Inter-Segmental Coordination During Soccer Instep Kicking: A Vector-Coding Comparison Between Experienced Athletes and Novices

The purpose of this study was to characterize the inter-segmental coordination of hip, knee, and ankle movement of the kicking leg during instep kicking for experienced athletes and novices, using vector coding as a non-linear technique. Motion capture and electromyographic data were collected for 14 soccer-majored college students and 32 novices performing the instep kicking task. The percentage of time spent on the coordination patterns, defined based on hip–knee and knee–ankle coupling angles, was calculated and compared. The agonist–antagonist activity ratio was calculated and compared. The time percentages of the knee–ankle shank dominance of the experienced athletes during the whole kicking movement were significantly greater than those of the novices ( p < 0.050). Athletes achieving greater maximum ball speed had more knee flexion dominant coordination patterns in the back swing and leg-cocking, and knee extension dominant coordination patterns in the leg acceleration phase. The lower activity ratio of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles contributed significantly to increasing kicking accuracy. These results underscore the value of vector coding in identifying key inter-segmental coordination features and directly support targeted soccer kick training. The dynamic stability exercises involving knee flexion and extension to optimize power transfer for speed, as well as activation and relaxation control exercises of the lower leg muscles to improve the kicking accuracy, may be effective ways to enhance instep kicking motor control ability and performance for soccer athletes.