How to improve kick-outs in G.A.A

Glen1

Hello ive been a keeper for a couple of years now but i have only started to have to kick the ball off the floor recently and they arent very good. They are usually get around 5 yards short of the 45 and dont get much height so i want to improve. I have been told to do excercises but im not sure what ones to do. Ive been thinking of getting ankle weights and then kicking the ball around but im not sure if that would be any use. Any advice anybody

Hammar

Ankle weights are a no-no at the best of times,never mind when kicking a ball. Forget that idea and never think about it again.
What age are you?? It could be leg strength or poor technique or a combination of both.
If it were a lack of strength, you could look into doing lower body exercises such as Squats, Lunges aswell as single leg work such as Step ups and Split squats,to strengthen your legs. All of them can be done with just bodyweight as well as with weights. I'd look into joining a gym and getting a qualified instructor to show you how to perform them correctly if that is the way you decide to go.
The main thing though is practice.... arrive at training 30 minutes before your team-mates and practice. Practice on some of the other days which you don't train with the team. Ask for help from the coaches if you need it,my own club had a goalkeeping coach in to help all the goalkeepers at the club from under 12 up to senior. There are options.

Kerry_2008

Practice, helps to have some one to kick the ball back to you to save time. I assume you are using the tee? Also place the valve of the oneills on the outside. Also try lengthening your final stride before you hit the ball. It should give you more momentum. And follow through! A good exercise is to just run at the ball and launch it and meet it square on the top 3 row of laces on ur shoe. Make sure as you do this that your standing foot also leaves the ground. It may go higher than longer at the start but, it gets you into the practice of following through

slingerz

Practice. kick the ball against the netting behind the goal so ya dont have to go out after them yourself. strengthening exercises in the gym will help too but its mostly technique so practice regularly.

once you have the distance you want set out cones in different zones that you want to hit for midfielders/wing backs etc and try and get the ball into them

Slattsy

Your technique may need work but i'd imagine your coach/manager will be able to help you on that.

But if its distance that your not happy with then i'd def work on the leg muscles. Do leg weights for sure. (not ankle weights/thats crazy)

Clareman

Try to get someone to take a video of you taking a kick to see what's happening. A lot of the time it might be something simple like your supporting foot being in the wrong place, you have to change your run up to adjust or something like that. Try to aim to have your supporting foot's ankle in line with the ball on a full stride then just swing your foot through the ball.

Also, it's often a lot easier to practise aiming for the goal rather than a spot on the field, adjust where you are kicking from rather than where you are kicking to, that should make it easier for collecting the balls and stuff.

Floppybits

Its all about practice and technique, you need to get the technique right and then with practice you can start adding in the lenght. One tip I would give you is make sure your standing foot is beside when you complete your run up to the ball, if your standing foot is behind the ball then you are going to loose power and distance and your kicking foot wont be going through the ball.

blackwhite

As said, practice, practice, practice.

You should be swinging your entire body at the ball, not just your leg.

If your pitch has a net behind the goals, practice kicking into the net from the 21 instead of down the pitch.
Start with a three step run-up and concentrate on getting a good consistent strike each time - pick the point of the ball that you want to connect with and stay focused on that. Don't worry about trying to scoop the ball up in the air - focus on striking through the ball. A clean strike to the correct point on the ball will get it in the air, and the good strike is what will get the distance.

Once you're happy that the kick is consistent then start lengthening the run-up and moving further out the pitch (always practice aiming towards something - if on your own the goals are the most natural thing to use).

When you're happy that you've a repeatable strong strike, try and establish a routine for your kick - and do this every time.

No matter what the situation, once you place the ball on the tee you should follow the same routine after this. Place the ball and set your standing foot where you want it to be when you are kicking (i.e. to one side of the ball). Then take however many steps back you feel comfortable with for a run-up - I take 8 paces back and then one half step to the right (I kick left-footed).
Experiment until you find what steps/direction works for you, and then follow this routine for all long kick-outs. Repeat it enough times and you'll have a good consistent kick.