A playbook is something essential for a flag football team because it comprises of descriptions and diagrams of the plays that the players have practiced. It is their winning guide, their recipe for winning. It contains the plays that they are most familiar with, the drills that they have perfected; the strategies that could make them exceptional. As the coach, you know the uniqueness of each of your players. You have seen their strengths} and weaknesses. You know who the standouts are. Develop the playbook with this in mind. Decide where to setup players and then how to have the game rolling. As you develop your own team's playbook, think about the following tips:
Keep it easy.
A playbook should be clear and easily understood by everyone. If the players get baffled instead of empowered, the playbook defeats its meaning. You may begin with a drawing of 3 pass routes for your receivers: one short route, a mid route and a long route.
Keep the passing and running balanced.
Even though flag football is more of a passing game, running the ball is equally important to keep the opponents perplexed. To do this, you may draw about 2 plays to each side of the field, keeping one draw play in your playbook for aggressive pass rushers. The greatest teams have these to win tough games.
Maintain a progression of targets & keep lines open.
For pass plays, there should be at least 3 targets: the primary, the secondary and the bail out - the person a player goes to when no one is openand when he desires to get away from the sack. Develop complimentary receiver routes along with your pass plays so that if the right outside receiver runs a deep inside route, a secondary right side receiver can run a mid outside route. Place a bold reminder for your receivers to come back to the quarterback if in trouble.
Create a working audible system.
It is possible to find your team in trouble even though you thought you called the right play. Therefore, always preparea play or two to jumpto. It's not enough to match an audible with a code name. There must be a system. Avoid being easy to figure out. Try making a series of calls in which a specific word position designates the play. Be creative. Allow every player to be familiar with the system.
Don't forget your defense.
Match your plays with a strong defense. The goal is to beat the passing and running speeds of your opponents. A cover 2 is a basic defense to run that most of the time works. In this defense, the cornerbacks and linebackers cover receivers man to man, while the safeties divide the deep field in 2. If a receiver enters their 2 of the field, the safety rescues.
These are the basics to developing your own playbook. Don't reject other resources, such as the Internet, where a great number of playbooks are also attainable. These can permit you variety in your plays and a handful of ideas.
Still, the most important thing is that every member of your team accepts the plays. It is in this way that the playbook will work for you and that every player can pull off the play well.
Coach Miles has been advising flag football teams for over 15 years. He has developed several flag football plays over the years that have made it into top-selling flag football playbooks.
www.ezinearticles.com
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
College Football Elite Play by Their Own Rules
During an intense rivalry game in Athens Georgia between two top SEC teams Georgia Bulldogs and the visiting Gators of Florida, retaliation finally got out of hand. Florida star senior linebacker Brandon Spikes let his emotions get the best of him after having his helmet knocked off earlier in game and his eye poked. When Spikes got the opportunity for payback he took his chances after Georgia running back Washuan Ealey had been tackle by a group of Florida defenders spikes jumped into the pile late, put his hand in Ealey's face mask and started gouging at his eye. While Ealey was not seriously hurt in the incident what transpired was uncalled for.
For Spikes the defensive leader for the Gators what he did was wrong and senseless, just because his helmet was knocked of during a play does not mean he needs to go after a harmless player. For what Spikes did he deserved at least a 2 game suspension, but because he plays for the almighty Florida Gators under college football guru coach Urban Meyer he only received a half game suspension.
They can call it a bad judgment play or whatever they like what Spikes did was wrong, he should be suspended a lot longer. Considering after what happened top SEC officials should of stepped in and made sure coach Meyer actually penalized Spikes for his actions. Instead the officials said the punishment was good enough and even Florida school officials said it was Meyer's decision for the suspension and not theirs, they could care less. The punishment is just a slap on the hand that just tells the players next time don't get caught.
If you look at two other major incidents around college football this year it's obvious the elite teams in college football play by their own rules. Look at what happened to Oklahoma St wide receiver Dez Bryant, who got suspended for the rest of the season for hanging out with Deon Sanders in the off-season. Yes he lied about it when asked but what do you expect a college kid to do when forced into the situation he was in. He did not accept money or gifts, he did not work out for scouts, he jogged and ate dinner with a former NFL player. That's like telling players like Chris Sims and Clay Matthews when they were in college they can not go home because their fathers played in the NFL so being around them ruins their eligibility.
Then you have the whole LeGarrett Blount incident at Boise St, yes he should have been suspended for the punch, but that would of never happened if the Boise St player would of kept his mouth shut. Blount was heading to his sideline after a tough loss when he was approached by the Boise St player, which resulted in Blount knocking him out then going after anybody who stood in his way.
Between the three incidents Oklahoma St Bryant's received the worse punishment, even though he should have not been punished at all. Yes Oregon Blount deserved to be suspended until further notice, that one I agree with although I think the Boise St player should have been dealt a two game suspension at least for his involvement. But I guess being the one that everyone across the world got to see get knocked out is punishment enough. But Spikes punishment just does not add up, I mean he tried to gauge a guy eye out and got a half a game suspension that ridiculous. At least they could have suspended him for the next game entirely considering they are playing Vanderbilt this weekend, I don't think missing Spikes from the game will ruin their chances of winning.
www.ezinearticles.com
For Spikes the defensive leader for the Gators what he did was wrong and senseless, just because his helmet was knocked of during a play does not mean he needs to go after a harmless player. For what Spikes did he deserved at least a 2 game suspension, but because he plays for the almighty Florida Gators under college football guru coach Urban Meyer he only received a half game suspension.
They can call it a bad judgment play or whatever they like what Spikes did was wrong, he should be suspended a lot longer. Considering after what happened top SEC officials should of stepped in and made sure coach Meyer actually penalized Spikes for his actions. Instead the officials said the punishment was good enough and even Florida school officials said it was Meyer's decision for the suspension and not theirs, they could care less. The punishment is just a slap on the hand that just tells the players next time don't get caught.
If you look at two other major incidents around college football this year it's obvious the elite teams in college football play by their own rules. Look at what happened to Oklahoma St wide receiver Dez Bryant, who got suspended for the rest of the season for hanging out with Deon Sanders in the off-season. Yes he lied about it when asked but what do you expect a college kid to do when forced into the situation he was in. He did not accept money or gifts, he did not work out for scouts, he jogged and ate dinner with a former NFL player. That's like telling players like Chris Sims and Clay Matthews when they were in college they can not go home because their fathers played in the NFL so being around them ruins their eligibility.
Then you have the whole LeGarrett Blount incident at Boise St, yes he should have been suspended for the punch, but that would of never happened if the Boise St player would of kept his mouth shut. Blount was heading to his sideline after a tough loss when he was approached by the Boise St player, which resulted in Blount knocking him out then going after anybody who stood in his way.
Between the three incidents Oklahoma St Bryant's received the worse punishment, even though he should have not been punished at all. Yes Oregon Blount deserved to be suspended until further notice, that one I agree with although I think the Boise St player should have been dealt a two game suspension at least for his involvement. But I guess being the one that everyone across the world got to see get knocked out is punishment enough. But Spikes punishment just does not add up, I mean he tried to gauge a guy eye out and got a half a game suspension that ridiculous. At least they could have suspended him for the next game entirely considering they are playing Vanderbilt this weekend, I don't think missing Spikes from the game will ruin their chances of winning.
www.ezinearticles.com
It's OK to Be a Girl and Love Football!
Football is a fantastic sport...particularly the NFL. It has been my favorite spectator sport since I was a little girl, sitting on my Dad's lap watching his favorite team play. There is something so great (especially if you have a favorite team) about listening to the thousands of people in the stadium cheer, or sometimes boo, when a touchdown is scored or the defense intercepts the ball. OK, I know if you're reading this you are probably a girl wanting to know more about the sport, so what I just said may not make much sense to you. But, have no fear! I am here to give you a short guide to football so you can impress your boyfriend, or to have more fun hanging out with your husband on a Sunday afternoon while he's watching the game.
This knowledge comes from 40 years of watching football, and although I never played (I WAS a cheerleader for many years and that's as close as we girls can get), I have earned the respect of many a man by knowing my stuff about football. I'm also way more obsessed about my favorite team than most men I know!
#1 - The object of the game is to outscore the opponent by advancing the football into your end zone scoring as many touchdowns as possible. This is done by the OFFENSE. Meanwhile, the DEFENSE tries with all their might to stop the offense from scoring a touchdown.
There are 2 end zones on the playing field - 1 for each team. They are located at each end of the field where the goal posts are located (hopefully no explanation needed here).
A TOUCHDOWN is worth 6 points and is scored when a player catches or carries the ball into their end zone. After scoring a touchdown, an attempt to kick an extra point through the goal posts is made. If successful, it is worth 1 point and makes it a total of 7 points scored in that series.
Another way to score is called a FIELD GOAL. If a team thinks they won't be able to make it in the end zone for a touchdown (for various reasons), they might attempt to score by kicking a field goal, and it is worth 3 points.
#2. - Stay with me here. Each team has a series of DOWNS in order to get the ball to their end of the field to score. A team has to take the ball 10 yards each time to be able to advance, and they have 4 attempts to do so. For example, the team starts the series with the ball on the 20 yard line. They run the ball for 3 yards and get tackled (see, you're learning the lingo!). They still have 7 yards to go to make the FIRST DOWN. Let's say the next play they go 9 yards, this means they not only get a FIRST DOWN, they get to start over with what is called a 1ST AND 10....which means another first down and 10 yards to go to get another 1ST AND 10, and so on. If the team does not make the 10 yards within the 4 attempts, they have to kick the ball to the other team. It's actually a little more involved then this, but I'm just trying to give you the very basics!
#3 - While the OFFENSE is trying to score a TOUCHDOWN by passing and/or running the ball toward their end zone, the DEFENSE is trying to stop the other team from advancing! This is done by TACKLING the OFFENSIVE players, trying to SACK THE QUARTERBACK, or trying to INTERCEPT the ball while it is being thrown. This is also more complicated than described, but the more you watch the more you'll catch on!
#4 - In the NFL, a game is made up of 4 QUARTERS. Each QUARTER is 15:00 minutes long (I'm sure you'll notice that it's not actually 15 minutes in real-time). It goes like this; 1ST QUARTER, 2ND QUARTER, HALFTIME, 3RD QUARTER and 4TH QUARTER. If, when the game is over and there is a tie, it will go into OVERTIME and the first team to score will win.
Well, this is a very basic and broad description of the game of football. I hope it's a start toward you feeling comfortable with watching a game! Most of the girls I know that don't like football, simply have no clue to what the sport is about, much less know any of the facts or lingo. I really feel that if they had a little more knowledge about the game, they might find it exciting to watch...plus a lot of guys think a football-watching girl is a sexy thing!
