How to Save Penalty Kicks

Video tutorial on how to save a penalty shot in soccer

Weekend Video Post – Tutorial

The semifinal phase of FIFA World Cup 2010 starting on July 6. We have already seen penalty kicks and penalty shootouts in the knockout phase which started on June 26. Even the World Cup final on July 11 could come down to a penalty shootout!

The penalty kick was introduced to soccer in 1891 to combat the growing use of illegal means to prevent goals, particularly by handling the ball. In 1905, the requirement was added that the keeper stay on the goal line until the ball was kicked. This denied the goalkeeper the liberty to advance up to six yards, which resulted in “too many” unsuccessful penalties.

A penalty kick (or penalty) is a type of free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards (approximately eleven metres) out from goal and with only the goalkeeperof the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.

Penalty kicks are performed during normal play. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine who progresses after a drawn match; though similar in procedure, these are not penalty kicks and are governed by slightly different rules.

In practice, penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games. Missed penalty kicks are often demoralizing to world class players because it is an easy opporunity to score.
– From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the goalkeeper, a penalty kick really is a no lose situation. The keeper is not expected to make the save, so the pressure is on the shooter (the conversion rate of penalty kicks, at all levels of soccer, is 80-90%). But there are tricks a goalkeeper can use to increase their odds of making the save.

This weekend, we bring you an interesting featured video about saving penalty shots. Check out this video tutorial and learn how to save penalty shots in soccer!