The Importance of Juggling Training in Soccer

Juggling is one of the most important thing as a training element which is often mislooked. Juggling allows the players to use all parts of their body to gain a feel and control for the ball. These touches build confidence, skill and makes players aware of parts of their body used to control or pass the ball. With a larger range of comfort with the ball, imagination is often getting better in game play. A good juggler does not guarantee the player will be a good game player, as there is no substitute for match play. Juggling should become a daily routine that only takes a few minutes a day. Every coach should encourage and train their players to develop good juggling technique.

When juggling, coaches should stress the following points. Use all parts of the body (head, chest, thighs, and feet) and alternate feet. Don?t get caught only juggling with your dominant foot! Focus on good controlled touch to realize the full potential of juggling. If a player does not have good body control this will lead to bad touches. Be able to control the ball in different situations. So if a player has a bad touch, they should try to recover it rather than starting over. Be able to maintain good body position. Find rhythm and harmony between the player and the ball. Practice while standing still, then progress to walking slowly and then with some pressure by either time or opponents. Practice juggling about 20 minutes each day.

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The Rules of Soccer: Game Etiquette Toward Officials

Unlike some sports, soccer gives its officials nearly total discretion over the conduct of the game. With few exceptions, fouls are matters of opinion or judgment, and the rules encourage the referee not to call fouls when doing so would help the offending team. The continuous nature of the game means that it the opinion of the referee ? and nobody else ? that determines whether a challenge is fair or foul, whether a high kick presents a danger to another player, or whether a particular incident justifies a caution or send-off. And under the Laws of the Game, the referee?s decision on any point is final, and is not to be questioned.

Under the rules, the referee?s authority starts when he arrives at the field of play, and stops only when he leaves. This means that once he shows up, and whatever his age or level of experience, the referee is in command of the field. Incidents occurring before, during, or after the game are within his jurisdiction, and subject to his control. Coaches or players confronting officials after the game have no immunity, and are still liable for any misconduct that the referee decides to punish, even if the game is over.

Dissent
From the perspective of coaches, players, and spectators, the least understood justification for a caution is probably the offense of "dissent." The rules provide that participants can be "cautioned and shown the yellow card" for showing "dissent by word or action" from any decision of the referee. This is to make sure that calls are not subject to the endless committee discussions that sometimes interrupt other sports, and that the game resumes as quickly as possible.

Most referees will not punish outbursts of disappointment that fade quickly, and will gladly explain a particular call in response to a polite inquiry. Still, each referee has a different tolerance for griping and, under the Rules, each limit is equally valid. In other words, a coach or player who utters a word of protest at any call by any of the officials may be ignored, admonished, warned, or cautioned, at the referee?s sole discretion. And the permissible level of grumbling for any game depends on that game?s referee, who is well within his authority to punish any showing of disagreement.

In most leagues, coaches are responsible for the behavior of their team?s spectators. This means that a referee whose patience is gone may choose to treat any adverse comments from the sidelines as coming from the coach, and take action against the coach. Or, if he prefers, the referee may simply suspend the game until the offending party leaves. From a practical standpoint, this means that referees may banish anyone, or everyone, from a team?s sidelines. They may refuse to continue the game until everyone dismissed from the field has left ? to any distance they specify as a point of retreat. Or, they may simply declare the match abandoned, if the offending parties insist on staying. The rules grant the referee full authority to take whatever action he deems appropriate to maintain or restore order on the field.

Still, despite the wide range of their power and authority, most officials are reluctant to dismiss participants or spectators. They hope to calm emotions rather than inflame them, and do what they can to keep everyone in the game. Forbearance is not a right, however, and coaches need to remind their parents of the need to avoid "riding the refs." This, in turn, helps keep the sidelines under control, and the players focused on the game.

Dealing with Mistakes
Under the rules, everyone must accept and deal with any decision by the referee during the game. Mistaken or not, the referee is part of the game, and organized soccer regards the referee's decision on any point of fact as final. This does not mean that you can do nothing to protest the conduct of abusive or inept officials. However, the right way to make a complaint is not by shouting and screaming at the official during the match, but by documenting the incident in writing and filing a report with your soccer club. Your club will review the report and, if appropriate, send it to the proper authorities. Before you do, though, there are a few things you need to know:

First and foremost, formal protests will succeed only if they involve a referee?s mistaken application of the rules ? and, even then, only if the mistake had an effect on the outcome of the game. By contrast, informal "protests" can do much to improve the quality of officiating within your club. By bringing mistakes in rules or judgment to the attention of your soccer club, you help educate the referees by alerting their supervisors to officials who need to be monitored more closely, and those who need special help. You also may help identify the rules that are giving your referees particular problem in application. The procedure for making an informal complaint is usually simple: just bring the matter to the attention of the club?s referee coordinator.

