Girls and Women in Football Kicking: The Practical Guide to Getting on the Field
Of all the positions in football, kicking is the one where the barriers are least about the sport itself and most about everything around it — and the barriers around it are more solvable than they look.
Here is why kicking is the entry point. It is a technical, low-contact specialist role where the requirement is a repeatable technique and a strong, well-conditioned leg. Girls and women have played it at high school and college level, and the reason it is the most common route in is simple: the skill transfers directly from soccer, which an enormous number of girls already play at a high standard.
That does not mean it is straightforward. The practical obstacles — facilities, kit, coaches who have never had a girl on the roster, being the only one — are real and they are worth planning around rather than being surprised by.
This guide covers the pathway in, what genuinely differs and what does not, the practical logistics nobody warns you about, and how to handle the parts that are about people rather than kicking.
📋 What’s in this guide
Why Kicking Is the Route In
The position has a specific shape that makes it accessible in a way most positions are not.
It is a specialist skill, judged on output. A kick either goes through the uprights or it does not. That is an unusually objective standard, and objective standards are the friend of anyone who has to prove they belong.
Contact is minimal. Placekickers are protected by rule at most levels and are rarely involved in tackling. That changes the physical calculus of the position considerably compared with almost anywhere else on the field.
The requirement is technique plus conditioning. Distance in kicking comes from a well-sequenced, well-timed motion and a strong, mobile lower body — not from mass. Kicking rewards efficiency more than almost any other football skill.
The skill already exists elsewhere. Millions of girls play soccer, and soccer produces exactly the movement pattern football kicking is built on.
There is precedent. Girls and women have kicked at high school and college level, and while it remains uncommon, it is not unprecedented — which matters when you are making the case to a coach who has never considered it.
The question a coach is actually asking is “can this person make the kick?” That is a question you can answer with a ball and a set of uprights.
The Soccer Background Advantage
If you play soccer, you are further along than you think — and it is worth knowing precisely which parts transfer.
| Element | Transfers from soccer? | What needs work |
|---|---|---|
| Instep striking technique | Almost completely | Minor adjustment to a larger, differently shaped ball |
| Approach and plant | Strongly | Football requires a more fixed, measured approach |
| Leg strength and conditioning | Completely | Nothing — this is a real head start |
| Ball striking under pressure | Strongly | Different pressure profile: fewer, higher-stakes kicks |
| Kicking off the ground | Partially | A held or teed ball behaves differently |
| Launch angle control | Partially | Football demands more height to clear a rush |
| Working with a holder | Not at all | Entirely new — requires practice together |
| Operating within a timed play | Not at all | New: the 1.3-second operation window |
The honest summary: the striking is largely there, the conditioning is largely there, and what is new is the operation — the holder, the timing, the fixed approach and the requirement for a higher trajectory. That is a matter of weeks of focused practice, not years.
Our soccer-to-football transition guide covers the technical adjustments in detail, and applies to anyone making this move.
What Is Exactly the Same
Worth stating plainly, because a lot of energy gets wasted on the assumption that something must be different.
The technique. Approach, plant, ankle lock, contact point, follow-through. Identical. There is no separate technique to learn.
The drills. Cone plant drill, rope line, no-ball swings, step re-measurement. All of it, unchanged.
The faults. Hooks come from plant toes pointing across the line. Low kicks come from planting too far ahead. Same diagnoses, same fixes.
The training principles. Volume management, strength and mobility work, film analysis, routine building. No modification.
What coaches want. Consistency, clean contact, a visible routine, honest range, and composure after a miss. Exactly the same list.
The equipment. The ball, the tee, the net, the cones. All the same, with the fit caveats covered below.
💡 Use the standard resources without hesitation. Every technique guide, drill and training programme on this site applies to you unmodified. There is no separate curriculum, and looking for one delays the ordinary progress that actually gets you on a field.
What Actually Differs
The genuine differences are practical and social rather than technical, and naming them makes them manageable.
Kit and fit. Football equipment is largely designed around male sizing, and finding cleats, pads and a helmet that fit properly can take more effort. Poorly fitting kit is a genuine performance and safety issue, not a cosmetic one, so it is worth pushing on.
Facilities. Changing arrangements are a real logistical question at many schools and clubs and are frequently unresolved until someone asks. Better to raise it early and calmly than to discover it on day one.
Eligibility rules. Whether and how girls may play on football teams varies by country, state, association and level, and rules change. Check the current position with your specific governing body rather than assuming either way.
Being the only one. There may be nobody else on the roster in your situation, which is socially demanding in a way that has nothing to do with kicking. It helps enormously to have people outside the team — family, a coach, other players you find online — who understand what you are doing.
The scrutiny is different. Fairly or not, you may find your misses attract more comment than a teammate’s. That is a genuine additional pressure, and it is one more reason that a solid routine and a rehearsed reset are worth building early.
Fewer visible role models. There are fewer people who have obviously done what you are doing, which makes the path less mapped. It also means that finding one or two examples is disproportionately valuable.
