Soccer uniforms are essential in the modern game. In organized soccer games, teams cannot take the field without proper uniforms. One of the main items that you should invest in is a soccer uniform.
These uniforms perform two main functions. It enables the players, the opposition, the referee and the spectators to distinguish between two teams, and it also gives the wearer a sense of pride in the team he or she is playing for.
It is a rare case when a young soccer fan grows up to play in the team he supported as a boy. In this situation, the player would have a deep sense of pride for the shirt he was wearing. That is why you often seen players kissing the crest of their shirt after scoring a goal.
Soccer uniform encompasses anything and everything you need to play the game. These include shirts, shorts, boots (or cleats), shin guards, ball, your bag and even ointments and creams that you use to treat or prevent injury.
The majority of soccer gear is easily available, either at your local store or on the Internet. If you play park soccer and just turn up and play with friends, then you can wear what you want.
How to Kick a Soccer Ball – Getting Rid of the Toe Kick.
By Coach V, Blast The Ball
How many times have you heard it yelled from the sidelines? “Kick with you laces, not your toe!”
Well it really isn’t the fault of the player if you understand the evolution of the soccer kick.The problem is that most parents and many coaches don’t realize this is impossible to change without a “process”.When we created www.BlastTheBall.com we studied this problem in our research which lasted over two years. This one came pretty quickly.Video taping the player makes it easy to understand.
A child doesn’t change anything about their natural walking or running stride when they first start to kick a soccer ball.It is almost like the soccer ball just happens to get in the way of their natural stride.As we walk or run as humans our toe naturally points forward as it moves forward.Keeping the toe down would cause us to walk or run looking like a Clydesdale horse.Also, when we bring our leg forward there is VERY little clearance between the bottom of the foot and the ground.Pointing the toe down will cause it to hit the ground, often causing serious injury.
Many coaches and parents make the big mistake of taking a child straight to the form of a traditional straight kick at full force.Every time this is done the child “stubs” their toe and strains the top of their foot.This thought remains in the child’s mind and they remember that kicking this way hurts. Not a good thought process.
A child should first learn to kick with an angle kick.
An angle kick allows the toe to be pointed slightly outward and away from our body.Doing this reduces the need for so much “clearance”.This kick motion starts with the leg behind our torso. Then the leg swings slightly outward and finishes by coming back around the front of our body.
Also, the child must realize that in order to create clearance, they must “shorten the length of their leg”.Not easy for an 8 year to understand. However, as shown in Blast The Ball, there are two simple methods to help.
1)Learn the V swing. The V swing is performed by all advanced players in all their kicks. They just don’t realize it. Keeping the knee slightly bent as it swings through, “shortens the leg”.
2)Also, raising the up slightly by lifting at the hip will give good clearance.Leaving the shooting foot flat on the ground, we want the player to point their toe to the ground. However, they must accomplish this by raising their HIP not the leg or knee.
Trying to picture this training in writing is difficult. However, once you see it in action you’ll be amazed at how something so simple can change a soccer player for life.
One of the key points of Blast The Ball is to not let the player start in full motion.They must feel this motion through slow motion exaggerated kicks. This also prevents injuries as well.
Here’s a really simple way to control the ball to pass or shoot and this skill can be mastered through performing various free soccer training drills. In this article, you will find 2 soccer drills, Shoulder To Shoulder and Shark in the Middle discussed in detail for you.
Shoulder To Shoulder drill is meant for offensive and defensive players. The main purpose of this exercise is to teach offensive player to practice fast shooting under pressure and let the defensive players practice clearing the ball.
This drill puts into play 3 players each drill group. The distance between A and B is about 10-15 yards.
B and the defensive player make a line shoulder to shoulder. B and the defensive player, who stand adjacent to each other, face away from the goal on the left side of the field. At the whistle of the coach, A throws the ball behind the other 2 players. B and the defensive player begin to make efforts to take control of the ball. B’s aim is to shoot on the goal while the defensive player’s objective is to turn with the ball and dribble it above the center line.
By working on coaching drills like Shoulder to Shoulder, players get to learn as to how to win the ball despite being under immense pressure from an opposing player.
Shark in the Middle is a funny game that the team can play anytime during the practice and its duration can be shortened or increased as per the requirements. It is one of many free soccer training drills that helps players achieve attentiveness and self-control in high-pressure situations.
Players make a large circle in the field. One player is selected to be the “shark” and stands in the center of the circle. There is only one ball here which is given to the player who stands inside the circle.
When the whistle is blown, the player who has the ball passes it to the other one along the circle. Then the second player passes it to another that he likes and this goes on like this.
Then the whistle is blown again signaling the start of the game. The sole purpose of the game is to keep the ball away from the shark. The player may choose to pass the ball to anyone he wishes to, be it a teammate right next to him or a teammate far away. The players attempt to make as many passes as they can.
This process continues until the shark captures the ball.
When the ball is captured, the player that caused the ball to be intercepted becomes the new shark and the first shark finds a place along the circle.
Shark in the Middle finds a place among those football drills that require a sharp thinking and an idea of the experience of the shark.
In conclusion, these free soccer training drills help players to build self-confidence to handle the ball while under pressure from an oncoming attacker. If this material was useful please subscribe to our soccer coaching for young adults to enhance and develop your knowledge on coaching soccer available through various mediums like articles, newsletters and videos.
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Free soccer training drills.
Someone like me would most likely realize the significance of adding free soccer training drills to ensure that all the team players are taught the methods to throw the ball in. While having youth soccer drills, almost 70 percent throw-ins are foul throws therefore the other team gets the control of the ball.
To overcome this issue it is essential that all the players in your team learn how to perform throw-ins correctly and get the possession of the ball right away. Thus the player may easily go behind the defense and make a hit for the ball.
All that is required to teach the players to get the ball back into play quickly is some simple actions and moves, performed correctly at the U-10 level and below.
While performing free soccer training drills, some soccer coaches tend to rely only on one or two players to take all throw-ins. These players are called the designated throwers. So the most worn out player in the game is the designated thrower. He is supposed to run up and down the sideline and also across the ground, to make a simple throw in.
Here again I would reiterate the fact that each and every player in the team should be allowed to throw the ball in. All too often, when a ball gets kicked out of boundary, a quick-thinking forward prepares to pitch it back into play, only to be stopped by his or her coach. Now when this player objects, he learns that he/she not being a mid-fielder is not permitted to take the throws and the midfielders take throws only.
In coaching drills make sure that all the players are encouraged to reach the ball whenever possible. However a quick throw-in may give a chance to score, the effects of this method is not limited to this and goes far ahead of the win-lose theory. With young players, games may last only 50 or 60 minutes. Hence not too much of the time should go in placing the ball back into the play.
The soccer coaches who give importance to quick throws are important players in teaching strategic awareness towards their rivals. In football dills, as the usual defending against the unexpected restarts would not be practical for teams who defend against designated throwers, the defendant team has about 20 to 30 seconds to get back behind the ball.
To develop youth players for higher level of play the coaches should make time to groom their players. It is essential that all the beginners learn the technique of throwing-in the ball properly; and after that it could be reverted back to the ground for the kids to carry on the game.
Make no mistake about it; since skills, knowledge of the game, and stamina are limited at the lower age groups, during free soccer training drills, a coach should never ask the young players to do the impossible. You can subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community for more such resources and articles, periodic newsletters, and videos to help coach young players.
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Coaching.