The Referee?s Judgment
Judgment calls belong to the Referee: you cannot change them, screaming about them will only get you in trouble, and protesting them will not change the result of any game. In addition, referees cannot see everything, or they may see a particular play differently than you do, and expecting them to call a "perfect game" from your team?s perspective is simply unrealistic. If, however, if your team was the victim of a pattern of favoritism or bias, it may indicate a shortcoming on the part of the official which needs correcting for future games. To document such a pattern, your report should contain a "foul chart," detailing the official?s discretionary calls: this chart should contain a separate listing for both teams, indicating (whenever possible) the player fouling, the player fouled, the timing of the foul (by minute), and noting in some way whether the resulting free kick was direct, indirect, or a penalty kick. This can be time-consuming and frustrating, and you should also be aware that disparities in calling fouls often reflects nothing more than differences in playing styles: for example, a team relying on its speed and quickness to win the ball may foul less frequently than one relying upon the physical strength of its players; and an aggressive, attacking team will often commit more fouls than one which relies on ball control and finesse. Therefore, your report should acknowledge this, and contain some indication of the styles and playing levels of both teams.

Coaches, parents, and players watch the game with their hearts, and complaints about officials often reflect nothing more than sour grapes. The same referee whom the losing team regards as an idiot may get high praise from the winners. Therefore, any complaint you make about an official should be as objective and unbiased as you can make it.

If you are going to complain about the officiating at your game, make sure that neither you, nor your team, gave the officials any cause for complaint at the field. The surest way to have your complaints ignored is to allow the referee to respond: "They were on my case the entire game, they complained about every call that went against them, and when their coach wouldn?t keep quiet after his first yellow card I finally had to issue a second, just to get some peace and quiet."

Lastly, it is often tempting for players and parents to blame the officials when a team loses. But coaches who permit or encourage such attitudes should make sure to give the referee all the credit when their team wins.

A Neutral Set of Eyes
Referees do not care who wins or loses. They are there to make sure that nobody wins by cheating. Like the players, they trying their very best. And just like a player will not deliberately try to pass the ball to an opponent, or score on his own goal, no referee will ever make a mistake on purpose.

Soccer is a wonderful sport, and a source of joy for fans and players around the world. But to play the game we need referees to provide a neutral set of eyes to settle the inevitable disputes. It is a game of passion and adventure, and cheering for your team with all your heart is a large part of its appeal. But we must all be careful not to let our enthusiasm turn into hostility toward the officials when things don?t turn out our way. There will always be another day, and another game to play. And like the weather, you may find next week?s referee to be more to your liking.

This does not mean that next week?s referee is better than this week?s, any more than rain is inherently better than sunshine (just ask any farmer). Referees are just a condition of play that both teams must deal with on a given day. But while adapting to wind or rain strikes us as perfectly natural, many of us feel free to howl at the referee when things aren?t going our way. Perhaps it?s because screaming at the referee gives us someone to blame for our troubles...while screaming at the rain would make us feel foolish.

Jeffrey Caminsky, a veteran public prosecutor in Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. Both his science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the first volume in the Guardians of Peace (tm) science fiction adventure series, and The Referee?s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating, are published by New Alexandria Press, http://www.newalexandriapress.com.

Soccer shoes - All About.

Wanna be the next David Beckham? Follow his footsteps by starting it off with getting yourself the right pair of soccer shoes.

Soccer shoes also known as soccer cleats or soccer footwear have been customized and improved over the years to fit the weather, field and player style. Designed specifically for the sport of soccer, innovations have undoubtedly been stylistic and glamorous that the upper material has been enhanced from the traditional leather to synthetics with the adaptation and incorporation of synthetic polymers. Synthetic uppers, so they claim, has it?s edge over leather in as far as durability is concerned for aside from giving the player total ball control and superior ball feel for being lightweight, they do not become stiff and out of shape when they become wet and improperly dried even though it?s credibility in decreasing the rate of injury is still in question. Out in the market for example are the latest Nike soccer shoes with external heel counters for added stability and heel fit, midsoles designed to enhance cushioning and outsoles designed for optimal traction and the new Adidas soccer shoes which have been created to be unlike anything else in the field with slip-in, sock-like construction for enhanced fit.

