Lauren James: The player who strikes a ball like no one else in the women's game

New York Times

2 days ago

'All opponents have to accept she has more physical power than anybody else,' said Netherlands head coach Andries Jonker of Lauren James.'The moment she gets the ball and starts to dribble, it's very difficult for women to get her off the ball, wherever she plays.'
James took one touch with her left foot to control the pass from Alessia Russo, followed by another two before unleashing a fireball. Her opening goal against the Netherlands is the fastest and most powerful of the 2025 European Championship so far, clocking a spin rate of 101.93 kmph (63.3mph).
'I couldn't give her those things,' her former coach, and now United States Women's National Team manager, Emma Hayes said when asked about James' shooting technique following her hat-trick against Liverpool in November 2023. 'She's the most naturally gifted footballer in the country.'
James' kicking technique is a 'textbook definition' according to Archit Navandar, assistant professor of biomechanics at Madrid's polytechnic university. 'If you see David Beckham taking a free kick, you would probably see something like this,' he tells The Athletic.
James' brother, England and Chelsea defender Reece James, once tweeted his sister is 'technically better than some Premier League players'.
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'I don't even recognise the backlift people are on about!' James told the BBC women's football daily podcast in April.
Well, let's break down her shooting technique.
The Chelsea forward is very good at creating space for herself to shoot.
In this instance, when she receives the ball from Russo, she changes direction immediately. Her first two steps are noticeably big, according to Navandar.
'Those big strides, you need a lot of power in your legs to do that,' he says. 'It's like you're watching a sprinter.'
Indeed, James, who has a high knee action, used to be a 200m sprinter when she was younger.
'She's built really strong… you don't see that from many female footballers,' said team-mate and friend Lucy Bronze who speaks to James about this attribute a lot given it has been influential during her career.
When James picks up the ball, her weight is forward. She uses her momentum to push the ball where she wants without the need to add extra energy.
'As soon as she controls the ball, she directs it and at the same time accelerates forward,' says Navandar. 'That allows her space. That's not easy — not a lot of players can do that. (Lionel) Messi does it fantastically. When surrounded by players, he suddenly makes a decision to push the ball forward.'
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 LJ introduces herself to the Women's EURO stage 💎#WEUROGOTR || @Heineken pic.twitter.com/6oYCCkivLN
— UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 9, 2025
When in position, James' support leg — her right in this case — is well placed next to the ball.
'It's very difficult to know where to put the support leg,' says Navandar. 'If it's too close or too far, it will impact the direction of the ball. It's like a golf swing. You need to be perfectly positioned to maximise the range of motion and maximum velocity is transferred from the kicking leg to the ball.'
In the next phase, James' knee is at the maximum point of flexion.
Her range of motion indicates good hip mobility and rotation. The motion before striking the ball is called the cocking movement. It's where the energy build-up happens. Think of compressing a spring or cracking a whip.
'With the hip mobility and power she is able to accumulate given her physique, she can transmit the maximum amount of energy,' says Navandar. He also notes minimal movement in James' pelvic tilt. She is not leaning to one side or the other which helps maintain stability.
James' initial backlift and preparation is 'very unique', according to Navandar.
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'Men's players are able to break the backlift into two distinct phases: backlift and leg cocking,' he says. James is able to do this too which is rare among women players.
'Normally you would see a different technique with women. I'm not saying it's not there, but this level of coordination is difficult. You might have women players who are able to kick the ball, extend the hip as much as James but not generate the same amount of velocity. She is able to use that coordination to store up the energy she needs to transfer the momentum in the acceleration phase.'
The whip-like motion in the acceleration phase means maximum velocity is applied to the ball. James uses her whole body to generate power.
She hits this shot with her laces. The more surface area in contact with the ball, the greater transmission of power and velocity. 'Just like when you volley with the laces, you have better impact than side-footing,' says Navandar.
James' left arm is outstretched and she is stabilised by her trunk, which helps maximise the momentum transfer. With her arm out, James can put her support leg a little further ahead to generate the backlift. She is not leaning down so she has more space to rotate.
'You would expect the shot to go to the left, but it goes to the right because of the way she rotates her body,' Navandar says.
'She's using a lot of the hip rotators and getting a lot of power from the big hip and thigh muscles: gluteus maximus, biceps femoris and quadricep. It's very clear the glutes are firing.'
James then releases the shot…
At full extension her kicking leg is completely straight. 'That indicates an efficient transfer of momentum from the leg to the ball, a sign of great co-ordination,' says Navandar.
She also maintains her balance.
James rotates 180 degrees from her starting to finishing position which highlights her hip mobility but also the impact of the accumulation of energy created.
'It's a tough goal to score because it's not just about power,' says Navandar. 'It's about rotation and precision. Any football player dreams about hitting the top corner.'
'Sometimes she doesn't realise how powerful she is,' said Hayes. '(I say) 'You don't need to put any more leather into it.' She doesn't understand that. She says: 'I'm just hitting it normally.''
Bronze's favourite part of James' game is her shooting.
'She's probably the best player in this entire tournament for something special,' she said. 'There's a lot of special players in this tournament, (Alexia) Putellas and (Aitana) Bonmati, a huge number of talented players, but LJ's got that something special.'