摘要：The purpose of the study was to determine differences in the ball's velocity after the instep kick between two young elite national teams and differences in kicking speed with respect to the preferred lower limb.The monitored groups consisted soccer teams in U19 category (Czech Republic national team (Team 1): n = 21, age = 18.8 ¡À 0.2 years, body height = 184.4 ¡À 6.1 cm, body weight = 77.5 ¡À 6.8 kg) and Slovak Republic national team (Team 2): (n = 18, age = 18.7 ¡À 0.3 years, body height = 183.9 ¡À 6.4 cm, body weight = 76.8 ¡À 8.1 kg) players.The ball's velocity was recorded using a Stalker ATS radar gun. The players conducted 3 trials with maximum effort with the preferred leg and 3 trials with the non-preferred leg at a distance of 11 m from the measuring device.Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between the monitored teams (F1,74= 5.37, p < 0.05). We also found a significant effect of limb preference on the ball's velocity after the instep shot (F1,74= 76.11, p< 0.01). Interaction effect between the factors was not significant (F1,74= 2.00, p = >0.05).The team 1 achieved average shooting speed of 114.24 ¡À 4.57 km.h-1 in the preferred leg kick and 101.90 ¡À 5.80 km.h-1in the non-preferred leg kick. The team 2 achieved average shooting speed 115.33 ¡À 4.50 km.h-1 in kicking with the preferred leg and 106.44 ¡À 6.36 km.h-1in kicking with the non-preferred leg. We recorded a significant difference in kicking performance between the monitored national teams. A greater difference was revealed in the non-preferred leg, when also higher variability was found in comparison to the preferred leg. From the perspective of current high demands in elite soccer, it is essential to dispose of high quality kicking technique with both limbs.