By the way, if you don't have a favorite team and want to pick one to "amp" up the whole experience, please don't pick one based on their colors. That's way too "girly"!
www.ezinearticles.com
This knowledge comes from 40 years of watching football, and although I never played (I WAS a cheerleader for many years and that's as close as we girls can get), I have earned the respect of many a man by knowing my stuff about football. I'm also way more obsessed about my favorite team than most men I know!
#1 - The object of the game is to outscore the opponent by advancing the football into your end zone scoring as many touchdowns as possible. This is done by the OFFENSE. Meanwhile, the DEFENSE tries with all their might to stop the offense from scoring a touchdown.
There are 2 end zones on the playing field - 1 for each team. They are located at each end of the field where the goal posts are located (hopefully no explanation needed here).
A TOUCHDOWN is worth 6 points and is scored when a player catches or carries the ball into their end zone. After scoring a touchdown, an attempt to kick an extra point through the goal posts is made. If successful, it is worth 1 point and makes it a total of 7 points scored in that series.
Another way to score is called a FIELD GOAL. If a team thinks they won't be able to make it in the end zone for a touchdown (for various reasons), they might attempt to score by kicking a field goal, and it is worth 3 points.
#2. - Stay with me here. Each team has a series of DOWNS in order to get the ball to their end of the field to score. A team has to take the ball 10 yards each time to be able to advance, and they have 4 attempts to do so. For example, the team starts the series with the ball on the 20 yard line. They run the ball for 3 yards and get tackled (see, you're learning the lingo!). They still have 7 yards to go to make the FIRST DOWN. Let's say the next play they go 9 yards, this means they not only get a FIRST DOWN, they get to start over with what is called a 1ST AND 10....which means another first down and 10 yards to go to get another 1ST AND 10, and so on. If the team does not make the 10 yards within the 4 attempts, they have to kick the ball to the other team. It's actually a little more involved then this, but I'm just trying to give you the very basics!
#3 - While the OFFENSE is trying to score a TOUCHDOWN by passing and/or running the ball toward their end zone, the DEFENSE is trying to stop the other team from advancing! This is done by TACKLING the OFFENSIVE players, trying to SACK THE QUARTERBACK, or trying to INTERCEPT the ball while it is being thrown. This is also more complicated than described, but the more you watch the more you'll catch on!
#4 - In the NFL, a game is made up of 4 QUARTERS. Each QUARTER is 15:00 minutes long (I'm sure you'll notice that it's not actually 15 minutes in real-time). It goes like this; 1ST QUARTER, 2ND QUARTER, HALFTIME, 3RD QUARTER and 4TH QUARTER. If, when the game is over and there is a tie, it will go into OVERTIME and the first team to score will win.
Well, this is a very basic and broad description of the game of football. I hope it's a start toward you feeling comfortable with watching a game! Most of the girls I know that don't like football, simply have no clue to what the sport is about, much less know any of the facts or lingo. I really feel that if they had a little more knowledge about the game, they might find it exciting to watch...plus a lot of guys think a football-watching girl is a sexy thing!
By the way, if you don't have a favorite team and want to pick one to "amp" up the whole experience, please don't pick one based on their colors. That's way too "girly"!
www.ezinearticles.com
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Serie A and Serie B Are the Categories of Football League
In late April it was announced that Serie A, is divided into a Serie B to form a new "Lega Calcio Serie A ', a move that show obvious similarities with the formation of the Premier League in 1992.
Football is not only to avoid disputes in recent years, in 2006, the last of a series of scandals that series champion Juventus were attributed to Serie B as punishment for the match. Fiorentina, Milan, Lazio and Reggina also docked points for their participation. And all three teams that have made the Champions League knockout phase last season, crashing out of the English opposition for the second consecutive season, apparently a wide gap among the alloys has been presented for public viewing. Famous football, which dominated in the 90's nothing but a distant memory.
Nevertheless, the news of his escape from Serie B and form a new league set to be introduced in July next year, it might be a key turning point for the restoration of the Soccer league as one of the best in the world. The decision to share with the League below was taken when the two units were unable to reach agreement on how to distribute money to the league each club. They were lengthy discussions, but the decision was partly fueled by the economic crisis, many clubs in Serie B, with serious financial difficulties.
It was finally put to the vote, 19 to 20 clubs in Serie A vote for the formation of the new season. Lecce was the only team in the Division to vote against it, probably because of their possible departure from the Premier League. Following the decision to establish a new league, a former journalist and leader of the employers' association, Maurizio Beretta was adopted as the Chairperson of the Division and will be responsible for the creation of competition.
Top-flight clubs hoped that the League offers a new can lead to success in Italy similar to that graced the English Premier League, because it is a branch of the Football League in 1992. One main difference among the two leagues at the moment is the way TV income is distributed between the groups. In England, the money is divided equally among all clubs in the sense that each would receive a fixed amount. However, the current title Serie A & Serie B club to sell their rights to broadcast their own channel numbers assigned. However next year, Italy intends to return to the collective sale of television rights.
And, of course, remains to be seen weather the training department at New Soccer Prime Minister may give a needed impetus to football, but if designed properly, this could be the building blocks of success in the revival of football.
www.ezinearticles.com
Football is not only to avoid disputes in recent years, in 2006, the last of a series of scandals that series champion Juventus were attributed to Serie B as punishment for the match. Fiorentina, Milan, Lazio and Reggina also docked points for their participation. And all three teams that have made the Champions League knockout phase last season, crashing out of the English opposition for the second consecutive season, apparently a wide gap among the alloys has been presented for public viewing. Famous football, which dominated in the 90's nothing but a distant memory.
Nevertheless, the news of his escape from Serie B and form a new league set to be introduced in July next year, it might be a key turning point for the restoration of the Soccer league as one of the best in the world. The decision to share with the League below was taken when the two units were unable to reach agreement on how to distribute money to the league each club. They were lengthy discussions, but the decision was partly fueled by the economic crisis, many clubs in Serie B, with serious financial difficulties.
It was finally put to the vote, 19 to 20 clubs in Serie A vote for the formation of the new season. Lecce was the only team in the Division to vote against it, probably because of their possible departure from the Premier League. Following the decision to establish a new league, a former journalist and leader of the employers' association, Maurizio Beretta was adopted as the Chairperson of the Division and will be responsible for the creation of competition.
Top-flight clubs hoped that the League offers a new can lead to success in Italy similar to that graced the English Premier League, because it is a branch of the Football League in 1992. One main difference among the two leagues at the moment is the way TV income is distributed between the groups. In England, the money is divided equally among all clubs in the sense that each would receive a fixed amount. However, the current title Serie A & Serie B club to sell their rights to broadcast their own channel numbers assigned. However next year, Italy intends to return to the collective sale of television rights.
And, of course, remains to be seen weather the training department at New Soccer Prime Minister may give a needed impetus to football, but if designed properly, this could be the building blocks of success in the revival of football.
www.ezinearticles.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
Thoughts on the New York Jets' Acquisition of Braylon Edwards
The New York Jets recently traded a few players for the Cleveland Browns' top wide receiver, Braylon Edwards, a University of Michigan stud wide receiver who has now been in the league for several years. The Jets have been making some big moves this year so far, drafting Mark Sanchez and starting him at quarterback and hiring Coach Ryan to lead the team.
This trade could be a big risk for the Jets, but could also end up working out very well. Edwards had one great season two years ago in which he was one of the top wide receivers in the league. However, since then, he has fallen off the map, consistently dropping balls and not developing a better rapport with either of his two former quarterbacks Brady Quinn or Derek Andersen. In addition, he was recently involved in a fight at a nightclub over supposed jealousy of Lebron James's fame in Cleveland.
With all that being said, Braylon Edwards is talented and can easily turn his life and on-field performance around. We all saw his potential during the 2007-2008 season and if he lands in the right place with the right quarterback, he could be a dangerous threat once again. If the trade works out and he comes to close to being his former self, the Jets will have an excellent core of receivers, including Jerricho Cotchery, Dustin Keller, the Tight End, and now Edwards.
Only time will tell if Braylon can control himself off the field and live up to his ego on the field. New York could be a tough place to play, but Jets fans will welcome him with open arms and hope that he can produce once again. The Jets are in for a fun season and this just adds to the excitement
www.ezinearticles.com
This trade could be a big risk for the Jets, but could also end up working out very well. Edwards had one great season two years ago in which he was one of the top wide receivers in the league. However, since then, he has fallen off the map, consistently dropping balls and not developing a better rapport with either of his two former quarterbacks Brady Quinn or Derek Andersen. In addition, he was recently involved in a fight at a nightclub over supposed jealousy of Lebron James's fame in Cleveland.
With all that being said, Braylon Edwards is talented and can easily turn his life and on-field performance around. We all saw his potential during the 2007-2008 season and if he lands in the right place with the right quarterback, he could be a dangerous threat once again. If the trade works out and he comes to close to being his former self, the Jets will have an excellent core of receivers, including Jerricho Cotchery, Dustin Keller, the Tight End, and now Edwards.
Only time will tell if Braylon can control himself off the field and live up to his ego on the field. New York could be a tough place to play, but Jets fans will welcome him with open arms and hope that he can produce once again. The Jets are in for a fun season and this just adds to the excitement
www.ezinearticles.com
Friday, October 16, 2009
About Flag Football and Playbooks
Flag Football is a popular game filled with fun and action, and is in fact, a modified version of tackle football, but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag from a flagbelt from the ball carrier to end a down.
Flag Football provides participants with the opportunity to develop many of the same skills, tactics and strategies without the body contact (blocking and tackling).
This sport is one of the fastest growing phenomenons, and easily adaptable to any age and any ability. It has been around for many decades,and is generally believed to have begun in the US Military during World War II.
But only within the last ten plus years has it exploded to beyond the college campus. Now, there are flag football leagues all around the United States and many countries world wide.
It is indeed an exciting sports activity. With the camaraderie, the strategy, the physical drive required, Flag football has become very, very popular.
Who plays Flag Football?
Children, men, and women of all ages play this sport. People can play recreationally in parks, as part of school intramural programs and on a more competitive level within organized leagues.
One of the great advantages of this game is that it can be played on any open field or gym. The play area can be simply and quickly laid out with small, rubber pylons.
Flag football may also be divided into "contact" or "non-contact", depending on whether or not blocking is allowed; if allowed, blocking is usually restricted to the chest.
It can be played with any number of players, and coaching requires the ability to be flexible and adjust your game plan according to the situation at hand.
This sport is much more of a pass oriented game than the American version of tackle football, so both the defense and offense sections devote much more time discussing the various ways to attack man on man and zone defenses and how to defend against those tactics.
With the adult leagues, this game has be come so sophisticated with the availability of regimented plays and playbooks fashioned from the professionals.