⚠️ Do not accept poorly fitting protective equipment. If a helmet or pads do not fit correctly, that is a safety problem and it is a legitimate thing to insist on having addressed — not an inconvenience to put up with quietly. Ask the coach, the athletic department, or whoever manages kit, and keep asking. Properly fitted equipment is a baseline, not a favour.
Getting Started Practically
- Build the kick first. Before any conversation with a coach, get to the point where you can consistently make kicks from a realistic distance. A demonstrated skill changes the conversation entirely.
- Film yourself. From directly behind, on the target line. It is your diagnostic tool and, later, your evidence.
- Check the eligibility position. Your school, association or governing body. Know the actual rules before the conversation, not after.
- Approach the coach with something concrete. “I’ve been kicking for six months, here’s film, I make most from 30 — can I try out?” is a completely different proposition from “can I join the team?”
- Ask about logistics early and matter-of-factly. Kit, changing arrangements, practice schedule. Treating them as ordinary questions helps everyone treat them as ordinary questions.
- Get the fit sorted properly. Cleats first, since they touch the ball, then protective equipment.
- Find your people. A coach who is on your side, a training partner, or a group elsewhere. Doing this entirely alone is much harder than it needs to be.
- Then just train like a kicker. The programme is the programme. Plant foot work, volume management, film, routine.
Logistics Nobody Warns You About
The small practical things that cause disproportionate friction.
| Issue | Why it comes up | Practical approach |
|---|---|---|
| Cleat fit | Sizing designed around a different foot shape | Try soccer cleats, including women’s ranges; fit matters more than the label |
| Helmet and pad fit | Equipment often sized for a different build | Insist on a proper fitting; it is a safety issue |
| Changing arrangements | Rarely planned for in advance | Raise it early, calmly, as a normal logistical question |
| Travel arrangements | Same reason | Ask before the first away fixture, not during |
| Practice scheduling | Specialists often train separately anyway | Agree what your sessions look like up front |
| Being left out of unit work | Oversight more often than intent | Ask directly to be included in operation reps |
| Media attention | Novelty attracts it | Decide in advance how much you want; it is fine to decline |
That last one is worth thinking about before it happens. Being a story is a distraction from being a kicker, and you are allowed to want the second without the first. Deciding your position in advance — and telling a coach or parent what it is — is much easier than deciding under a spotlight.
Equipment
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Soccer Cleats
Fit Before Label
Soccer cleats are the standard kicking footwear, and the priority is a snug, minimal fit that gives you a consistent contact surface. Try women’s ranges, men’s ranges and youth sizes — whichever actually fits your foot is the correct answer.
✅ What’s good
- Consistent contact feel
- Widest range of sizing options
- Same footwear as any kicker uses
- Durable
⚠️ Keep in mind
- Sizing varies a lot between brands
- Needs breaking in
👤 Best for: Every kicker. Ignore which section it is sold in and buy what fits.
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Football Kicking Net
Building the Skill Before the Conversation
The strongest position to approach a coach from is one where you can already kick. A net lets you build that independently, without needing a team, a field booking or anyone’s permission.
✅ What’s good
- Practise without any team access
- Ball returns to you
- Folds for storage
- Works in a garden or park
⚠️ Keep in mind
- No accuracy feedback
- Needs space
👤 Best for: Anyone building a case before asking to try out.
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Football Kicking Tee
Solo Reps Without a Holder
A holder is the one part of football kicking you cannot practise alone. A tee lets you build everything else — approach, plant, contact, trajectory — while you sort that out.
✅ What’s good
- Consistent ball presentation
- Removes holder dependency
- Cheap and durable
- Good for high volume
⚠️ Keep in mind
- Not the game situation for field goals
- Does not train the operation
👤 Best for: Kickers training alone before joining a team.
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Phone Tripod
Film as Diagnosis and Evidence
Film serves two purposes here: it is how you fix your own mechanics without a coach, and it is what turns “I’d like to try out” into a concrete proposition a coach can evaluate.
✅ What’s good
- Diagnoses faults you cannot feel
- Becomes your case to a coach
- No helper needed
- Cheap
⚠️ Keep in mind
- Needs stable ground
- One more setup step
👤 Best for: Anyone training alone and intending to approach a programme.
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Training Cones
The Fundamentals, Independently
The cone plant drill fixes the fault behind most missed kicks and needs no field, no team and no coach. It is the most useful thing you can do while everything else is being arranged.
✅ What’s good
- Highest-value drill in kicking
- Completely independent
- Trivially cheap
- Works anywhere
⚠️ Keep in mind
- Move in wind
- Unglamorous
👤 Best for: Every kicker, and especially anyone training without a programme yet.
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Resistance Band Set
The Conditioning Base
Distance in kicking comes from a well-sequenced motion and a strong, mobile lower body. Band work covers activation, mobility and single-leg strengthening in a small space with no gym required.
✅ What’s good
- Builds the base distance comes from
- No gym needed
- Packs into a drawer
- Progressive resistance
⚠️ Keep in mind
- Needs correct technique
- Bands perish over time
👤 Best for: Anyone building leg strength and hip range independently.
