kicking animation

[garrybibson]

i have started to make a web site for my soccer team and i am making a little flash intro for first page, you can find it here i want to make the seahorse appear to kick the ball but am not sure how best to go about it without making it look stupid, any advise on how to make this effect look good is appreciated. i have tried straightening the tail but it looks poor, how do you guys go about making animations morph like that any techniques needed etc.. also im not sure if you notice but the animation is very bitty if you know what i mean, with the ball and the enter sign distorted why is this?

thanks in advance barry