Score STEM Skills With Soccer

Did you know that every time you gear up and step on the field to play soccer with your friends, you’re demonstrating STEM in action? It’s true! Soccer players use science to perform cool moves and hit their goals. Next time you want to put your own skills to the test on offense or defense, try these awesome tricks and impress your teammates with your new STEM knowledge.

Curve Your Kick With the Magnus Effect

Teams win in soccer by scoring more points than their opponents. To do this, offensive players try many different kicks and strategies to make goals. One of these cool techniques is called a banana kick, and it happens when a player strikes the side of the ball making it curve in the air – like the shape of a banana! The Magnus Effect tells us how. If a player kicks the ball off center, the ball will spin rapidly while in the air, causing more air to push toward one side of the ball. This deflects the ball’s original trajectory, pushing it in the opposite direction of the extra air and leading to the banana kick’s signature curving path.

Practice Your Brain Power to Block Goals

A goalie’s job on defense is to stop the ball from hitting the net and keep the other team from scoring a point. A goalie hopes to have a fast reaction time to block more goals. When they see a player getting ready to send the ball flying toward the net, the goalie’s eyes take in information and send it to the brain. Thankfully, the brain knows exactly what to do! It takes in the information, processes it to decide how to best react, and sends signals throughout the goalie’s body, telling everything from their hands to their feet just how to move – all in less time than it took you to read this sentence! Keep practicing to speed up your reaction time and exercise your brain.

Learn More

For more opportunities to explore STEM through your favorite sports and other topics, check out our Everyday STEM blog page!