Flag Football Ninja is a great site that supplies downloadable, printable 4on4, 5on5, 7on7 and 8on8 flag football playbooks that help you get the advantage over your opponents to take you to the playoffs and beyond. It is a mainstream sport that will only continue to grow by leaps and bonds.
www.ezinearticles.com
Flag Football provides participants with the opportunity to develop many of the same skills, tactics and strategies without the body contact (blocking and tackling).
This sport is one of the fastest growing phenomenons, and easily adaptable to any age and any ability. It has been around for many decades,and is generally believed to have begun in the US Military during World War II.
But only within the last ten plus years has it exploded to beyond the college campus. Now, there are flag football leagues all around the United States and many countries world wide.
It is indeed an exciting sports activity. With the camaraderie, the strategy, the physical drive required, Flag football has become very, very popular.
Who plays Flag Football?
Children, men, and women of all ages play this sport. People can play recreationally in parks, as part of school intramural programs and on a more competitive level within organized leagues.
One of the great advantages of this game is that it can be played on any open field or gym. The play area can be simply and quickly laid out with small, rubber pylons.
Flag football may also be divided into "contact" or "non-contact", depending on whether or not blocking is allowed; if allowed, blocking is usually restricted to the chest.
It can be played with any number of players, and coaching requires the ability to be flexible and adjust your game plan according to the situation at hand.
This sport is much more of a pass oriented game than the American version of tackle football, so both the defense and offense sections devote much more time discussing the various ways to attack man on man and zone defenses and how to defend against those tactics.
With the adult leagues, this game has be come so sophisticated with the availability of regimented plays and playbooks fashioned from the professionals.
Flag Football Ninja is a great site that supplies downloadable, printable 4on4, 5on5, 7on7 and 8on8 flag football playbooks that help you get the advantage over your opponents to take you to the playoffs and beyond. It is a mainstream sport that will only continue to grow by leaps and bonds.
www.ezinearticles.com
Flag Football is a popular game filled with fun and action, and is in fact, a modified version of tackle football, but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag from a flagbelt from the ball carrier to end a down.
Flag Football provides participants with the opportunity to develop many of the same skills, tactics and strategies without the body contact (blocking and tackling).
This sport is one of the fastest growing phenomenons, and easily adaptable to any age and any ability. It has been around for many decades,and is generally believed to have begun in the US Military during World War II.
But only within the last ten plus years has it exploded to beyond the college campus. Now, there are flag football leagues all around the United States and many countries world wide.
It is indeed an exciting sports activity. With the camaraderie, the strategy, the physical drive required, Flag football has become very, very popular.
Who plays Flag Football?
Children, men, and women of all ages play this sport. People can play recreationally in parks, as part of school intramural programs and on a more competitive level within organized leagues.
One of the great advantages of this game is that it can be played on any open field or gym. The play area can be simply and quickly laid out with small, rubber pylons.
Flag football may also be divided into "contact" or "non-contact", depending on whether or not blocking is allowed; if allowed, blocking is usually restricted to the chest.
It can be played with any number of players, and coaching requires the ability to be flexible and adjust your game plan according to the situation at hand.
This sport is much more of a pass oriented game than the American version of tackle football, so both the defense and offense sections devote much more time discussing the various ways to attack man on man and zone defenses and how to defend against those tactics.
With the adult leagues, this game has be come so sophisticated with the availability of regimented plays and playbooks fashioned from the professionals.
Flag Football Ninja is a great site that supplies downloadable, printable 4on4, 5on5, 7on7 and 8on8 flag football playbooks that help you get the advantage over your opponents to take you to the playoffs and beyond. It is a mainstream sport that will only continue to grow by leaps and bonds.
www.ezinearticles.com
Flag Football provides participants with the opportunity to develop many of the same skills, tactics and strategies without the body contact (blocking and tackling).
This sport is one of the fastest growing phenomenons, and easily adaptable to any age and any ability. It has been around for many decades,and is generally believed to have begun in the US Military during World War II.
But only within the last ten plus years has it exploded to beyond the college campus. Now, there are flag football leagues all around the United States and many countries world wide.
It is indeed an exciting sports activity. With the camaraderie, the strategy, the physical drive required, Flag football has become very, very popular.
Who plays Flag Football?
Children, men, and women of all ages play this sport. People can play recreationally in parks, as part of school intramural programs and on a more competitive level within organized leagues.
One of the great advantages of this game is that it can be played on any open field or gym. The play area can be simply and quickly laid out with small, rubber pylons.
Flag football may also be divided into "contact" or "non-contact", depending on whether or not blocking is allowed; if allowed, blocking is usually restricted to the chest.
It can be played with any number of players, and coaching requires the ability to be flexible and adjust your game plan according to the situation at hand.
This sport is much more of a pass oriented game than the American version of tackle football, so both the defense and offense sections devote much more time discussing the various ways to attack man on man and zone defenses and how to defend against those tactics.
With the adult leagues, this game has be come so sophisticated with the availability of regimented plays and playbooks fashioned from the professionals.
Flag Football Ninja is a great site that supplies downloadable, printable 4on4, 5on5, 7on7 and 8on8 flag football playbooks that help you get the advantage over your opponents to take you to the playoffs and beyond. It is a mainstream sport that will only continue to grow by leaps and bonds.
www.ezinearticles.com
Football Strength Training 101 - Part I
Most football strength training programs are a disaster. Sad, since it took a hell of a long time for the football world to catch on to weight training. Then, when it did, it fell into the Flex-inspired bodybuilding laden football training programs. After overcoming the "muscle-bound" theory, bodybuilding style programs made many players just that - big, bulky, and slow.
Thankfully, some of the top D-I schools started to buck the trend and base their training programs around exercises that would actually help football - The Powerlifts, the Olympic Lifts, and their accessory movements.
Most strength training programs for football are now have their base in big, compound movements, but some still over-rely on some, and ignore others.
For example, I've received about a billion emails from high school players and coaches about Box Squatting. Glad to hear they're using such a great movement; but, when asked about Deadlifting I almost always get the same reply: "We don't do them because we don't want to hurt our backs." And back to the dark ages we go...
How do you go about designing a proper Football Strength Training Program? Follow these rules and you can't lose!
Start With the End in Mind
Too many trainers, coaches and lifters randomly start training with no idea where they are going. "I want big arms," or "I wanna get really strong," are not goals. They are just wishes. You must begin with the end (goal) in mind.
I can't tell you the number of times a football player has approached me to review his training program. First question I ask is; "what are your goals?" And, I usually hear something like "I want a huge bench." Then I look at the program and it looks like something out of Flex magazine. Tons of reps. Tons of "chest" work. Nothing resembling a strength training program that would actually increase his bench press.
See, the goal and the plan of action do not match up.
Coach Charles Staley suggests that we view a training cycle as a Project, rather than a program. A project has a clear start and end date and the objective is clearly defined. Also, when you have an end date, you can then evaluate the results and then make modifications before moving on. It is insane the number of players and coaches who continue to do the same thing in the face of overwhelmingly terrible results.
Here is my 4-step Design Process:
1. Take inventory of your resources!
• What equipment do you have?
• Are there any time restraints?
• Injuries?
• Time of year (pre, post, in-season)
If you design a program, or worse, copy one out of a magazine, and you don't have some of the equipment to actually do the program, how could it ever work? (This is a reason you should follow templates and not programs; templates allow for creative substitution)
What if you are, for whatever reason, forced to cut back on the days you can use your gym. Designing a plan around a 4-day training cycle and only being able to train twice per week is asking for trouble.
Consider your resources carefully. It's not just about weights. Remember sleds, medicine balls, plyo boxes. And, don't just confine it to implements. What about a track? Or, an ideal field to run on. Maybe the school's wrestling room has ideal padding for jumping exercises. Take all this into account before you start to map out your plan of action. Remember, anything that can be lifted, thrown, pushed, pulled, or rolled can be used in your football strength training program!
2. Establish the Goals.
• The goal must be concrete and have a definite time frame.
• Write the goals out clearly. An unwritten goal is a wish, nothing more, nothing less.
Without a clear time frame, no urgency exists.
It's the same reason why people will have 10 weeks to write a term paper yet wait until the night before...there was no urgency before! Even with two weeks left there's the power of saying, "ah, I still have 14 days, I can do it, no problem." Yet there they are, up at 4a.m. finishing up a rather crappy paper.
Follow Parkinson's Law: A task will swell in perceived importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion.
What does that mean to us? Well, it really makes the only 12 - 16 week model of planning seem obsolete. While long term planning is a good idea, it would be much better to instead have daily, weekly, and 4-week goals.
This is one of the major benefits of having Max Effort (ME) days every week. You are constantly striving to break old records...immediate goal setting/accomplishment!
You will strive to continually one-up your ME days...you will work to hit rep/weight/time records each week and you will aim to shatter last month's records the week after a de-load. This keeps everyone on-task. There's no time for "oh, I'll get 'em next week." Next week is now, and there's no time to slack off!
Change "I want a huge bench" to " I want to increase my bench by 25lbs in the next 12 weeks." Specifically for football, set similar goals for improvements in speed or jumping ability.
3. Plan
• Now that you have your goals in mind, start to map out the best roads to take you there. If speed is the goal, then jogging isn't part of the plan!
• Compile your Exercise Lists.
An Exercise List is like taking all of the tools out of your tool box, figuring out what you have to work with, then choosing the right tool for the job. If you plan on getting faster, break out the hamstring builders. If gaining weight and strength is key, then on with the Deads and Squats.
In Part II, we'll discuss the best exercises for football, but remember, Powerlifting, Olympic Lifts, and Strongman exercises should be the base of your football strength training.
See, most people just go into a program with a few exercises listed and stick to them no matter what. But, when you have lists, it is easy to change things without completely changing your entire training philosophy! Yes, people do this all the time...their bench progress slows and they switch from a Powerlifting routine to something from Crossfit! This is not the way to go.
4. Adapt
• This may very well be the most important step. me points and if you are unable to make adjustments, you will fail. Also, there will be. Things will go wrong at so periods when everything is working 100%. Strangely enough, you will need to analyze these results even harder than the failures. It may be one factor that is leading to great success or it could be 5. You must be mindful and figure this out.
• This is a reason why listing your exercises and other resources is so important. Let's say your goal is to add 15lbs to your Deadlift because leg strength is holding your speed back. But, half way through your training cycle, your progress stalls.
Do you keep plugging away hoping for a miracle? No. If you are doing your ME sessions correctly, you will be able to identify weaknesses. So, if an athlete's hips are coming up too fast, he has weak hamstrings. Go to your list, pull out a few hamstring specific exercises and see what works. If RDL's aren't giving your results, change do SLDL's, or more RDL with a pause at the bottom.
See how you just changed exercises slightly without throwing the whole template in the trash?
