Discover the Physics of Soccer and Master Your Gameplay Techniques
As I lace up my running shoes for what feels like the hundredth time this month, I can't help but reflect on how much the physics of movement translates between different sports. Having participated in marathons across Southeast Asia for over a decade, I've come to appreciate how the same principles that govern a perfect soccer kick apply to maintaining pace during long-distance running. The upcoming marathon circuit in the Philippines particularly caught my attention - with the Ayala Philippine Marathon 2026 on February 22, the Galaxy Manila Marathon on June 7, and the Trilogy Run Asia National Finals on November 8, this represents the country's most extensive marathon series to date. What fascinates me isn't just the racing calendar, but how understanding physics could help athletes across both soccer and running disciplines optimize their performance.
When we break down a soccer ball's trajectory, we're essentially looking at projectile motion governed by Newton's laws. I remember the first time I consciously applied this knowledge during a friendly match - the ball traveled 28 yards with significantly less effort than usual because I'd adjusted my kick angle to precisely 45 degrees. The Magnus effect, which explains how spinning balls curve in flight, becomes particularly crucial when you're taking free kicks around defensive walls. I've calculated that professional soccer players can make the ball spin at rates exceeding 600 revolutions per minute, creating pressure differences that can bend the ball's path by up to 4 meters over a 30-yard distance. This same principle applies to marathon running in subtle ways - the rotation of your hips and the pendulum motion of your arms create similar rotational dynamics that affect your efficiency.
The energy transfer between foot and ball mirrors the impact forces marathon runners experience with each stride. During my training for the Galaxy Manila Marathon, I've been particularly conscious of the conservation of momentum - when your foot strikes the ground, the force has to go somewhere. In soccer, studies show that during a powerful shot, the ball briefly deforms by up to 2.5 centimeters as it compresses against the foot, storing elastic potential energy that gets converted into kinetic energy. This is why following through with your kick matters tremendously - it allows for maximum energy transfer. Similarly, in marathon running, proper form ensures that the energy from each stride propels you forward rather than being dissipated through unnecessary movements. I've found that focusing on this energy transfer concept has improved my running economy by what I estimate to be 7-8%.
Friction plays a more significant role than most amateur athletes realize. The interaction between soccer cleats and grass involves complex friction coefficients that can make or break a player's ability to change direction quickly. Having played on various surfaces, I can attest that the optimal cleat pattern differs dramatically between wet and dry conditions - something that translates to running shoe selection for different marathon courses. The upcoming Trilogy Run Asia National Finals in November will likely encounter varied weather conditions, making equipment choices crucial. The physics of friction doesn't just affect traction - it influences how much energy gets wasted with each movement. I always recommend athletes test their footwear under conditions similar to their actual competition environment.
Aerodynamics might seem more relevant to soccer than running, but air resistance becomes a formidable opponent for marathoners, especially at higher speeds. I've noticed that during the final stretches of races, when fatigue sets in, maintaining proper form becomes challenging and drag increases significantly. In soccer, the dimpled pattern on balls isn't just for branding - it creates turbulent flow that reduces drag by up to 30% compared to smooth spheres. While we can't change our surface texture like soccer balls, we can optimize our running posture and clothing to minimize resistance. My personal tracking suggests that proper aerodynamic form can save a marathon runner approximately 3-4 minutes over the course of 26.2 miles.
The concept of leverage and torque in soccer translates beautifully to running mechanics. When you watch elite soccer players strike the ball, they're effectively using their entire body as a system of levers - from the planted foot acting as a fulcrum to the swinging leg generating rotational force. The same principles apply to running gait, where optimal performance comes from understanding how to generate maximum forward propulsion with minimal energy expenditure. Having analyzed my own running form extensively, I believe many amateur runners could improve their efficiency by 12-15% simply by understanding and applying basic leverage principles. The upcoming Philippine marathon circuit provides the perfect opportunity to test these concepts in competitive conditions.
What truly connects these physical principles across sports is the body's remarkable ability to internalize them through practice. I've found that cross-training between soccer and running has accelerated my understanding of both sports. The muscle memory developed from practicing curved shots in soccer has surprisingly improved my ability to maintain optimal form during marathon turns and inclines. As we approach the Ayala Philippine Marathon in February, I'm experimenting with applying soccer-style agility drills to my marathon training with promising early results. The body doesn't distinguish between sports - it simply responds to physical laws, and understanding this has been my greatest advantage as an athlete.
Ultimately, the beauty of sports physics lies in its universal application. Whether you're calculating the perfect angle for a soccer free kick or determining the optimal pacing strategy for the Trilogy Run Asia National Finals, the fundamental principles remain consistent. My journey through both soccer and marathon running has convinced me that the athletes who succeed aren't necessarily the strongest or fastest, but those who understand how to work with physics rather than against it. As the Philippine marathon circuit demonstrates with its expansive calendar, opportunities to apply these principles abound - we just need to approach them with curiosity and a willingness to learn from both successes and failures across different athletic disciplines.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
