ABSTRACT
The maximal instep soccer kick has received much attention in the literature (Lees and Nolan, 1998) and still is the most widely studied skill in soccer. Most information available from this skill is from two-dimensional (2D) studies, but over the past decade an increasing number of 3D studies have been undertaken. It is apparent from these that the motion of the kicking leg is influenced by the rotations of the pelvis, trunk and upper body. Very few of these studies have attempted to investigate the characteristics of pelvis, trunk and shoulder motions which influence the motion of the kicking leg. Where they have, they have been limited by a small number of subjects and trials used. This is not surprising given that 3D analysis is extremely time consuming. Consequently there is need for a more extensive study on the variables representing the 3D characteristics of kicking.