In Part II of Football Strength Training 101, we'll cover the best football exercises for power, speed, strength, agility and explosiveness.
www.ezinearticles.com
Thankfully, some of the top D-I schools started to buck the trend and base their training programs around exercises that would actually help football - The Powerlifts, the Olympic Lifts, and their accessory movements.
Most strength training programs for football are now have their base in big, compound movements, but some still over-rely on some, and ignore others.
For example, I've received about a billion emails from high school players and coaches about Box Squatting. Glad to hear they're using such a great movement; but, when asked about Deadlifting I almost always get the same reply: "We don't do them because we don't want to hurt our backs." And back to the dark ages we go...
How do you go about designing a proper Football Strength Training Program? Follow these rules and you can't lose!
Start With the End in Mind
Too many trainers, coaches and lifters randomly start training with no idea where they are going. "I want big arms," or "I wanna get really strong," are not goals. They are just wishes. You must begin with the end (goal) in mind.
I can't tell you the number of times a football player has approached me to review his training program. First question I ask is; "what are your goals?" And, I usually hear something like "I want a huge bench." Then I look at the program and it looks like something out of Flex magazine. Tons of reps. Tons of "chest" work. Nothing resembling a strength training program that would actually increase his bench press.
See, the goal and the plan of action do not match up.
Coach Charles Staley suggests that we view a training cycle as a Project, rather than a program. A project has a clear start and end date and the objective is clearly defined. Also, when you have an end date, you can then evaluate the results and then make modifications before moving on. It is insane the number of players and coaches who continue to do the same thing in the face of overwhelmingly terrible results.
Here is my 4-step Design Process:
1. Take inventory of your resources!
• What equipment do you have?
• Are there any time restraints?
• Injuries?
• Time of year (pre, post, in-season)
If you design a program, or worse, copy one out of a magazine, and you don't have some of the equipment to actually do the program, how could it ever work? (This is a reason you should follow templates and not programs; templates allow for creative substitution)
What if you are, for whatever reason, forced to cut back on the days you can use your gym. Designing a plan around a 4-day training cycle and only being able to train twice per week is asking for trouble.
Consider your resources carefully. It's not just about weights. Remember sleds, medicine balls, plyo boxes. And, don't just confine it to implements. What about a track? Or, an ideal field to run on. Maybe the school's wrestling room has ideal padding for jumping exercises. Take all this into account before you start to map out your plan of action. Remember, anything that can be lifted, thrown, pushed, pulled, or rolled can be used in your football strength training program!
2. Establish the Goals.
• The goal must be concrete and have a definite time frame.
• Write the goals out clearly. An unwritten goal is a wish, nothing more, nothing less.
Without a clear time frame, no urgency exists.
It's the same reason why people will have 10 weeks to write a term paper yet wait until the night before...there was no urgency before! Even with two weeks left there's the power of saying, "ah, I still have 14 days, I can do it, no problem." Yet there they are, up at 4a.m. finishing up a rather crappy paper.
Follow Parkinson's Law: A task will swell in perceived importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion.
What does that mean to us? Well, it really makes the only 12 - 16 week model of planning seem obsolete. While long term planning is a good idea, it would be much better to instead have daily, weekly, and 4-week goals.
This is one of the major benefits of having Max Effort (ME) days every week. You are constantly striving to break old records...immediate goal setting/accomplishment!
You will strive to continually one-up your ME days...you will work to hit rep/weight/time records each week and you will aim to shatter last month's records the week after a de-load. This keeps everyone on-task. There's no time for "oh, I'll get 'em next week." Next week is now, and there's no time to slack off!
Change "I want a huge bench" to " I want to increase my bench by 25lbs in the next 12 weeks." Specifically for football, set similar goals for improvements in speed or jumping ability.
3. Plan
• Now that you have your goals in mind, start to map out the best roads to take you there. If speed is the goal, then jogging isn't part of the plan!
• Compile your Exercise Lists.
An Exercise List is like taking all of the tools out of your tool box, figuring out what you have to work with, then choosing the right tool for the job. If you plan on getting faster, break out the hamstring builders. If gaining weight and strength is key, then on with the Deads and Squats.
In Part II, we'll discuss the best exercises for football, but remember, Powerlifting, Olympic Lifts, and Strongman exercises should be the base of your football strength training.
See, most people just go into a program with a few exercises listed and stick to them no matter what. But, when you have lists, it is easy to change things without completely changing your entire training philosophy! Yes, people do this all the time...their bench progress slows and they switch from a Powerlifting routine to something from Crossfit! This is not the way to go.
4. Adapt
• This may very well be the most important step. me points and if you are unable to make adjustments, you will fail. Also, there will be. Things will go wrong at so periods when everything is working 100%. Strangely enough, you will need to analyze these results even harder than the failures. It may be one factor that is leading to great success or it could be 5. You must be mindful and figure this out.
• This is a reason why listing your exercises and other resources is so important. Let's say your goal is to add 15lbs to your Deadlift because leg strength is holding your speed back. But, half way through your training cycle, your progress stalls.
Do you keep plugging away hoping for a miracle? No. If you are doing your ME sessions correctly, you will be able to identify weaknesses. So, if an athlete's hips are coming up too fast, he has weak hamstrings. Go to your list, pull out a few hamstring specific exercises and see what works. If RDL's aren't giving your results, change do SLDL's, or more RDL with a pause at the bottom.
See how you just changed exercises slightly without throwing the whole template in the trash?
In Part II of Football Strength Training 101, we'll cover the best football exercises for power, speed, strength, agility and explosiveness.
www.ezinearticles.com
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Football - A Matter of Life and Death
Rather surprisingly, some researchers decided to look at the impact of football on the rates of death from heart disease. In 2003, a study was published : 'A matter of life and death: population mortality and football results. And what did they find? On days when the local professional football team lost at home, mortality attributable to acute myocardial infarction and stroke increased significantly in men.
No increase was observed in women. However, when France won the World Cup in 1998, there was a considerably lower mortality from heart attacks the next day - as written up in a paper called 'Lower myocardial infarction mortality in French men the day France won the 1998 World Cup of football; and published in Heart. By the way, this is not fringe research. A study was published in 2002 called 'Admissions for myocardial infarction and World Cup football: database survey; which revealed that: Risk of admission for acute myocardial infarction increased by 25% on 30 June 7998 (the day England lost to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out) and the following two days. No excess admissions occurred for other diagnoses. or on the days of the other England matches.
Do you mean that the stress of watching your football team lose can kill you?
Well, so can getting up on a Monday morning...Risk of admission for acute myocardial infarction increased by 25% on 30 June 1998 (the day England lost to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out) and the following two days. No excess admissions occurred for other diagnoses. or on the days of the other England matches.
The incidence of sudden cardiac death is markedly increased on Monday, more pronounced in non-hospitalized patients. Our results may point to the relevance of naturally occurring rhythmic fluctuations in human physiology, and socially determined rhythms in human behavior as underlying mechanism. So the number four does not wipe out us westerners, but Mondays do. In Japan, though, if you are a woman, Saturdays are deadly. I wonder why? Is not marriage a wonderful thing...Leaving Monday mornings behind for a moment, wherever you look you will find the same things.
Stressful events, be they physical or psychological, greatly increase the risk of dying of heart disease.
www.ezinearticles.com
No increase was observed in women. However, when France won the World Cup in 1998, there was a considerably lower mortality from heart attacks the next day - as written up in a paper called 'Lower myocardial infarction mortality in French men the day France won the 1998 World Cup of football; and published in Heart. By the way, this is not fringe research. A study was published in 2002 called 'Admissions for myocardial infarction and World Cup football: database survey; which revealed that: Risk of admission for acute myocardial infarction increased by 25% on 30 June 7998 (the day England lost to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out) and the following two days. No excess admissions occurred for other diagnoses. or on the days of the other England matches.
Do you mean that the stress of watching your football team lose can kill you?
Well, so can getting up on a Monday morning...Risk of admission for acute myocardial infarction increased by 25% on 30 June 1998 (the day England lost to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out) and the following two days. No excess admissions occurred for other diagnoses. or on the days of the other England matches.
The incidence of sudden cardiac death is markedly increased on Monday, more pronounced in non-hospitalized patients. Our results may point to the relevance of naturally occurring rhythmic fluctuations in human physiology, and socially determined rhythms in human behavior as underlying mechanism. So the number four does not wipe out us westerners, but Mondays do. In Japan, though, if you are a woman, Saturdays are deadly. I wonder why? Is not marriage a wonderful thing...Leaving Monday mornings behind for a moment, wherever you look you will find the same things.
Stressful events, be they physical or psychological, greatly increase the risk of dying of heart disease.
www.ezinearticles.com
Sunday, August 9, 2009
English Premier League Title Contenders
The English Premier League (EPL) is one of the best soccer leagues in the world. In terms of prestige and money involved, the EPL certainly can boast itself as the best in the world. Many of the world's top players and coaches are plying their trade in the EPL. Here are 4 title contenders for the incoming 2009/10 EPL season:
1. Manchester United. As the defending champion, Manchester United is predicted to once again finish at the top of the Premier League table at the end of this season. Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in England with 18 EPL titles and 3 UEFA Champions League titles to its credit. With the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, Manchester United is once again a strong favorite to win the EPL.
2. Liverpool. Liverpool is one of the most decorated soccer clubs in England with 18 EPL titles and 5 UEFA Champions League titles. Finishing second in the 2008/09 season, Liverpool certainly wants to go one step further this time around and unseats its great rival Manchester United as the Premier League champion.
3. Chelsea. Owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Chelsea has broken into the top tier of England's soccer clubs in the last few years. They won consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, adding to the title they won in 1955. Finishing third last year, Chelsea is considered a strong contender for the EPL title this season.
4. Arsenal. With 13 EPL titles to its credit, London-based Arsenal is one of the most successful soccer clubs in the Premier League history. Coached by Arsene Wenger, Arsenal is famous for its free-flowing, attacking soccer and emphasis on young players. And even though Arsenal hasn't won a lot lately, it's still considered a strong favorite to win the EPL title in the 2009/10 season.
1. Manchester United. As the defending champion, Manchester United is predicted to once again finish at the top of the Premier League table at the end of this season. Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in England with 18 EPL titles and 3 UEFA Champions League titles to its credit. With the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, Manchester United is once again a strong favorite to win the EPL.
2. Liverpool. Liverpool is one of the most decorated soccer clubs in England with 18 EPL titles and 5 UEFA Champions League titles. Finishing second in the 2008/09 season, Liverpool certainly wants to go one step further this time around and unseats its great rival Manchester United as the Premier League champion.
3. Chelsea. Owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Chelsea has broken into the top tier of England's soccer clubs in the last few years. They won consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, adding to the title they won in 1955. Finishing third last year, Chelsea is considered a strong contender for the EPL title this season.