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The Part That Is About People
The kicking is the straightforward part. This is the rest of it.
Let the kicking speak first where you can. Arriving with a demonstrable skill shifts a conversation from a question about whether you should be there to a question about how good you are. It is not fair that this is more necessary for some people than others, but it works.
Expect to be underestimated, and let it be their problem. Some people will assume you cannot do it. The kicks answer that, and no amount of arguing does it faster.
Find one adult who is genuinely on your side. A coach, a parent, a teacher, an athletic director. Having someone who will handle a logistical obstacle on your behalf is worth an enormous amount.
Behave like a teammate from the first day. Collect balls, learn names, be early, contribute. It is the fastest route to being treated as one.
Build a reset for the extra scrutiny. Your misses may attract more comment. A rehearsed physical reset — breath, step back, routine — is what stops that becoming a spiral. Our mental preparation guide covers building it.
You do not owe anyone a cause. If you want to be a kicker rather than a story, that is a completely legitimate position, and it is worth saying out loud to the people around you so they can help protect it.
Common Mistakes
❌ 1. Looking for a separate technique
There isn’t one. Searching for a modified curriculum delays ordinary progress.
✅ Fix: Use standard technique guides and drills unmodified.
❌ 2. Approaching a coach before building the skill
“Can I join?” is a much weaker proposition than “here’s film, can I try out?”
✅ Fix: Build the kick first, film it, then have the conversation.
❌ 3. Putting up with badly fitting equipment
Poor fit is a safety and performance problem, not an inconvenience.
✅ Fix: Insist on a proper fitting, and keep asking until it happens.
❌ 4. Not checking eligibility rules first
Rules vary by country, state and association and they change.
✅ Fix: Confirm the current position with your governing body before the conversation.
❌ 5. Trying to do it entirely alone
The technical work is solo-friendly; the logistics and the social side are much harder without support.
✅ Fix: Find one adult who will advocate for you, early.
❌ 6. Chasing distance instead of consistency
The same trap every kicker falls into. Coaches select on predictability.
✅ Fix: Be excellent from a realistic range before extending it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can girls play football as kickers?
Girls and women have kicked at high school and college level, and kicking is the most common route in because it is a technical, low-contact specialist role.
Eligibility rules vary by country, state, association and level and do change, so check the current position with your own governing body rather than assuming either way.
Does soccer experience help?
Considerably. The instep striking technique, the approach and the leg conditioning all transfer strongly, which is why soccer is the standard pathway into kicking for anyone.
What is new is the operation — working with a holder, the timed play, a more fixed approach and the higher trajectory needed to clear a rush. That is weeks of focused practice, not years.
Is the technique different for female kickers?
No. Approach, plant, ankle lock, contact point and follow-through are identical, as are the drills, the common faults and their fixes.
Every standard technique guide applies unmodified. Looking for a separate curriculum only delays ordinary progress.
What equipment do I need, and does fit matter?
The same as any kicker: cleats, a ball, cones, and ideally a net and a tee for solo work. Fit matters a great deal — try women’s, men’s and youth ranges and buy whatever actually fits your foot.
For protective equipment, insist on a proper fitting. Badly fitting helmets and pads are a safety issue and a legitimate thing to push on.
How do I approach a coach about trying out?
With something concrete. Build the kick first, film yourself from directly behind, know your honest range, and then ask for a tryout rather than for a place.
Raise the logistical questions — kit, changing arrangements, schedule — early and matter-of-factly. Treating them as ordinary questions helps everyone else do the same.
How do I handle being the only one on the team?
Find at least one adult who will genuinely advocate for you on logistics, and people outside the team who understand what you are doing. Behaving like a teammate from day one — early, engaged, collecting balls — is the fastest route to being treated as one.
Build a rehearsed reset for after a miss, because scrutiny can be heavier and a reset is what stops it becoming a spiral. And you are allowed to want to be a kicker rather than a story.
Getting Started Checklist
- Eligibility rules checked with your actual governing body
- Kicking skill built before any conversation
- Filmed from directly behind on the target line
- Honest working range established
- Cleats bought on fit, regardless of which range they came from
- Protective equipment properly fitted — insisted on, not accepted
- Coach approached with film and a specific ask
- Logistics raised early and matter-of-factly
- One adult identified who will advocate for you
- Standard drills used unmodified — cone plant, rope line, no-ball swings
- Strength and mobility base built
- Routine and reset rehearsed
- Position on media attention decided in advance
- Behaving like a teammate from the first session
The bottom line: the kicking part is not different, and that is the important thing. Same technique, same drills, same faults, same fixes, same list of what coaches want. What genuinely needs planning is everything around it — kit that fits, logistics raised early, eligibility confirmed, and at least one adult in your corner. Build the kick first, film it, and turn up with a concrete ask. A ball going through the uprights is an unusually clear argument.
Keep Going
🏈 Becoming a KickerThe standard pathway
📋 The TryoutTurning up with a case
👣 Plant Foot TechniqueWhere most improvement lives
As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Eligibility rules for mixed participation vary by country, state, association and level and change over time — always confirm the current position with your own governing body.