Neural aspects in soccer kicks: a case study about kinemetrics techniques adaptation for assessment and cognitive training

In sports, Kinemetric procedures are widely used for athletic gesture analysis, but are rarely employed considering cognitive aspects of the movement. The present work consists a case study that proposes the implementation of a kinemetric method that can also consider higher order cognitive processes during soccer dead-ball kicks, such as the calculation of the spatial dimension, motors engrams establishment, movement trends and the precision variability . The images obtained of motor variation around the preestablished target were analysed with Dartfish Connect software and with statistical procedures. In results, we considered the spatial distribution of the kicks around the target and the identification of spatial biases in motor programs. The findings were shared with athletes and coaches to provide greater awareness of the related details to individual performance. In conclusion, we saw that the methodological adjustment for kinemetric assessment of kick cognition can be useful for the coaches choose the most efficient soccer kicker and for identifying better strategies to stimuli personal training