4. Arsenal. With 13 EPL titles to its credit, London-based Arsenal is one of the most successful soccer clubs in the Premier League history. Coached by Arsene Wenger, Arsenal is famous for its free-flowing, attacking soccer and emphasis on young players. And even though Arsenal hasn't won a lot lately, it's still considered a strong favorite to win the EPL title in the 2009/10 season.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Soccer Training Aids - What Are Your Best Options?
To be excellent at something, you must practice regularly and you must use everything at your disposal to improve yourself. The same is true with soccer players. Practice makes perfect and if a player really wants to excel in every aspect of the game of his chosen sport, then he should be willing to spend time and exert effort in doing drills and practicing every aspect of the game. Apart from performing drills though, players should also take advantage of the existence of soccer training aids which can help them maximize their experience during practice.
Old School
Some "old school" players and coaches do not believe in the use of soccer training options and stand by their belief that one can become an excellent soccer player through practice alone. But ignoring the benefits of soccer training aids is like ignoring the advantages of a computer over a typewriter for someone who likes to write. Sure, a soccer player can improve his skills through practice alone but he could do it faster and with less effort through the help of soccer training aids.
Designed by Players
What soccer training systems do is remove the guessing game from every practice. The best soccer training ideas available are those that are designed by players and coaches. The most progressive coaches in the world today are all using training aids in order to get the most out of their players. With the use of training aids, players and coaches can reduce practice time significantly. The price of most aids is a small price to pay for the benefits they provide.
Players and coaches must keep in mind though that soccer training options are called as such because they are only here to help players become better. It is wrong to rely solely on these aids in order to develop your skills. Nothing still beats good old fashion soccer training drills to instill skills in players. The key to using training aids is to strike a balance between modern technology that provides ease and convenience and traditional methods that are already proven effective by players and coaches alike.
More Information
Soccer training aids can be bought in specialty soccer and sports shops and online through various websites about soccer. Ensure the quality of the training aids that you are going to buy in order to be sure that you will get the most of it.
Bryan Bean has been a soccer player and coach for over 10 years. His specialty is fitness and soccer strategy which allows he players to improve their game by 55%. Bryan has completed a free 10 day mini course available here, Soccer Tips. Also, go here for more information about Soccer Training Aids and more great soccer discussion.
Old School
Some "old school" players and coaches do not believe in the use of soccer training options and stand by their belief that one can become an excellent soccer player through practice alone. But ignoring the benefits of soccer training aids is like ignoring the advantages of a computer over a typewriter for someone who likes to write. Sure, a soccer player can improve his skills through practice alone but he could do it faster and with less effort through the help of soccer training aids.
Designed by Players
What soccer training systems do is remove the guessing game from every practice. The best soccer training ideas available are those that are designed by players and coaches. The most progressive coaches in the world today are all using training aids in order to get the most out of their players. With the use of training aids, players and coaches can reduce practice time significantly. The price of most aids is a small price to pay for the benefits they provide.
Players and coaches must keep in mind though that soccer training options are called as such because they are only here to help players become better. It is wrong to rely solely on these aids in order to develop your skills. Nothing still beats good old fashion soccer training drills to instill skills in players. The key to using training aids is to strike a balance between modern technology that provides ease and convenience and traditional methods that are already proven effective by players and coaches alike.
More Information
Soccer training aids can be bought in specialty soccer and sports shops and online through various websites about soccer. Ensure the quality of the training aids that you are going to buy in order to be sure that you will get the most of it.
Bryan Bean has been a soccer player and coach for over 10 years. His specialty is fitness and soccer strategy which allows he players to improve their game by 55%. Bryan has completed a free 10 day mini course available here, Soccer Tips. Also, go here for more information about Soccer Training Aids and more great soccer discussion.
5 Tips That You Really Need to Become a Freestyle Soccer Player
Are you curious about freestyle soccer? Need a way to start your freestyle journey? Then here are 5 tips to begin your journey in freestyle soccer whether to make it as your career or as a hobby. But first, freestyle soccer is simply the ability to not just juggle the ball but to combine those tricks with your juggling that makes it enjoyable for people to watch!
1. Proper Gear and Equipment
Equip yourself with a proper gear that gives you the "feel good" factor. It doesn't matter what others think but more importantly is that you feel comfortable and ready to play freestyle soccer. Typically freestyle players prefer three quarter pants and a t-shirt along with a pair of 5-aside shoes or trainers.
2. Warming-Ups
It's crucial to warm-up yourself starting with a light jog, normally 2-3 rounds on court before practicing freestyle. You'll gradually loosen up those muscles through jogging and stretching to prevent from any injuries and improve your overall performance in freestyle.
3. Juggle the ball
The first step to your freestyle is to go back to basics, juggling a ball. Simply by throwing the ball at waist height and kick it as it falls. Repeat the same steps and try to do it without throwing the ball in the air. You should improve your touches, balance and coordination with the ball.
4. Plant the ball
The next hard thing is to balance the ball on any part of your body, known as planting or stalling a soccer ball. Various techniques from planting with foot, thigh, shoulder and head. Practise by placing the ball on your foot and balance it for as long as you can.
5. The First Soccer Trick
Once you've mastered the first two. Now it's time to learn a simple soccer trick in freestyle. I'd recommend the "ATW", known as Around the World, done by rotating your knee over the ball from a foot plant and kick the ball as you complete the rotation. It's simply a step over of juggling, only you're doing it while juggling instead of on the ground.
Follow these 5 steps carefully and you should be raring to go. Enjoy it and welcome to freestyle soccer!
Still confused in freestyle soccer? Heikal Suhaili has created a mini guide "11 Days to Freestyle Soccer" that teaches you freestyle soccer tricks with 3 simple steps. Find out more at http://11daystofreestylesoccer.com/recommend
1. Proper Gear and Equipment
Equip yourself with a proper gear that gives you the "feel good" factor. It doesn't matter what others think but more importantly is that you feel comfortable and ready to play freestyle soccer. Typically freestyle players prefer three quarter pants and a t-shirt along with a pair of 5-aside shoes or trainers.
2. Warming-Ups
It's crucial to warm-up yourself starting with a light jog, normally 2-3 rounds on court before practicing freestyle. You'll gradually loosen up those muscles through jogging and stretching to prevent from any injuries and improve your overall performance in freestyle.
3. Juggle the ball
The first step to your freestyle is to go back to basics, juggling a ball. Simply by throwing the ball at waist height and kick it as it falls. Repeat the same steps and try to do it without throwing the ball in the air. You should improve your touches, balance and coordination with the ball.
4. Plant the ball
The next hard thing is to balance the ball on any part of your body, known as planting or stalling a soccer ball. Various techniques from planting with foot, thigh, shoulder and head. Practise by placing the ball on your foot and balance it for as long as you can.
5. The First Soccer Trick
Once you've mastered the first two. Now it's time to learn a simple soccer trick in freestyle. I'd recommend the "ATW", known as Around the World, done by rotating your knee over the ball from a foot plant and kick the ball as you complete the rotation. It's simply a step over of juggling, only you're doing it while juggling instead of on the ground.
Follow these 5 steps carefully and you should be raring to go. Enjoy it and welcome to freestyle soccer!
Still confused in freestyle soccer? Heikal Suhaili has created a mini guide "11 Days to Freestyle Soccer" that teaches you freestyle soccer tricks with 3 simple steps. Find out more at http://11daystofreestylesoccer.com/recommend
5 Ways to Become a Better Footballer (Soccer Player)
Football (or soccer as the 'non-Brits' refer to it as) is the most popular sport in the World. Millions of people play, at various levels, every single day. Most people play for fun, others professionally, however the aim of the game is almost always the same - WIN! During the course of the article I am going to suggest ways to becoming a better footballer (and thus increasing your and your teams chances of winning matches). All the suggestions made will result in improvements in your game, however some will take longer than others to 'flourish'. Here goes:-
FITNESS:
Watch the top footballers and you will notice that they produce a lot of movement during the 90 minutes, often running 10-15km in the process. To do this requires high levels of cardiovascular fitness. To gain such fitness requires dedication and discipline. Another sport where participants have very high levels of fitness, probably more so than footballers, is boxing (maybe not always the heavyweights!). Therefore, my suggestion to improve your fitness would be train like a boxer! Not in sparring etc, but by rising early (ideally between 5-6am) and putting in a session. This should ideally include a distance run followed by cardiovascular activities such as skipping, star jumps etc. Add to that push-ups, crunchies and sit-ups and your fitness will begin to improve significantly. Ideally I would suggest your session should be no less than 1 hour, at least 4-5 times a week. Training so early will kick-start your metabolism for the day plus psychologically it will give you a sense achievement which should motivate you day ahead.
GOAL! Rise at 5.30am, 5 times a week and complete a 4-5Km run followed by 5 x 20 push-ups, 5 x 20 crunchies, 5 x 40 star jumps, 5 x 20 burpees, then hold the PLANK POSITION for as long as possible. TIP: This will seem difficult at first, but once you are into a routine it becomes easy. Have training clothes next to your bed and focus your mind so that you get out of bed immediately when your alarm goes off. Don't think about what your about to do, JUST DO IT!
DIET:
You are what you eat / drink. You wouldn't put the incorrect fuel into your car, so why put it into your body? Your performance will be affected by what you eat / drink - in the short term and in the long term. Therefore, your overall diet should be well balanced with large potions of green vegetables and salad. Avoid junk food which you know to be detrimental to you - I don't need to list these foods, you know them already, but they just taste too good! Right? 'Garbabge' - they taste good at time of consumption, but how do you feel afterwards once your taste buds have returned to state - I'm guessing it's not great! Improving at anything requires discipline and often sacrifice. Give up the junk food and the benefits which follow will be far in excess of the 'quick fix' pleasure these foods provide.
Your water intake should be high - you should never actually feel thirsty as this is an early sign of dehydration. Replace consumption of fizzy drinks, tea and coffee with water. Drink a minimum of 2 litres and maximum of 5 litres (dependant on body size and intensity of exercise(s) performed) each day. Carry water with you at all-times, don't leave dehydration any invitations into your body!
GOAL! Drink 2-5 litres of water everyday , whilst avoiding fizzy drinks, tea and coffee. Eat portion(s) of green vegetables / salad or fruit with every meal. Snack every 2-4 hours on fruit / salad / vegetables or nuts. Eliminate junk food from your diet completely. TIP: Discipline and dedication are again the key. You don't become an extraordinary footballer by doing ordinary things!
TEMPERAMENT AND FOCUS:
Temperament and focus before, during and after a match is a key ingredient to making a footballer better. Before a match you should focus on what the overall aim is. That focus must remain strong and constant throughout. This should not make you fearful or nervous, but ultimately guide you towards achievement. If you make an error or wastes an opportunity, this should not affect your focus as your goal is still the same. It is unlikely that your overall aim was to score at that particular moment or not to make that error at that exact time. Therefore, concentrate on what you can achieve in the remaining time, there will be plenty of time to review performance after the match has finished.
