How to take penalties
To look at penalties high definition cameras, installed at the back of football goalpost nets have enabled new insights into the art of penalty taking. This helps highlight the points made in the ITSA GOAL information on penalty taking.
Everyone expects a penalty kick to result in a goal.
The penalty taker and every spectator in the ground expect a goal to be scored. Even the goalkeepers expect to save less than are ever scored past them. Like everything in life, the knowledge of the skills to be successful is required. Such skills need to be taught, understood, acted upon, and then put into practice. This is the only way to gain the necessary experience to be more successful from the penalty spot.
The problem is that most players do not know the basic technical skills when they start to take penalties. Inevitably, players are destined to eventually miss one. The importance of the first missed penalty is crucial. The number of successful previous attempts and the importance of the first missed penalty will determine if they carry on taking penalties. To become a consistently successful penalty taker players need to continue to be able to take penalties. Overnight success takes time and only when a player has successfully taken penalties over many seasons can this skill be honed.
CHANGING PENALTY TAKERS
It is quite normal volunteers to come forward when a nominated penalty taker misses and the team loses the match. If the first miss is in a game already won then it is unlikely the team will change its penalty taker especially if the player has scored during the game. On the other hand, if it is to win an important game against local rivals or a missed penalty knocks the team out of the cup then team members and managers often take a different view. This is the normal reason why players do not take penalties season in season out because this happens in every team at some time or other. The average is around six to ten penalties before someone else takes over.
The Guide on the art of penalty taking
