From youth soccer to the professional level STEM concepts are always in play
5 CHAPTER 1 KICKING AROUND WITH STEM The game comes down to this one kick The goalkeeper is on her toes As she prepares to defend her goal her mind swirls with statistics about her opponent She's trying to remember what she has learned about the player preparing to take the shot She knows that 8 out of 10 times this player tries to shoot the ball into the lower right corner of the goal The keeper knows
6 anything can happen on this kick But with the math in mind she prepares to dive Out on the field the star striker lines up her shot This is the last penalty kick of the game Right now the teams are tied If she scores her team wins She knows that she is facing the best goalie in the league So it's time to pull out a trick shot She steps a few feet away from the ball before running at it full speed With the inside of her foot she strikes the ball at the perfect angle The ball lifts into the air At first it looks like it's going right down the middle But a closer look reveals it is spinning As it spins the air curves around it Suddenly the air starts to force the ball to curve The goalie expecting the usual shot to the right lunges the wrong way The ball curves left past her and sails into the net THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR SPORT Soccer known as football outside the United States is the most popular sport in the world An estimated
7 Soccer is a fast paced sport with precise kicking and acrobatic goalkeeping 1 billion people watched the 2014 Men's World Cup final Worldwide almost 270 million people play soccer The sport continues to increase in popularity From youth leagues to professional games soccer players are some of the top athletes in the world Players pass kick and shoot the ball Defenders chase down
