Characteristics of Passing Mistakes during Kick Direction Changes in Soccer

This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of pass misses from waist movements in the sport of soccer using a pass-direction selection task during a series of movements from trapping to kicking. In the experiment, the participants kicked toward a target goal illuminated by the goal's light-emitting diode (LED) lights placed on the left and right sides. The experimental trials consisted of four conditions: one condition in which the target goal did not change, and three conditions in which the target goal changed at three time points. Two tasks were then performed: a control task in which the target goal did not change, and a random task in which all four conditions were performed at random. The number of successful passes decreased significantly when the LED light was changed immediately before the kick. This is thought to be because cognitive information processing is required to change the kicking direction when making a pass, which requires a certain amount of time and affects the time required to change the kicking direction. Furthermore, the lack of sufficient reaction time led to an inability to point the waist toward the goal at the time of kicking, which is a characteristic movement of missed passes.