; one, the other, or both- they will agree that even though you are striking a ball with your foot, the sport and the type of ball makes a big difference.  Majority of football kickers either grew up playing soccer or have played soccer at one point in their life, but that is not necessarily a requirement because there have been many successful football kickers that have never played soccer in their lives. This is relevant information because it’s a clear indication that there is no direct correlation with how good a kicker is or can be, if they have played/ not played soccer before.

Kicking a football is a skill; skills are learned and made better with practice, it can also be something that comes “naturally to an athlete but for the most part, one can only get better at kicking footballs with practice no matter how much natural ability they may have.  New York Giants placekicker, Josh Brown, was asked about his thoughts on the difference between kicking a football and a soccer ball, his response was “with football we are trying to accomplish the ball to fly straight… not very often does a soccer player get to stand there and just look at his goal”.1  That phrase within itself specifies that the terms in which an athlete is kicking a ball is different between the 2 sports (football kicker- stationary, soccer- always moving).  Another huge difference is obvious, the difference in ball size and shape.  In football the ball is only striked in one place, the “sweet spot”, lower middle half of the ball.  Whereas in soccer, since the surface area of the ball is wider you can kick various types of kicks: a curve ball, a knuckle ball,  outside the foot, toe ball, and many more.2. 

Football contact- "sweet spot"

Soccer Contact- Knuckle/ Curve

1 Differences: Kicking Football vs. Futbol. (2014, June 26). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/3-Differences-Kicking-Football-vs-Futbol/9269bbb4-e09a-4251-9b90-f189d5c206f4

2 The Various Ways to Strike a Soccer Ball. (2015). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.soccer-training-info.com/strike_the_soccer_ball.asp