Finally, once the match has ended focus on winning or losing with dignity. This will not just make you a better footballer, but a better person. GOAL!: Before a match spend 15-30 minutes focusing on what you actually want to achieve. Be clear of your outcome. So often people fail because they don't know exactly what they are wanting to achieve.
DO THE SIMPLY THINGS WELL AND OFTEN:
Not every footballer can do the things Cristiano Ronaldo, Zindine Zidane or Lionel Messi can do. But, all footballers can learn to do the simple skills often and well. I'm not trying to banish 'flare' and extravagant skill, rather dilute it. Learning to play short passes accurately and directly 100% of the time is an enormous advantage to any player. Great players, such as Paul Scholes and Claude Makele, are experts at doing the easy things well. This is something all players should adopt.
GOAL! Practice short passes, correct positioning, striking off the ball, tackling etc often and for a long period of time. Many players believe because they have mastered a technique they don't have to practice it any more - when in fact mastery and improvement comes from repeatedly practising an already learned skill. This sort of dedication and commitment ensures that in the crucial moments of a game when performing a skill or technique is vital you will be prepared.
LEARN FROM THE BEST:
Why re-invent the wheel? If you want to become a top footballer, benchmark a top footballer. They may have natural skill, but to get to the level they have achieved is not by chance. If you want to get to the level of a certain player(s) copy what they do on a regular basis (the beauty of benchmarking is you can take the positives and eliminate any negative routines the player may have!). With footballers living their life in the media spotlight and all sorts of data being openly available on the internet, it's never been easier to benchmark.
GOAL! Chose a World Class player(s) you admire both on and off the pitch. Collect information regarding their diet, training methods and fitness ideas. Study their movement and all-round play in a number of games. Record games which they have played extremely well and analyse their qualities. Possibly contact them directly for advice and hints - if done elegantly, with your reasons for contacting them clearly stated, they should be more than happy to oblige.
Combine all the above with belief and you will most definitely become a better footballer.
My background is very sport, health and fitness orientated, not in my profession but in my lifestyle. I have been a keen sports player since school. My current interests include the 'complete ergonomic solution' PostureMinder, http://www.postureminder.co.uk, and the sport based social networking site - http://www.competitiveurge.com/
FITNESS:
Watch the top footballers and you will notice that they produce a lot of movement during the 90 minutes, often running 10-15km in the process. To do this requires high levels of cardiovascular fitness. To gain such fitness requires dedication and discipline. Another sport where participants have very high levels of fitness, probably more so than footballers, is boxing (maybe not always the heavyweights!). Therefore, my suggestion to improve your fitness would be train like a boxer! Not in sparring etc, but by rising early (ideally between 5-6am) and putting in a session. This should ideally include a distance run followed by cardiovascular activities such as skipping, star jumps etc. Add to that push-ups, crunchies and sit-ups and your fitness will begin to improve significantly. Ideally I would suggest your session should be no less than 1 hour, at least 4-5 times a week. Training so early will kick-start your metabolism for the day plus psychologically it will give you a sense achievement which should motivate you day ahead.
GOAL! Rise at 5.30am, 5 times a week and complete a 4-5Km run followed by 5 x 20 push-ups, 5 x 20 crunchies, 5 x 40 star jumps, 5 x 20 burpees, then hold the PLANK POSITION for as long as possible. TIP: This will seem difficult at first, but once you are into a routine it becomes easy. Have training clothes next to your bed and focus your mind so that you get out of bed immediately when your alarm goes off. Don't think about what your about to do, JUST DO IT!
DIET:
You are what you eat / drink. You wouldn't put the incorrect fuel into your car, so why put it into your body? Your performance will be affected by what you eat / drink - in the short term and in the long term. Therefore, your overall diet should be well balanced with large potions of green vegetables and salad. Avoid junk food which you know to be detrimental to you - I don't need to list these foods, you know them already, but they just taste too good! Right? 'Garbabge' - they taste good at time of consumption, but how do you feel afterwards once your taste buds have returned to state - I'm guessing it's not great! Improving at anything requires discipline and often sacrifice. Give up the junk food and the benefits which follow will be far in excess of the 'quick fix' pleasure these foods provide.
Your water intake should be high - you should never actually feel thirsty as this is an early sign of dehydration. Replace consumption of fizzy drinks, tea and coffee with water. Drink a minimum of 2 litres and maximum of 5 litres (dependant on body size and intensity of exercise(s) performed) each day. Carry water with you at all-times, don't leave dehydration any invitations into your body!
GOAL! Drink 2-5 litres of water everyday , whilst avoiding fizzy drinks, tea and coffee. Eat portion(s) of green vegetables / salad or fruit with every meal. Snack every 2-4 hours on fruit / salad / vegetables or nuts. Eliminate junk food from your diet completely. TIP: Discipline and dedication are again the key. You don't become an extraordinary footballer by doing ordinary things!
TEMPERAMENT AND FOCUS:
Temperament and focus before, during and after a match is a key ingredient to making a footballer better. Before a match you should focus on what the overall aim is. That focus must remain strong and constant throughout. This should not make you fearful or nervous, but ultimately guide you towards achievement. If you make an error or wastes an opportunity, this should not affect your focus as your goal is still the same. It is unlikely that your overall aim was to score at that particular moment or not to make that error at that exact time. Therefore, concentrate on what you can achieve in the remaining time, there will be plenty of time to review performance after the match has finished.
Finally, once the match has ended focus on winning or losing with dignity. This will not just make you a better footballer, but a better person. GOAL!: Before a match spend 15-30 minutes focusing on what you actually want to achieve. Be clear of your outcome. So often people fail because they don't know exactly what they are wanting to achieve.
DO THE SIMPLY THINGS WELL AND OFTEN:
Not every footballer can do the things Cristiano Ronaldo, Zindine Zidane or Lionel Messi can do. But, all footballers can learn to do the simple skills often and well. I'm not trying to banish 'flare' and extravagant skill, rather dilute it. Learning to play short passes accurately and directly 100% of the time is an enormous advantage to any player. Great players, such as Paul Scholes and Claude Makele, are experts at doing the easy things well. This is something all players should adopt.
GOAL! Practice short passes, correct positioning, striking off the ball, tackling etc often and for a long period of time. Many players believe because they have mastered a technique they don't have to practice it any more - when in fact mastery and improvement comes from repeatedly practising an already learned skill. This sort of dedication and commitment ensures that in the crucial moments of a game when performing a skill or technique is vital you will be prepared.
LEARN FROM THE BEST:
Why re-invent the wheel? If you want to become a top footballer, benchmark a top footballer. They may have natural skill, but to get to the level they have achieved is not by chance. If you want to get to the level of a certain player(s) copy what they do on a regular basis (the beauty of benchmarking is you can take the positives and eliminate any negative routines the player may have!). With footballers living their life in the media spotlight and all sorts of data being openly available on the internet, it's never been easier to benchmark.
GOAL! Chose a World Class player(s) you admire both on and off the pitch. Collect information regarding their diet, training methods and fitness ideas. Study their movement and all-round play in a number of games. Record games which they have played extremely well and analyse their qualities. Possibly contact them directly for advice and hints - if done elegantly, with your reasons for contacting them clearly stated, they should be more than happy to oblige.
Combine all the above with belief and you will most definitely become a better footballer.
My background is very sport, health and fitness orientated, not in my profession but in my lifestyle. I have been a keen sports player since school. My current interests include the 'complete ergonomic solution' PostureMinder, http://www.postureminder.co.uk, and the sport based social networking site - http://www.competitiveurge.com/
How to Become a Pro Soccer Player
Millions of soccer followers aspire to play like pro soccer players. Soccer, the most watched sport in the world for many years now is being played by thousands of athletes in different countries. The most notable legends of the sport include Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, and David Beckham. These legends have become symbols of the sport and have established superstar and multi-millionaire status.
But soccer is a game that requires years of training, practice, hard work, and patience. It is also a sport that employs techniques which are crucial in making sure that the player maintains a conditioned physical and mental capability. Many promising players have failed to live up to the expectations of their followers due to lack of practice, discipline, and techniques.
There are various things an aspiring player needs to know first before he can become an excellent soccer player. One thing to consider is the shoes to wear during a game. It is recommended that a player wears lightweight and well designed shoes in order to keep up with the fast and heavy pace of the game. Another step in making one's dream of becoming a pro soccer player possible is reading the latest magazines and articles on the sport or watching video clips of the most memorable games. Playing or training with competent and knowledgeable soccer players is also one of the most effective ways to achieve expertise of the game as getting used to the most challenging conditions of soccer makes one a stronger athlete. Lastly, an aspiring player must also employ strength and endurance exercises to maintain competitive muscles and thereby allowing excellent body strength.
Learn more about pro soccer.
Watch Live Soccer on your PC.
But soccer is a game that requires years of training, practice, hard work, and patience. It is also a sport that employs techniques which are crucial in making sure that the player maintains a conditioned physical and mental capability. Many promising players have failed to live up to the expectations of their followers due to lack of practice, discipline, and techniques.
There are various things an aspiring player needs to know first before he can become an excellent soccer player. One thing to consider is the shoes to wear during a game. It is recommended that a player wears lightweight and well designed shoes in order to keep up with the fast and heavy pace of the game. Another step in making one's dream of becoming a pro soccer player possible is reading the latest magazines and articles on the sport or watching video clips of the most memorable games. Playing or training with competent and knowledgeable soccer players is also one of the most effective ways to achieve expertise of the game as getting used to the most challenging conditions of soccer makes one a stronger athlete. Lastly, an aspiring player must also employ strength and endurance exercises to maintain competitive muscles and thereby allowing excellent body strength.
Learn more about pro soccer.
Watch Live Soccer on your PC.
Secrets to Become a Professional Soccer Player
Almost every soccer fanatic aspires to become a professional soccer player. The other fans just want to be spectators of the game. With the increasing popularity of soccer, lots and lots of sports enthusiasts are getting hooked to this contact sport. Soccer, for others, means more than just a sport. It is a language which all ethnicities, race and skin color understand, watch and know of. This soccer fever paved the way to the introduction of soccer as a sport for young athletes. All of the modern day soccer superstars are honed through hard work. Becoming a soccer player by profession requires a great deal of dedication and discipline. People from various walks of life consider soccer as an expression of oneself and a sport that makes them aspire for something better.
Practice makes perfect. Although such a statement may be a long-sold cliché, constant practice really makes a difference. Regular schedule of soccer practice is truly beneficial. Routines and skills on how to handle the ball can be mastered through practice. An unstructured environment is helpful in perfecting the instincts of the player in handling situations in the outfield.
