Soccer And Basketball: The War Between The Two Of The Most Popular Sports

Soccer and Basketball are currently considered to be the two of the most popular sports among the world?s population. Although Basketball was created in the United States, and Soccer in Europe, the two have become increasingly popular in both countries.

Both sports require the athletes to be in shape and fit, but endurance might be more important among soccer players, while exquisite skill is the more important factor in basketball. Many of the major differences between soccer and basketball are being subdued, due to the fact that basketball is becoming more and more popular in Europe, and soccer in the United States.

In the United States, most of the sports television broadcasts on network TV are of sports other than soccer. You generally need to have cable to catch a glimpse of a professional soccer game, and even then only a portion of the games are broadcast, compared to a majority of games of other sports. In Europe, soccer is a favorite pastime, and most of the games are broadcast over other sporting events such as basketball.

However, the United States is becoming more involved in the soccer world since they introduced the World Cup, and maybe the gap between football and futbol is finally diminishing. It is still more likely than not that more American?s, if asked to name 10 professional basketball players, then 10 professional soccer players, would have a much easier time naming the basketball players.

The fact still remains that American?s simply do not consider soccer to one of the traditional, all-American sports that it does football, basketball, and baseball. Regardless of the fact that soccer has been around and played for many, many years, much like the sports that are considered to be favorite pastimes in the United States, it just hasn?t been played religiously in the United States for individuals to simply give up our sports that consist mainly of players throwing balls, to players kicking balls instead.

It?s projected that within a few more years, the exposure of soccer in the United States, as well basketball in Europe and other countries, will begin to gain to popularity and respect as a sport well played by athletes who train just as hard as any other professional athlete. The media can help to play a huge role in broadening the horizons of soccer by simply making broadcasts of games more readily available and easier to access, as well as on other channels rather than only cable.

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Training to Prevent ACL Injuries in Soccer

Soccer is enjoyed both competitively and recreationally by all ages. Participation in any sport however can potentially lead to injury. Injury to the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is a common injury to those participating in soccer. Rehabilitation and treatment following an ACL injury is costly and will most likely result in significant loss in playing time for the athlete. Injury or rupture of the ACL can occur during contact or non-contact situations such as running and jumping. During running, injury most often occurs with quick directional changes, rapid decelerations and torsional or rotational movements. The landing phase of jumping with varus (outward) and valgus (inward) stresses at the knee accompanied by rotation also stress the ACL and can possibly result in injury. In an effort to decrease the incidence of ACL injuries, a preventative training program should include neuromuscular training. Traditional lower extremity strengthening programs have utilized machines to exercise the quads and hamstrings. These programs do little to improve dynamic strength and stability which are very important in knee joint control on the soccer field. Neuromuscular training involves challenging the proprioceptive system via various balance and stability activities. Through neuromuscular training, dynamic joint stability can be improved and hopefully decrease injury.

Neuromuscular control or stability relies upon the proprioceptive system. This system consists of proprioceptors or sensory receptors within the ACL and the other soft tissue structures within and around the knee joint. These receptors are located throughout or body and provide our brain with information of position sense and joint stresses so that our muscles may respond appropriately and protect our bodies from injury. A neuromuscular training program typically consists of balance exercises on the involved limb, dynamic joint stability exercises, plyometric exercises, agility drills and sports specific exercises. Balance training may include double or single leg stance on flat surfaces, a wobble board or even a trampoline. Dynamic joint stability training involves controlled balance movements such as lunges, balanced reaching activities with the upper or lower extremities, step-up and step-down exercises, squatting with or without weights on different surfaces and single leg squats. Plyometric or jump training involves quick and powerful movement involving pre-stretching of the muscle to produce a stronger muscular contraction. An example of a plyometric activity would involve jumping off of a box and then exploding up and over another obstacle. These exercises help to facilitate quick directional changes and control in landing and jumping activities. Jumping exercises using plyometric training might include two and one legged jumping on a trampoline, 180? turning jumps and vertical jumps.

Sports specific skills training activities include running, lateral running, backward running, shuttle runs and agility drills. Agility activities may include figure 8 running, quick directional changes which are not preplanned but rather directed by a coach or trainer, passing, kicking and throwing activities.

The training program should include enough exercise to induce muscular fatigue for the athlete and train the appropriate muscular responses. Proprioceptive deterioration can increase with muscle fatigue; therefore the training program needs to include enough repetitions to create some fatigue in the athlete. The training should also be performed throughout the ROM of the joint to stimulate and train different receptors at different angles of joint motion.

Beth Bartels is a Physical Therapist at Excel Physical Therapy in Nebraska. You can learn more about this topic and others by signing up for the FREE newsletter at www.excelpt.com

Soccer Drills For Youth

Aggression plays an important role in soccer drills for youth. Here are some of the techniques that can help the coaches in training their team regarding aggressive drills.

Protect Drill

The protect drill method requires the player to protect the ball. This effective method can improve the drilling skills of the players largely. This method requires the players to work one on one.

The coach should have one player stand next to a ball, having his feet shoulder width apart. Now, have another player stand on the outside shoulder of the first player.

Now, the main task of the second player is to get his foot on the ball, by any means necessary. The job of the first player is to keep balance, protect the ball, and respond to open aggressiveness by a defender.

Getting Closer

The coaches can try this method with the same setup, as they require in the above method for protecting the ball. In this method, again, there are two players.

The only difference is that the main task of the player furthest from the ball to try to wedge his body between the inside player and the ball any way he can.

Push and Drag Drill

This method also ranks good for the coaches when it comes to teaching soccer drills for youth. In this method, the coach needs to have two players stand facing each other.

Now, instruct them to grab the other player's jersey up by the shoulders. This will put them face to face in a strong position. Here, let me add that you as a coach should stand 10 yards away from the players with a ball at your feet.

Now, as soon as you say ?GO!? blow the whistle, the task of the players to try to get the ball away from the coach. The players need to work hard on this and should show some aggression. The first to reach the ball wins.

What is more, in this method for soccer drills for youth, if the players are not showing aggression in their effort, you should begin to dribble away from the fighting players, forcing them to follow you in their tussling position.

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