Is there a sweet spot on the foot in Australian football drop punt kicking?

Abstract

In the collision between a striking implement and ball, the term “sweet spot” represents the impact location producing best results. In football kicking, it is not known if a sweet spot exists on the foot because no method to measure impact location in three-dimensional space exists. Therefore, the aims were: (1) develop a method to measure impact location on the foot in three-dimensional space; (2) determine if players impacted the ball with a particular location; (3) determine the relationship between impact location with kick performance; (4) discuss if a sweet spot exists on the foot. An intra-individual analysis was performed on foot-ball impact characteristics of ten players performing 30 Australian football drop punt kicks toward a target. (1) A method to measure impact location was developed and validated. (2) The impact locations were normally distributed, evidenced by non-significant results of the Shapiro-Wilk test (p > 0.05) and inspection of histograms, meaning players targeted a location on their foot. (3) Impact location influenced foot-ball energy transfer, ball flight trajectory and ankle plantar/dorsal flexion. (4) These results indicate a sweet spot exists on the foot for the Australian football drop punt kick. In conclusion, the impact location is an important impact characteristic.