A professional soccer player has the right attitude towards soccer. The appropriate mindset towards practice, sportsmanship and discipline can motivate the player. Sacrifices should be done in order to sharpen the skill of playing the game. The aspiring player should concentrate well on the training process as well as in every game he/she plays. A naturally persevering personality and state of mind is a great advantage in the sense that it can make the player bring out the best in him/her in every match and in every practice session.
Watch Videos about professional soccer player.
Practice makes perfect. Although such a statement may be a long-sold cliché, constant practice really makes a difference. Regular schedule of soccer practice is truly beneficial. Routines and skills on how to handle the ball can be mastered through practice. An unstructured environment is helpful in perfecting the instincts of the player in handling situations in the outfield.
A professional soccer player has the right attitude towards soccer. The appropriate mindset towards practice, sportsmanship and discipline can motivate the player. Sacrifices should be done in order to sharpen the skill of playing the game. The aspiring player should concentrate well on the training process as well as in every game he/she plays. A naturally persevering personality and state of mind is a great advantage in the sense that it can make the player bring out the best in him/her in every match and in every practice session.
Watch Videos about professional soccer player.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Best Soccer Goalie
Soccer goalie also called goalkeeper, the defender of the team. The score of the team defends on them. He must be in good vision, know different tactics of the attackers, physically fit, and always alert that's why goal keeper is very important. The skills and training of the goal keeper is different to other player of soccer.
Here are only few best goalkeeper of the world.
Brad Friedel- "Man of the Match" that's what they called him. He incredibly saves the game and win against Tottenham Hotspur in 2002 League Cup Final. He is goalkeeper for Blackburn Rovers of American International Football. He represents the country at FIFA World Cup from 1992-2005.
Zach Thornton - His nicknamed "The Beast/ The Bear" because of his height and his built. His height stand at 6'3 with 230 pounds unusual size of average soccer goalie. He is chosen to be a goalkeeper for 2008 of Red Bull New York. In 1998, he played for the first time with US National team against Australia.
Lev Yashin - FIFA polls named Yashin as the sole goalkeeper in World Team of the 20th Century. He started the style of goalkeeper sweeping, punching balls out instead of catching the ball. He died year 1990 but still his contribution will never forget. He awarded as best goalkeeper at 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Mary Harvey - 1991 First FIFA World Champion Team of American Goalkeeper. She started as goalie for Women's National Team for U.S. since 1991 and Olympic Gold Medalist 1996.
Here are only few best goalkeeper of the world.
Brad Friedel- "Man of the Match" that's what they called him. He incredibly saves the game and win against Tottenham Hotspur in 2002 League Cup Final. He is goalkeeper for Blackburn Rovers of American International Football. He represents the country at FIFA World Cup from 1992-2005.
Zach Thornton - His nicknamed "The Beast/ The Bear" because of his height and his built. His height stand at 6'3 with 230 pounds unusual size of average soccer goalie. He is chosen to be a goalkeeper for 2008 of Red Bull New York. In 1998, he played for the first time with US National team against Australia.
Lev Yashin - FIFA polls named Yashin as the sole goalkeeper in World Team of the 20th Century. He started the style of goalkeeper sweeping, punching balls out instead of catching the ball. He died year 1990 but still his contribution will never forget. He awarded as best goalkeeper at 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Mary Harvey - 1991 First FIFA World Champion Team of American Goalkeeper. She started as goalie for Women's National Team for U.S. since 1991 and Olympic Gold Medalist 1996.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
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.
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.
Soccer Player Dies - Preventive Measures of Sudden Death of Athletes
Soccer player dies during match. These are shocking incidents which have happened several times during the past with similar occurrence either on international or local tournaments. Some even happens during practice sessions. Most of these incidents are associated with heart attack, head injuries and other medical reasons.
One of the players who died during an ongoing tournament is Phil O'Donnell. He is the team captain of the Scottish Premier League club called Motherwell. He was only 35 years old when he died.
Phil was about to leave the field during a substitution when suddenly he collapsed right in the middle of the field with the surprise of other players. The medical team tried to revive him but did not succeed. He was brought to a nearby hospital but after a few minutes he was pronounced medically dead. According to unconfirmed report, Phil suffered from a seizure.
In an effort to prevent these tragic incidents, the International Olympic Committee adopted some preventive measures on sudden death of athletes. The Lausanne Recommendations was launched which consist of reports and contains relevant information on how to prevent these occurrences.
The initiative was fully supported by FIFA and believes in its importance to the sports community especially among its players. The objective of the program is to educate athletes on the importance of their health condition. It also provides players the knowledge and awareness on procedures to prevent this from happening again. As soccer player dies is a big loss to the soccer community and to their families as well.
One of the players who died during an ongoing tournament is Phil O'Donnell. He is the team captain of the Scottish Premier League club called Motherwell. He was only 35 years old when he died.
Phil was about to leave the field during a substitution when suddenly he collapsed right in the middle of the field with the surprise of other players. The medical team tried to revive him but did not succeed. He was brought to a nearby hospital but after a few minutes he was pronounced medically dead. According to unconfirmed report, Phil suffered from a seizure.
In an effort to prevent these tragic incidents, the International Olympic Committee adopted some preventive measures on sudden death of athletes. The Lausanne Recommendations was launched which consist of reports and contains relevant information on how to prevent these occurrences.
The initiative was fully supported by FIFA and believes in its importance to the sports community especially among its players. The objective of the program is to educate athletes on the importance of their health condition. It also provides players the knowledge and awareness on procedures to prevent this from happening again. As soccer player dies is a big loss to the soccer community and to their families as well.
Soccer Recruiting 2009 - What You Must Know
It's time to start preparing yourself for soccer recruiting 2009. The fact is there are thousands of soccer players all across the country that share the dream of playing soccer at the college level. Some will make it to the college level, while others will come up short. The question is why? Why do some athletes make it to the college level, while others don't?
The very first thing you need to know about soccer recruiting 2009 is this: You must have the talent to play soccer at the college level. The competition level is very high at any division level in the college game. If you are struggling for playing time at the high school level, or just seeing average results, you may not have the talent to play at the next level.
Another problem may be that you play at a very small high school or a school that just isn't known for soccer. If you find yourself in that situation, you will have to take some steps to get your name and talents known by college coaches. If college coaches don't know you exist, you will never be recruited.
Are you relying on your coach to promote you during the soccer recruiting 2009 season? If you are, you could be making a huge mistake. Most high school coaches do not take an active interest in promoting players to colleges. Why? Many of them don't understand the recruiting and scholarship process themselves. They falsely assume if a player is good enough to play at some level of college soccer, the colleges will find them.
The biggest problem is that most high school athletes do not market and promote themselves to college coaches. If you have the talent to play at the college level, you must take the initiative to market and promote yourself during the soccer recruiting 2009 season. Think about any product you buy. At some point in time that product was new and nobody knew about it. It had to be marketed and promoted before you or anyone else could buy it. You must go through the same process for yourself. You must send letters and emails to college coaches and let them know about you and how you can help their program be successful.
If getting noticed during the soccer recruiting 2009 season is your dream, you can make it happen. You don't have to be a super star athlete that every college coach in America already knows about. You can simply be a very good player who becomes a super star at promoting and marketing yourself.
Gary Hawkins is a well known recruiting and athletic scholarships expert and the author of a popular 17-page free report titled:
The very first thing you need to know about soccer recruiting 2009 is this: You must have the talent to play soccer at the college level. The competition level is very high at any division level in the college game. If you are struggling for playing time at the high school level, or just seeing average results, you may not have the talent to play at the next level.
Another problem may be that you play at a very small high school or a school that just isn't known for soccer. If you find yourself in that situation, you will have to take some steps to get your name and talents known by college coaches. If college coaches don't know you exist, you will never be recruited.
Are you relying on your coach to promote you during the soccer recruiting 2009 season? If you are, you could be making a huge mistake. Most high school coaches do not take an active interest in promoting players to colleges. Why? Many of them don't understand the recruiting and scholarship process themselves. They falsely assume if a player is good enough to play at some level of college soccer, the colleges will find them.
The biggest problem is that most high school athletes do not market and promote themselves to college coaches. If you have the talent to play at the college level, you must take the initiative to market and promote yourself during the soccer recruiting 2009 season. Think about any product you buy. At some point in time that product was new and nobody knew about it. It had to be marketed and promoted before you or anyone else could buy it. You must go through the same process for yourself. You must send letters and emails to college coaches and let them know about you and how you can help their program be successful.
If getting noticed during the soccer recruiting 2009 season is your dream, you can make it happen. You don't have to be a super star athlete that every college coach in America already knows about. You can simply be a very good player who becomes a super star at promoting and marketing yourself.
Gary Hawkins is a well known recruiting and athletic scholarships expert and the author of a popular 17-page free report titled:
Teach English Using the Soccer World Cup
Use the Soccer World Cup in Germany as an English Language Teaching Tool?
No, I’m not kidding. Using popular events like the soccer world cup in Germany to teach English is in fact, practical. The learners’ Affective Filter (Krashen and Terrell, 1983) is so low using events like these to teach English, “a cockroach could leap over it”.
Can you imagine the reactions of my learners when I announced, “For English class everybody has to watch the world cup matches”?
“That’s great!” “Teacher, you’re the best!” “Oh man, we’ve never had an English assignment like that before!”
Although not a huge soccer fan myself, I did think it would be interesting to see matches between teams you know never get to play each other during a regular season. Italy vs. Ghana? The USA vs. the Czech Republic? Holland vs. Ivory Coast? Awesome!
To work the games in to English language practice, learners must use their skills in a number of different ways by applying Task-Based Learning (J. Willis, 1998) in addition to some Content-Based Instruction (Richards and Rogers, 1993). Do Ghana and Italy do business together? If so, what kinds of products or services? Useful activities for learners include ones such as:
• Preparing and giving profiles of the competing countries including economics, geography, capitol cities, etc.
• Being able to locate the countries on a world map and give bordering countries and geographic features
• Talking about key players on each team or dialogues between players / coaches / fans
• Describing aspects of key players on each team – age, height, weight, hair, looks, marital status and other features like bald, braces, glasses, tattoos, etc.
• Soccer match elements like player positions, scoring, and even how to play the game
• Giving commentary on game plays and goals using active or passive voice
• Making predictions using future tenses “going to” or “will”
• Using discourse markers or modals to express uncertainty (perhaps, possibly, maybe, might, could, may, etc.)
The learners are free to work up whatever formats they wish as long as they stay active and involved in the process. Some games are recorded with highlights reviewed / discussed in class. A few games are watched during class hours via multi-media facilities available at the university.
