Soccer Rules - The Basics

There are certain soccer rules that every team has to follow.

Coin Toss

The game begins with a coin toss. The team that wins the toss gets the liberty to choose whether it would like to kick off or defend. The team that wins the toss can also choose which goal it would like to defend.

Generally, after winning the toss, the team decides to kick off. In order to make a choice between the goals, various factors needs to be taken into consideration, such as which direction the wind is blowing, what is the position of the sun, the condition of the field and also what time of the day are you going to 0play the game.

The position of the sun and the time of the day is important because based on this, you can choose a goal, ensuring that during the last minutes of the game, sun is not on your goalkeeper?s eyes. However, if you want to reach the right decision, it is always a great idea to have a stroll around the field much before the game begins.

Kick Off

Now, when you make the kick off, make sure that all the players of your team are onside, but at this time, no players from the opponent team is allowed inside the center circle.

After A Goal

Once a team scores a goal, the team that was scored against kicks off the ball against the team that scored the ball.

Re-Starting The Game When The Ball Goes Out Of The Ground

You have three ways to restart the game once the ball goes out of the field - Goal Kick, Corner Kick, and Throw-In.

? When a team attempt to score a goal but misses the target, the opponent team gets a chance for the goal kick. Any player of this team is allowed for the goal kick. This can be the goalkeeper or any other player. The goal is kept on that side of the corner of the goal where the ball had went out through. Moreover, when kicked, the ball must go at least out of the penalty area.

? When a team kicks the ball across their own goal line, it earns the opponent team a corner kick.

? When the ball completely surpasses the touchline, the team that did not touch the ball last earns the throw-in of the ball.

The above are just the basic soccer rules, but this is where both soccer and the coaching soccer start from.

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

Soccer Training: Teaching Shooting Drills

To become an efficient soccer coach, you need to learn numerous strategies during soccer training. In this section, we will talk about teaching shooting drills.

Quick Shooting Drills

There are various ways to train the team regarding the quick shooting drills. The players can start with having the players line up along the side of the goal. Now, you should form another line and this time, it should be at the top of the box.

Instruct the players along the side of the goal to play the ball with pace to the players at the top of the box. This way, before the charging player closes them down, they will have three touches to get a shot off. Another method is to play combinations at the top of the box.

These combinations may include overlaps, give and goes, and crosses that all lead to shots. Train the players about how to hit a moving ball and make the drills game-like. You can have the team proactive by setting up a few short combinations that lead to shots.

Other Important Things

There are many other important things as well that the coaches need to teach his team regarding the shooting drills. When the players are shooting with power, teach the players how to land on their shooting foot. This is something we call follow through.

The players must also learn to keep their knee and head over the ball. Striking the center of the ball and striking through the ball is another important thing to learn regarding the shooting drills.

The players should be taught to keep their toes pointed and their ankle locked. When got a chance, the players should strike with power or place the ball into the corners. Another important thing for the players is to keep their hips square to their target.

However, the most important thing in shooting drills is that the players should never stop shooting. They may miss the first four or five shots they take but they will certainly have the sixth or seventh shot hit the back of the net. This is something called an expert soccer training.

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