Call Tim Howard: Better goalkeeping through science
When you see supporters pushing for intelligent design and creationism to be taught in public schools, sometimes it’s easy to feel that science is on life support in the United States.
Nonetheless, a little bit of science could be what the U.S. National team needs to get to the next level in the international game.
On the latest episode of The Naked Scientist podcast, co-host Helen Scales relays how researchers have discovered a simple trick that should help goalkeepers stop penalty shots more often than the usual 18 percent.
“I still think it’s amazing you can stop any of them,” said host Chris Smith. “Because the ball could go anywhere in that large area.
Scales, however, points out that many soccer fans have had an idea that could be the difference should a game come to penalty kicks.
“Some soccer fans have apparently thought for a while that the goalie might be able to have some influence on where the (ball) is kicked, by basically standing to the right or the left of the goal,” said Scales. “And it turns out that they were actually right.
It seems Dr. Rich Masters from the Institute of Human Performance at the University of Hong Kong watched some 200 clips of goal kicks and discovered that the penalty takers were more likely to shoot toward the side of the goal that appeared bigger to them.
In Masters’ study, 96 percent of the time the keeper would stand to the left or the right of center by an average of 10 centimeters. However, Masters found that keepers were generally unaware of exactly where they were standing, and it made no statistical difference in which side they’d dive toward.
“This is such a high-profile industry, you’d have thought that, with people working for the salaries that they do, that they’d have thrown some science at this a long time ago,” said Smith.
Masters’ team came to the conclusion that for the best results, a keeper needed to stand between six and 10 centimeters to one side, and then dive to the other. Their results were clear – if keepers could keep their head about them and stand just slightly to one side so that it unconsciously registered with the penalty taker, the keepers would stop 10 percent more shots.
So while this may or may not equate to future success, one thing seems certain – we need to forward this information to Tim Howard.
Bill Wolfrum resides in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he’s getting a little sick of Verdão’s aging former star Viola getting red cards late in home games to avoid taking road trips. Wolfrum’s work also appears at Williamkwolfrum.com and WorldGolf.com.
6 comments
Actually, as long as scientifically-supported theories like intelligent design and creationism are being taught in schools alongside unsupported myths like evolution-based ideologies, science is alive and well in the United States. It’s too bad that academics are persecuting the evidence-based theories simply because they don’t want to acknowledge the existence of the Intelligent Designer, but that’s another story..
Speaking as a goalie who hasn’t had a lot of success at stopping PK’s since the glory years of middle school, the article can best be summed as “thanks for verifying the obvious.” I personally go with the right-footed-kicker-likely-kicks-to-my-right rule of thumb unless I know something else about the kicker, and I guess right the majority of the time and can’t stop the shot anyway. Life is cruel that way..
I employed this tactic in a game last summer and saved the PK. Mark can back me up on this.
However, later in the game I was not as successful when they were awarded their 2nd PK of the game.
Josh, I don’t think you were at that game. It was in late June.
Ken,
Still one of my favorite memories of last summer. Especially because it was so obvious. I mean, you had to have been at least a foot or more to the side.
I’d love to see the studies done about flailing around like a dying jellyfish like Liverpool’s keeper did in the Champions League Final against A.C. Milan.
That game was memorable because we played the whole game 2 players short and even though we lost we actually played better than the other team who had, like, 4 subs.
I know at one point in the 2nd half they got, I think, their 3rd goal on the 2nd PK (the one I didn’t save) to go up 3-1. And then we stormed back down the field and got another goal to get back within a goal of tying the game, and I think that’s how it ended. I recall them not being very pleased with themselves even though they won becuase they knew we played better than they did.
In full disclosure I should say that the tactic I employed on the PK I saved wasn’t exactly what is described in the study described above. If you recall I actually stood right next to the left post waiting for the ref to blow his wistle. The ref asked me if I was ready, I said “yes”, and then when he blew the wistle I ran back to the center of the goal. The shooter shot to my right and I dove and got a hand to it. He was super-pissed at himself and rightly so…
Ahhh…your tale makes me wish I had been a keeper, Ken.
Be careful what you wish for…
The other funny thing I remember about that PK was the ref coming over to me to explain how the PK was gonna work (this was before I went over and stood next to the left post):
“Okay, so I’m going to ask you if you’re ready. After you say you’re ready I’m going to blow the wistle and then he can take the shot any time he’s ready.”
Like I’d never been involved in a PK before. Odd.
“yessir”, I said. So then I go over and stand next to the left post and both the ref and the shooter have these odd looks on their faces. The ref asks me if I’m ready and I say yes. More strange looks and then he blew the wistle…
It was a very hot day and so, a few minutes later, the ref stops the match for a mid-half water break. I walk over to the sideline and Mark has this big grin on his face…
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