Blog 5: "Put your momentum behind it!"

When learning how to kick a ball properly, my coach always told me, "Put your weight behind the ball."  What my coach meant was to not just swing at the ball from your knee while standing still, but to run at the ball to run through the ball and kick from your hips.  But what my coach meant was "put your MOMENTUM behind the ball."  Momentum, p, is equal to mass X velocity.  Weight, mass X gravity, is different.  In other words, it is easier to kick a ball harder if you have a starting velocity added to your mass.  In the picture, my sister has a slight forward motion (every little bit counts) before she passes the ball around the defender.  The greater your velocity, the greater your momentum, and since momentum is conserved, the ball you kick will also have the same momentum.  So, I guess that's why theres so much running in soccer...