How to improve ball striking

In my experience, from ages 14-18, the female game seems to emphasize either the players’ physicality or their ability to make or receive passes.

Tactically, it’s often a case of ‘can we send it long to our fast girl?’, or ‘can we build out of the back, play through the middle, and rely on player creativity in the final third?’.

In both instances, when a player is unable to finish on goal, it’s called ‘unlucky’. But, I see it more as the players not having the technical ability to strike a ball accurately - the hip rotation looks stiff, and balance is uncoordinated.

The consequences of these issues are missed goals, ‘unlucky’ shots, overuse of certain muscles, and injuries.

A female player may struggle to strike the ball properly, and/or with power, because of foot placement on the ball, physical limitations such as ankle mobility, hip rotation or unbalanced coordination having not had the proper footwork before or after striking the ball.

Different sets of muscles overcompensate for others because they are not activated properly, or are done so too late - including glutes, hips, hamstrings, quads, knees, and ankles.

Coaches can address these limitations by observing where, when, and how players are striking the ball, and how effectively they are able to finish - or not finish - on goal. 

Is it a foot on the ball issue? Is it a physical limitation? How is the player running before they strike the ball? What does their footwork look like before and after striking the ball? How are the hips rotating when striking the ball?

Assessment has to be completed before working on the symptoms. Activate those certain muscle groups - glutes, hamstrings, hips and so on - and promote footwork coordination with activities on the field.

For example, incorporate single leg glute bridges, side-leg raises and toe-stab raises into your warm ups, to start activating the glutes for better hip rotation.

Carry out unopposed exercises such as agility ladders - with the players quickly stepping into them from left to right for foot coordination - and then strike the ball on goal to work on foot placement by the ball.

You can then progress to opposed work, with ball-mastery drills - players doing moves solely using the bottom of their feet, which works on coordination as well as glute, hip and hamstring activation - and then play a simple game of tag with the ball at their feet.

"Address limitations by observing where, when and how players are striking the ball..."

As coaches, we must hold ourselves accountable and make sure we are getting better at formulating our sessions to help our female players.

The objective of the game is to score goals and female players must be taught how to do that according to their bodies. The physical aspect of the game is not necessarily putting our players into activities and merely hoping the desired outcome is achieved. It is observing how the body moves and incorporating those within a game-like setting, whether it be opposed and/or unopposed.