Whether you're eight or 38, for some reason a funny thing happens to you when place a football on the grass or are in front of goal.

Something in your mind tells you that in order to achieve maximum power, you have to strike the ball as hard as you can. In reality, this slows down the speed of the ball.

If you've ever picked up a golf club, in an attempt to hit the ball as far as possible, you'll know that there is a natural temptation to swing the club as fast as possible. Something similar will be happening in just about every game of football you are involved with or watching this weekend.

Golf is a great example of the reason why if you swing your leg at 80 per cent of the available speed, then the ball will likely travel further.

Think of your ankle as the golf club head, the last part of all of your body parts to be involved in the process.

Swinging the club, or kicking the ball at 100 per cent of your force causes your muscles to tighten up.

Staying slightly loose, as any good golf coach will tell you to do, is vital to allow the foot to be at the end of an accelerating chain of events. Tighten up any of these muscles in the strike phase and you will slow it down.

As a physio working with professional clubs, part of my role would be to work with players to ensure that each and every muscle is as strong and as powerful as possible to help improve their physical ability.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best examples I can think of who quite simply has a near perfect physique, ensuring that each muscle he needs to strike a ball is working to its maximum. Yet the real success of a Ronaldo free-kick is in his technique.

Darlington goalkeeper Sam Russell is way and above the best striker of the ball I have ever worked with.

When he came to Darlington from Middlesbrough it was said by many in the game that his kicking ability was second to none, including Premier League keepers.

Yet compare his physique to that of Ronaldo and you will begin to understand that its not just about having powerful muscles and kicking the ball as hard as you can, its timing the motion of the leg to perfection.

Top tips to improve your strike:

Work the hamstring, quad and core muscles regularly to develop strength.

Large stride last - this is the science part.

Allow the knee to come through first and keep the lower leg in a V shape, here your storing the power

Relax - Only the ankle should have any tension in it.

Sam is an elegant striker of a football, and it's a real joy to watch when he lines up a goal kick and distributes it with near pin point accuracy.

Next time you are watching the crossbar challenge on Soccer AM, pay a little more attention to the technique and you often the keepers usually come closest as they have great techniques.

As a player, consider making a trip to Darlington in the coming weeks to watch Sam and how he strikes the ball and if your a coach, remind your players that they need to be relaxed when striking the ball to allow maximum efficiency of the muscles they are using.