Other activity possibilities are:
• Reports
• Developing vocabulary lists in context based on vocabulary elements (Thornbury, 2002)
• Discussion / descriptions of cities where games are played
• Local architecture
• Regional foods
• Holidays
• Clothing
• almost any cultural aspect learners may find new and interesting
At the end (gasp!) of it all, learners will have compiled an extensive “portfolio” of written and multi-media materials that have allowed them exhaustive practice in the four English language basic skills. Written practice can be either Process-based (White, 1987) or Product-based (Fowler, 1988) Learners have also had extensive listening comprehension practice in English. With different sports moderators and commentators from different countries speaking English with a variety of accents, elements of listening and their associated difficulties can be examined. (Brown and Yule, 1983)
So, these activities are turning the soccer world cup in Germany into a marvelous English language teaching tool. The process could be rolled over and used with other international sporting events as well, like the Olympics, Baseball World Series, American football Super Bowl or numerous other world regional events. Think about sports or other types of events where you live. How might you effectively exploit them to teach your English EFL or ESL learners?
Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free.
No, I’m not kidding. Using popular events like the soccer world cup in Germany to teach English is in fact, practical. The learners’ Affective Filter (Krashen and Terrell, 1983) is so low using events like these to teach English, “a cockroach could leap over it”.
Can you imagine the reactions of my learners when I announced, “For English class everybody has to watch the world cup matches”?
“That’s great!” “Teacher, you’re the best!” “Oh man, we’ve never had an English assignment like that before!”
Although not a huge soccer fan myself, I did think it would be interesting to see matches between teams you know never get to play each other during a regular season. Italy vs. Ghana? The USA vs. the Czech Republic? Holland vs. Ivory Coast? Awesome!
To work the games in to English language practice, learners must use their skills in a number of different ways by applying Task-Based Learning (J. Willis, 1998) in addition to some Content-Based Instruction (Richards and Rogers, 1993). Do Ghana and Italy do business together? If so, what kinds of products or services? Useful activities for learners include ones such as:
• Preparing and giving profiles of the competing countries including economics, geography, capitol cities, etc.
• Being able to locate the countries on a world map and give bordering countries and geographic features
• Talking about key players on each team or dialogues between players / coaches / fans
• Describing aspects of key players on each team – age, height, weight, hair, looks, marital status and other features like bald, braces, glasses, tattoos, etc.
• Soccer match elements like player positions, scoring, and even how to play the game
• Giving commentary on game plays and goals using active or passive voice
• Making predictions using future tenses “going to” or “will”
• Using discourse markers or modals to express uncertainty (perhaps, possibly, maybe, might, could, may, etc.)
The learners are free to work up whatever formats they wish as long as they stay active and involved in the process. Some games are recorded with highlights reviewed / discussed in class. A few games are watched during class hours via multi-media facilities available at the university.
Other activity possibilities are:
• Reports
• Developing vocabulary lists in context based on vocabulary elements (Thornbury, 2002)
• Discussion / descriptions of cities where games are played
• Local architecture
• Regional foods
• Holidays
• Clothing
• almost any cultural aspect learners may find new and interesting
At the end (gasp!) of it all, learners will have compiled an extensive “portfolio” of written and multi-media materials that have allowed them exhaustive practice in the four English language basic skills. Written practice can be either Process-based (White, 1987) or Product-based (Fowler, 1988) Learners have also had extensive listening comprehension practice in English. With different sports moderators and commentators from different countries speaking English with a variety of accents, elements of listening and their associated difficulties can be examined. (Brown and Yule, 1983)
So, these activities are turning the soccer world cup in Germany into a marvelous English language teaching tool. The process could be rolled over and used with other international sporting events as well, like the Olympics, Baseball World Series, American football Super Bowl or numerous other world regional events. Think about sports or other types of events where you live. How might you effectively exploit them to teach your English EFL or ESL learners?
Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free.
These Four (4) Exercises Will Increase Any Soccer Player's Speed
In order for a soccer player to increase their speed, there are several factors which will contribute to their speed increasing on the soccer field. Proper running mechanics is certainly one factor which will help increase speed, while another is lower body strength training. Learn four of the best lower body strength exercises a soccer can player can do to increase their speed.
Specifically, a soccer player will want to get their posterior chain of muscles stronger. The posterior chain of muscles are many of the muscles you can't see when you look at yourself in the mirror. Those muscles include the back, the glutes, the hamstrings and the calf. Getting the posterior chain of muscles stronger will absolutely get a soccer player faster and increase their speed.
Here are Four (4) excellent exercises for a soccer player to do to isolate these muscles and allow for their speed to be released:
Tire Flip or Log Flip: Take an old tractor tire (or wooden log) and bend down into a squat with both hands cupped underneath the tire. In a powerful movement, lift the side of the tire where your hands are off the ground and then push the tire forward with both hands so that it now falls forward and is laying on the ground again. Quickly repeat this process for up to 10 flips. This movement is great for developing explosive power in the posterior chain of muscles.
Sled Drags: Take a weighted sled and attach two "D-handle" cords to it. Place some weight on it and then grab the handles in such a way that you are facing forward and the sled is behind you. Keep your arms relatively straight and walk forward so that your cords or rope are tight through this resistance. Then march forward using a simple high knee, linear lunge walk. Work up to 20 -30 yards of dragging the sled in this manner. This exercise is a great way to get the lower body stronger explosively allowing the soccer player to gain valuable speed.
Forward Broad Jumps: With both feet about shoulder width apart, jump out forward as high and as far as you can. Upon landing, bend the knees and drop your hips...in other words cushioning the jump. Have the soccer player gather themselves and repeat that jump. Continue repeating for up to 5 jumps in a row. Work up to 3-5 sets of 5 jumps. This exercise is a wonderful way to create loads of explosive, quick movements for the soccer player.
Let Go's: Let go's are simply resisted sprints. Have two players work together. One lines up behind the other player and grabs their waist with both hands. The player in the front gets into a good acceleration position and starts to run forward. The player in the back holds on and resists the player in the front from moving too quickly forward event though they are trying to do so. After about 5 yards of this resistance, the person in the back releases the person in the front. This person will feel like they have been shot out of a cannon. Remind the person in the front about that so that they are ready for that quick burst being released and they do not stumble and fall. This is a great exercise to add speed to any soccer player.
These four exercises will without a doubt add strength to the lower body of any soccer player which in turn will increase their speed.
I hoped you enjoyed reading about these four excellent exercises for enhancing speed on the soccer field.
Have a great day!
Specifically, a soccer player will want to get their posterior chain of muscles stronger. The posterior chain of muscles are many of the muscles you can't see when you look at yourself in the mirror. Those muscles include the back, the glutes, the hamstrings and the calf. Getting the posterior chain of muscles stronger will absolutely get a soccer player faster and increase their speed.
Here are Four (4) excellent exercises for a soccer player to do to isolate these muscles and allow for their speed to be released:
Tire Flip or Log Flip: Take an old tractor tire (or wooden log) and bend down into a squat with both hands cupped underneath the tire. In a powerful movement, lift the side of the tire where your hands are off the ground and then push the tire forward with both hands so that it now falls forward and is laying on the ground again. Quickly repeat this process for up to 10 flips. This movement is great for developing explosive power in the posterior chain of muscles.
Sled Drags: Take a weighted sled and attach two "D-handle" cords to it. Place some weight on it and then grab the handles in such a way that you are facing forward and the sled is behind you. Keep your arms relatively straight and walk forward so that your cords or rope are tight through this resistance. Then march forward using a simple high knee, linear lunge walk. Work up to 20 -30 yards of dragging the sled in this manner. This exercise is a great way to get the lower body stronger explosively allowing the soccer player to gain valuable speed.
Forward Broad Jumps: With both feet about shoulder width apart, jump out forward as high and as far as you can. Upon landing, bend the knees and drop your hips...in other words cushioning the jump. Have the soccer player gather themselves and repeat that jump. Continue repeating for up to 5 jumps in a row. Work up to 3-5 sets of 5 jumps. This exercise is a wonderful way to create loads of explosive, quick movements for the soccer player.
Let Go's: Let go's are simply resisted sprints. Have two players work together. One lines up behind the other player and grabs their waist with both hands. The player in the front gets into a good acceleration position and starts to run forward. The player in the back holds on and resists the player in the front from moving too quickly forward event though they are trying to do so. After about 5 yards of this resistance, the person in the back releases the person in the front. This person will feel like they have been shot out of a cannon. Remind the person in the front about that so that they are ready for that quick burst being released and they do not stumble and fall. This is a great exercise to add speed to any soccer player.
These four exercises will without a doubt add strength to the lower body of any soccer player which in turn will increase their speed.
I hoped you enjoyed reading about these four excellent exercises for enhancing speed on the soccer field.
Have a great day!
Free Soccer Clips - Enjoy Your Favorite Soccer Clips
Free soccer clips are one of the most popular clips nowadays. Basically, video clips are segments or parts of a long piece of video. With the development and widespread of broadband internet, these video clips have became very popular contents of many website. There are millions of these video clips available online and many websites even offer this free clips to internet users and they can even download it.
Many sources of these video clips includes sporting events, news reports, music videos, movie trailers, TV programs and recently the vlogs or video blogs. Sports websites particularly soccer websites offers a lot of free soccer clips. These clips usually contain videos of most recent games, news updates and news reports on World Soccer tournaments. Sometimes it contains advertisements. With the inclusion of clips for the sport, it drew a lot of soccer fanatics in these websites. It also serves as an additional feature which makes a sports website more interesting. It also enabled sports clubs and associations to bring the sport into the mainstream of the society.
The most common format of these clips is Flash Video, Windows Media Video, Quicktime, RealMedia or DivX.
Video clips have made a lot of improvement in bringing the sports fans a sneak of the actions of their favorite sport. With so many electronic gadgets capable of playing video clips, people can now watch and enjoy watching sports through their handheld gadgets while on the go. This medium of media is a great advancement which offers easy accessibility for sports aficionados to watch the action of the games.
Many sources of these video clips includes sporting events, news reports, music videos, movie trailers, TV programs and recently the vlogs or video blogs. Sports websites particularly soccer websites offers a lot of free soccer clips. These clips usually contain videos of most recent games, news updates and news reports on World Soccer tournaments. Sometimes it contains advertisements. With the inclusion of clips for the sport, it drew a lot of soccer fanatics in these websites. It also serves as an additional feature which makes a sports website more interesting. It also enabled sports clubs and associations to bring the sport into the mainstream of the society.
The most common format of these clips is Flash Video, Windows Media Video, Quicktime, RealMedia or DivX.
Video clips have made a lot of improvement in bringing the sports fans a sneak of the actions of their favorite sport. With so many electronic gadgets capable of playing video clips, people can now watch and enjoy watching sports through their handheld gadgets while on the go. This medium of media is a great advancement which offers easy accessibility for sports aficionados to watch the action of the games.
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