Soccer Rules-Fouls - Charging

Most actions on a soccer field are fouls only by degree, and become fouls only if done in an unfair manner. Players often bump into each other while running, or push past each while each is trying to avoid a collision. These actions are just part of the game, and most bodily contact is quite incidental to the players? attempts to win the ball.

Sometimes, though, players will exceed the bounds of fair play, either through enthusiasm or frustration, or simply by overestimating their body?s ability to do what their brains are telling them to do. It is up to the referee to decide when those actions will exceed the bounds of fair play.

Charging
Soccer is a contact sport. This means that the players can use their bodies and muscles to try to win the ball. On the other hand, soccer is not ice hockey; and unlike some other sports, soccer players are not supposed to crash into each other, or body-check their opponents. For the referee trying to keep things under control, the important thing will be the force of the contact, as well as the targeted area of the opponent?s body. Also, once the goalkeeper collects the ball, opposing players may not lawfully try to play it.

Fans and players often hear about ?shoulder-to-shoulder? charges, and these are the charges that most coaches try to teach. Unless undertaken with a running start, most shoulder charges will be allowed, but this is not, strictly speaking, a requirement of a fair charge. Owing to human anatomy, though, most fair charges will come in the general direction of the shoulder area, not by use of the hips?and never directed toward back or the spine. If performed with clearly undue force, particularly toward the small of the back, a charge may be deemed reckless or worse, and punished with a caution and a yellow card?or, in extreme cases, with a red card and send-off.

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 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.