Still, nothing beats getting a good deal on a new pair of soccer shoes. Investing all your money on a new pair of Nike, Adidas, Puma or Lotto soccer shoes may not be reasonable especially for children as they will only be outgrown by them each year. It doesn't really have to be very expensive as long as it fits good, provides adequate support and meets the team regulations.

Hit it off during the summer before the season starts and look for regulation soccer cleats, soles of which should be made of rubber, since other sports footwear are not allowed in soccer. There are different types of soccer cleats namely: molded cleats, detachable cleats, indoor shoes, turf shoes and sandals. Molded cleats resemble the basic soccer shoe design made of non-removable rubber or hard plastic formed on the bottom of the shoe for optimal traction and control. This may be used on all field types and in all weather conditions making it ideal for beginners and players on the intermediate level. It is so safe that it has been required by many youth programs.

Detachable cleats vary in length and are usually made of hard plastic or plastic with metal tips. It is ideal for experienced players who can tailor the cleats depending on the field type and weather condition. The studs? length and type can also be altered based on the said conditions since it can be screwed on and off and replaced easily. This type is more appropriate to use on wet, soggy fields, or on well-groomed, soft grass fields. Turf shoes are basically good training shoes providing a back-up game pair for hard-surface conditions and on artificial turf as the bottom contains various raised patterns instead of studs. Indoor shoes are similar to low-cut sneakers or cross trainers. They are specifically designed for playing indoors in a gym or recreational facility for the flat, rubbery type bottom provides better traction on indoor courts or fields. On artificial turfs however they are preferred and required so that the turf won?t be torn up.

Sandals are worn before the game to preserve your soccer shoes from additional wear. It slips on easily even if your socks and shin guards are on and will allow your feet to breathe after a game. A must have for any player. When trying on a new pair, make sure to wear them with the socks and shin guards that you will be using in practice and at games. You should feel the way each item matches it's fit with the others. And when measuring, the wearer's toe should come within the width of a thumb with the end of the shoe when the wearer is standing. See Tips on How to Find Your Shoe Size for a perfect fitting soccer cleat. Also, it is common knowledge that girls and women's feet are narrower than boys and men's. However, there are a few exceptions. So, for girls and women who have wider feet, boys and men's cleats might probably fit them better. Boys and men, on the other hand who have narrower feet can wear girls and women's cleats. Don't worry, it won't make you less of a man if you do so.

Remember that the key to becoming a good player lies in buying the right pair of soccer shoes for a perfect fit will prevent foot injuries thereby leading to a player?s absolute enjoyment of the game.

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Soccer Strategy Game

The soccer world is a soccer strategy game that the coaches need to know in order to teach their team to play in an efficient and impressive manner.

Attack

An expert coach knows that the players need to be faster, stronger, and aggressive in order get a winning edge over their opponent. Direct play is supposed to be the best attacking strategy in soccer. Direct play simply means five passes or less.

First Objective

When attacking the opponent team to get control over the game, the coach needs to train the players how to gain entry into the attacking third of the field. He needs to teach his team certain techniques regarding that.

For example, you can teach them to use long forward passes to the back of the defense. Forward runs without the ball is another great technique in this regard.

The coaches should also teach the players about Forward passes to feet, supported by a player at an angle to receive the ball and pass it forwards. Again, it is also very important for the players to learn about receiving and turning with the ball.

Second Objective

When it comes to attacking, the second thing that the coaches need to teach the players is how to increase, or at least maintain, the momentum of the attack once the ball is in the attacking third of the field. Here again, certain things are very important to keep in mind. For example, the players must learn to shoot at every opportunity. Whenever possible, they should attack opponents by dribbling.

Again, whenever possible, the player must be able to pass the ball to the back of the defense. Crossing the ball early from the flanks (wing) to the back of the defense is another important thing for the players to learn in order to make their attacking position much better.

Most importantly, the coach must also teach the players about how to retain a compact team shape.

There is a third objective also. If the team is capable to achieve the second objective, it will be much easier for them to achieve the final objective of the Soccer strategy game, which is to do better than the opponents in four important elements of the game.

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