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Strike it lucky
Bartek Sylwestrzak teaches footballers how to strike the ball better and become free kick experts
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BARTEK SYLWESTRZAK is the world's first and only ball striking coach in football.
The Pole, 33, is on a mission to teach footballers how to find that sweet spot, as well as techniques such has knuckleball and topspin free kicks.
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From 2015-2018, he worked with Brentford, passing on his expertise to the Championship club as they consolidated their place in the division and he's currently with FC Midtjylland
Sylwestrzak tells SunSport: "When I started playing football, I became fascinated with striking the ball.
"I would spend a few hours a day just practicing shooting. Then I analysed what other players were doing.
"Around 20 years ago, I started imitating footballers like David Beckham, Andrea Pirlo and Juninho Pernambucano.
"I discovered different elements that made each strike and I began to build a comprehensive technical picture of every shot.
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"It's not only the skill that translates most directly to goals, but it's also the most wonderful skill because it can translate to long range goals or free kick goals that are the most pleasing on the eye."
Sylwestrzak, who graduated from Loughborough University in Sport and Exercise Science and achieved a Msc in Sport and Exercise Psychology, offers his services as a consultant to football clubs around the world.
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"Working at a club is dependent on numerous variables. You need a club who gives you the time - because time is needed to make a technical difference to the players.
'Football is a very short term environment and people expect results immediately. Most people in the game don't really actually deal much with the technical side – with skill acquisition, with fine technical skills - especially at first team level.
The difference between a knuckleball free kick and a topspin free kick
Knuckleball and topspin free kicks have been perfected by the world's greatest free kick takers, but what's the fundamental difference between the two?
Ball striking specialist Bartek Sylwestrzak reveals: A knuckleball is a strike where the spin of the ball is greatly reduced.
"So you're hitting a ball with a tehnique that means it doesn't spin in the air. That means it causes the ball to move in the air unpredictably.
"While a topspin free kick is when the player puts a forward spin on the ball, that forward spin makes the ball come down and dip.
And both have their advantages, Bartek explains.
"If you have the ability to execute a topspin free kick, that gives you the skill to be able to hit the ball over the wall and under the bar with power.
"If you were hitting the ball with inside spin, it's only the gravity that brings the ball down.
"The advantage of the knuckleball is that there's no way for the goalkeeper to prepare for the shot. They can be decieved by the unstable flight of the ball.
"So, if you can hit a non-spinning shot it's a nightmare for the keeper."
"The work I do is only on an individual basis. And this training is for players who want to achieve excellence in this aspect of the game."
Knuckleball free kicks (where a ball doesn't spin and moves in the air when struck) and topspin free kicks (when forward spin is applied to the ball to make it dip) have become weapons for the world's elite.
As an important part of Sylwestrzak's training, he's reluctant to reveal the secrets behind his technique.
But he says: "For the player to develop a knuckleball or a top spin free kick, in my training I will address every technical variable involved in the swing.
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"It's very specific, you work on the approach, the position of the kicking foot, the swing shape, the position of the standing foot and how you involve the upper body in the shot.
"Every technical element of that particular swing is addressed to achieve the desired effect."
Sylwestrzak is adamant that players would benefit more if they worked with a specialist ball-striking coach than tried to develop the skill on their own.
"With technical coaching a player could learn in a few months what might takes him a few years to learn on his own.
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"Take Andrea Pirlo, as an example. He admitted in his autobiography that he learned how to take a free kick by watching Juninho.
"He developed a very good swing, but there are still some things he could've done better. The point is, what he was able to learn took a very long time because he wasn't coached.
"Pirlo was a good free kick taker throughout his career, but it was at the back end of his career that he was at his technical best, using swings he did not use before.
"It's actually incredible that so many players make the same technical mistakes throughout their career with how they strike the ball."
Bartek's coaching expertise is available through his website, which can .
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