Drills For Soccer - Speed Dribbling

Dribble around cone & pass relay race is one of the best ways to teach the players regarding drills for soccer. Speed dribbling i.e. running with the ball, turning, passing and receiving at game-speed while under pressure is very important.

This method teaches the players all of these things, such as speed dribbling, passing, receiving, turning, and kicking a ball while running and under pressure. Furthermore, it also teaches the receivers to move to the ball.

Easy Set-up

The set-up is very easy. To start with, the coach should divide the players into teams with two players per team. However, this is no hard and fast rule.

If one of the teams has an extra player, or a parent also want to play, it should be allowed. In this method, there is a turning cone, which is placed about 6 to 15 steps from the starting cone.

The players have to race around the same and the dribbler can pass to the waiting teammate as soon as he goes around the turning cone. There should be a point system, such as one point for each completed pass.

Teaching the Passers

The passer learns how to kick the ball while running and under pressure or how to pass quickly after having made a turn. One important thing is that the method teaches the passer that he / she should quickly move after making a pass and not stand still.

Teaching The Receivers

One common mistake that the young players make is that they wait for the ball to come to them, instead of going to the ball. This method helps the receivers learn that they should not wait for the ball to come straight to their feet.

Instead, they must anticipate the pass, be alert and move to the ball. Coaches can also teach the receivers to come to slow or short passes so they get to the ball quickly.

This method is simple but carries valuable advantages. The method really works and the best thing with this method is that it is self-teaching. The set-up for these drills for soccer method is very easy and you will certainly see fast results.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority on the subject of drills for soccer.
His web site, Youth Soccer Drills, provides a wealth of informative soccer articles,
resources and tips for soccer coaches, parents and players.

Soccer Lessons You Need to Know

You are probably reading this because you are interested in coaching soccer lessons. Well, you have reached the right place. Here, I am going to present some important factors when you are considering individual soccer lessons.

Concentrated Format

Every coach must keep in mind this important thing, while teaching individual soccer lessons. He should keep the session in a concentrated format. By concentrated format, I mean you must be brief but clear in your instructions.

One to one soccer coaching proves very helpful, especially for Soccer players between the ages of 8-14. If you teach them technical ball skills in a nurturing 1 on 1 environment, they are very much likely to benefit more.

The One Hour Session

The session must be in a concentrated fo0rmat, but make sure that you are dedicating the session?s attention to your student for approximately one hour.

Specific Lesson

Each session must include a specific lesson. Furthermore, it is important for the coaches to make these sessions tailor-made for the individual.

To start with, the coaches may focus on the skill sets, such as Ball control, passing and receiving, dribbling, shooting, defending, balance and coordination.

After a few such sessions, once you find that the players have developed a strong grasp of these skill sets, continue to the more advanced focus. The more advanced focus may include specific skill sets, such as Juggling, dribbling moves, finishing, plyometric strength training, and heading.

Written Player Evaluation

A written player evaluation is very important to keep a watch on the individual player?s progress. An expert coach always completes a written player evaluation.

What is more, it is not enough to complete this progress report, but it is equally important5 for the coaches to mail this written player evaluation to the students so that they could get an idea with the statistics that how impressive are their skills.

Last, but not the least, it is also a great idea if the coaches give the student a "take-home" skill assignment. The coaches must design these assignments for the Soccer lesson with the player's improvement in mind.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority on the subject of soccer lessons.
His web site, Youth Soccer Drills, provides a wealth of informative soccer articles,
resources and tips for soccer coaches, parents and players.

Soccer - The World's Most Popular Sport

Soccer is perhaps the world's favorite spectator sport, popularly known as "Football" in Britain and other European countries. This game can be as frustrating as golf, as physical as football and hockey, as erratic as baseball, and as exciting as basketball. No simple word can describe the popularity of the game, with a global television audience of 49 billion people for the 2002 World Cup alone. The game is exciting and highly addictive to watch and play.

Professional game rules require 11 players per team, 10 playing the field and one goalkeeper. With the use of a round ball, the matched is player with the two teams wearing shirts of different colors with distinctive soccer patches. The game is divided into two sets, each for 45 minutes long with the referee adding "extra time" based on time being wasted or play being stopped during the original 45 minutes. Usually, the extra time will be about one-to-three minutes.

A maximum of three substitutes may be used in any match played in an official competition organized under the auspices of the World Governing body Federation International Football Association (FIFA), the confederations or the national associations. However, in other competitions the rules must state how many substitutes may be nominated, from three up to a maximum of seven.

The decision regarding a match ending with a tie score usually depends on the actual type of game being player. There are times when the just simply ends in a tie score after the regular 90 minutes game plus any added time. On the other hand, a game ending with a tie score may lead into an overtime with an allotted time of extra play leading to penalty kicks, this usually occurs during a deciding game of a tournament. Each team is given five attempts to score on the opposing goalkeeper, the team with the highest score wins the game.

During a game, players are only allowed to wear soccer equipment and are prohibited to wear anything that may harm him as well as the other. This includes any kind of jewelry and other accessories. The basic soccer equipment of a player include a jersey or shirt with their distinctive soccer patches; shorts, if thermal under shorts are worn, it has to be the same main color as the shorts; stockings; and footwear, soccer shoes, boots, cleats.

There are instances that players may use extra equipments such as shin guards and headgears. The shin guards protect the leg below the knee and are completely covered by the stockings. These are either made of rubber, plastic, or similar substances. While the head gear are available to protect younger players when heading the ball.

For goalkeepers, they must wear a color that separates him from the other goalkeeper, players, the referee and the assistant referees.

There are four important details that one should know about the game before he is ready to play soccer. The first is that only the goalkeeper is allowed to use his hands, and this is only within the confines of the marked-off area surrounding the goal. When a player uses their hands on a ball, the opposing team gets a free kick from the spot of the violation.

The second vital information that you should remember about the game is that players are generally penalized for rough or unfair play with the use of cards. A yellow card is considered a stern warning, while a red card signifies a serious violation. Once a player receives a red card it means that he had been ejected from the game and cannot be replaced and that leaves the player's team with less players. Meanwhile receiving two yellow cards will equal to a red card, meaning the player will receive the same penalty.

Peter Valentines's article on Soccer is one of a collection of topics and interests that he explores and researches carefully. Soccer Equipment.