Contents
The Soccer Field
Soccer Basics
Soccer Playing Fundamentals
Soccer Positions
Soccer Formations
Offsides in Soccer
Soccer Set Plays
Soccer Referees and Fouls
Soccer Leagues and Competitions
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Soccer Playing Fundamentals
Though soccer games involve complex strategies, playing the game requires only a few fundamental skills:
- Dribbling
- Passing
- Heading
- Shooting
- Trapping
- Tackling
Dribbling
Dribbling is a skill in which a player runs with the ball by keeping control of it with his or her feet. Players with good touch don’t have to look at the ball to control it with their feet. They can dribble the ball as they survey the field, so they know when a player on their team is open or when a defender is approaching. Important dribbling skills include:
- Changing direction: A player has to be able to change direction quickly while keeping control of the ball in order to beat (get past) defenders.
- Changing speed: Players change speed, from a sprint to a stop or vice versa, to try to catch a defender off guard.
- Using the body: Players can shield the ball with their bodies as they dribble to keep other players from the ball.
Passing
A pass occurs when a player on one team kicks the ball to a teammate. Passes travel through the air or on the ground. They can be long, covering half the field, or short, covering just a few feet. To be successful, a pass must:
- Reach the intended teammate without being intercepted by the opposing team
- Put the receiving teammate in position to dribble, make another pass, or take a shot on goal
Types of Passes
Passes have different names based on their function and on the direction that they move the ball on the field.
- Cross: A cross is a pass made in the offensive third of the field when the ball is passed, usually in the air, from one side of the field into the penalty area in front of the goal. The objective of a cross is to set up the offensive player in the penalty area to head or shoot the ball into the goal.
- Square: A square is a sideways pass that can travel just a few feet or move across the field. This pass is used to shift the focus of the attack to another part of the field.
- Through: A through is a forward pass, kicked either over or between defenders. The pass is meant to lead an offensive player through the defenders. A through pass is successful when the ball isn’t intercepted and the offensive player gains control of it, because that means that the player has beaten a number of defenders and may be free to shoot or dribble on goal.
- One-touch: This pass is a pass made with one touch. Rather than settle the ball (get it under control and in position) before passing it, a player receives and passes the ball all in one touch. The quickness of a one-touch pass can create openings in the defense. Give-and-go: This pass is a variant of the one-touch pass. In this play, a teammate passes to another, runs by a defender, and then immediately receives the ball back from the teammate he passed to originally. The ball moves in a triangle around the defender.
Heading
A header is any play in which a soccer player directs the ball by striking it with his or her head. The standard header is made by arching backward, leaping up, and snapping forward to strike the approaching ball at the hairline, just at the top of the forehead. Players control the ball by turning their heads in the direction that they want the ball to go. Players skilled at heading can even head the ball so that it goes behind them. Players may also dive onto the ground to head a low, but airborne, ball. Players head the ball for both offensive and defensive reasons:
- An offensive player may head a ball to redirect it into the goal or pass it to a teammate.
- A defensive player may head a ball to stop an offensive player from heading it on goal or to break up a pass.
Shooting
When players shoot on goal, they generally try to put as much power on the shot as possible. To shoot the ball with power, players plant their nonshooting foot next to the ball and swing their shooting leg, striking the ball on the instep, or laces, of their cleat (shoe, also referred to as a boot).
Shots struck well can travel at over 100 miles per hour and often knuckle or swerve through the air. Players try to direct their shots to the top or bottom corners of the goal—the spots that are hardest for a goalie to reach and defend. It’s difficult to shoot with accuracy, and many shots often fly over or to the sides of the goal.
Not All Shots Have to Be Powerful
Power is crucial for shots taken from a distance, but not all shots have to be very hard. A player on a breakaway, for example, who has no defender to beat other than the keeper, may be better off dribbling to draw the keeper to one side of the goal. Then, using the outside of his foot, the player can shoot the ball to the far side of the goal. Or a player may be best off chipping (lofting) the ball into the air, so it flies gently up and over the keeper and into the goal. When a shot is aimed precisely so that a goalie can’t reach it, the power of the shot is irrelevant.
Trapping
Soccer players have to be able to receive and control, or trap, passes or other balls that come to them. A player can use any part of his body (other than his hands and arms) to trap the ball. The most common body parts used to trap the ball are the:
- Foot: The player gets his foot in front of the ball and pulls his foot back as it comes in contact with the ball, cushioning it so the ball stops without bouncing away.
- Thigh: The player raises his thigh to meet the ball, then drops the thigh on contact.
- Chest: The player gets his chest in front of the ball, then pulls back or “collapses” the chest upon contact with the ball.
Good players can trap nearly any ball hit to their body, even when it’s coming extremely fast.
Tackling
A tackle occurs when a defending player dispossesses, or takes the ball away from, an offensive player. There are three basic kinds of tackles:
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Block tackle: A block tackle happens when the defender puts his foot squarely in front of the ball as the offensive player is dribbling. This impact causes the offensive player to stumble, leaving the defender with possession of the ball.
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Poke tackle: In a poketackle, the defender uses the toe of his front foot to try to poke away the ball. This type of tackle dispossesses the offensive player of the ball but does not result in the defensive player gaining possession.
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Slide tackle: Players use the slide tackle only as a last resort. Generally, defenders use a slide tackle when the offensive player has gotten past them and they don’t have the speed or time to catch up. To slide tackle, the defender slides sideways, extending his or her outside foot to block or knock away the ball.
For a tackle to be acceptable under the rules of soccer, the defender must contact the ball before touching the offensive player, and the defender’s foot must be angled down so that the spikes on his or her cleats are not aimed at the offensive player. Illegal tackles are one of the most common causes of fouls in soccer.
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