Penalty kicks afford a team an open opportunity to score a goal. This is, however, no longer a formality. All penalty kicks are not converted. Goalkeepers are much more athletic in today’s game, so there are some fundamental requirements needed to fulfill the expectations of making a penalty.

The player must remain calm and confident even if the goalkeeper is playing mind games. He may be positioned to one side of the goal. He may  try to delay the kick as long as possible by stalling. A player taking a kick must have a routine that has been rehearsed several times. They player must decide before placing the ball where he wishes to place the ball and which surface he is going to use.

Goalkeepers try to read body language, so the kicker must not be too predictable. He can use some disguise to fool the goalkeeper. The run up should be slightly angled and facilitate the ball being played to either side of the goalkeeper.

There are two distinct types of penalties: placement and power. When placing the ball, the kicker should aim for the inside of the post on either side. The inside of the foot should be used. Some form of run up will generate enough power to beat the goalkeeper.

The kicker should be aiming low or high. Anything in between is much easier for the goalkeeper to save. Players that prefer to use power expect that the keeper will not have time to react or adjust to the shot. The instep is the only surface that will generate significant enough power to beat the goalkeeper, without the element of accuracy.

There should be two established penalty takers on the team. It is very difficult to recreate  the psychological demands of taking a penalty in a game at soccer practice, so repetition is key.

Related posts:

1. How to Take a Penalty Kick
2. Coaching Soccer Set Plays (free kicks & corners)

Ultimate Soccer Coaching

Author: Bob Roper
Source: ezinearticles.com

Former England stars Alan Shearer and Chris Waddle have both said on radio that they think Wayne Rooney can maintain his form on the run-up to the World Cup starting in June. Rooney’s tremendous run of form this season currently has no signs of abating but there is a long way to go and even if he can physically withstand the next few months it is a big question mark that he will cope with all the mental pressure that the run-in of the Premier League and Champions League will bring.

Shearer and Waddle both said that Rooney’s inherent love of the game will stop him from going stale and will see him through. What worries me though is that up to this point of the season the pressure on Rooney has not been too great but it is about to gather momentum. On Sunday we have the Carling Cup, next Wednesday an international friendly with Egypt, the Premier League matches include Liverpool (home), Chelsea (home), Manchester City (away) and Tottenham before the end of the season and then there is the small matter of the Champions League and World Cup. It will come thick and fast and media attention on the likes of Rooney will be relentless.

There is absolutely no doubt that Rooney is currently at his peak. He has scored 23 Premier League goals so far this season plus another 10 in other matches for Manchester United and England. The Premier League total is already way above the 16, which was his previous best tally in the 05/06 season. What’s even more impressive though is that his form since the end of November is phenomenal having averaged a goal a match, 19 goals from the last 19 games.

So, why the improvement in form? Rooney has always been strong and powerful on the ball. He has always had the ability to pass, shoot from distance and work passionately and unselfishly for his team. The player will have been helped by being free from injury for just over a year now. As a sportsman he has reached physical maturity and this together with his fitness is making a difference.

What is probably even more important though is the mental impact that Christiano Ronaldo falling out of the limelight at Manchester United, with his transfer to Real Madrid at the beginning of the season has had. Ever since Rooney joined the Red Devils in September 2004 he has had to work under Ronaldo’s shadow. The uniqueness of Rooney’s genius was somehow always compromised and never allowed to blossom while Ronaldo remained. It is only now given more freedom in a central role by Alex Ferguson that he is showing the unfettered natural talent that he had when he burst onto the football scene with a stunning goal for Everton against Arsenal at the age of 16.

So what are England’s chances of benefiting from Rooney’s purple patch? Can we expect him to maintain his mental composure and discipline over the next few months in what promises to be the most gruelling of periods for the young man? You have to remember that we are talking of someone who grew up in the mean streets of Croxteth. This is a person who has shown his impetuosity in key games when pressure has been applied; a sending off for sarcastically clapping the referee, another red card when throwing the ball away when a free kick against him was awarded and probably worst of all a dismissal in the quarter finals of the 2006 World Cup against Portugal when stamping on Ricardo Carvalho. This is also someone who admitted to visiting prostitutes when he was only 18 years of age.

Is this someone then who the nation can pin their hopes on? We hope that he has turned over a new leaf since he married his teenage sweetheart Coleen McLoughlin in June 2008 and they had the birth of a son Kai Wayne in November 2009. The latter seems to coincide with Rooney’s current resurgence and it is to be hoped that the happiness in his personal life is also have a positive effect.

The other big question is will England manager Fabio Capello be able to get the best out of Rooney like Ferguson seems to be doing? We will wait and hope that the form of the transformed and rejuvenated striker continues. If it does there is just a chance that England will do the unthinkable. Rooney brings to England something very special, something world class and something that personifies the best fighting spirit of this football-loving nation. At the same time there is a huge question mark and we just hope it wont be shame rather than fame.

Bob Roper is a 55-year-old accountant. Amongst his many interests Bob enjoys watching football, horse racing and listening to music.

Football Shirt

Hey, does anyone know of websites that sell Nike or Adidas soccer jerseys for high school teams? Also, any customizable replica jerseys resembling Barca, Arsenal or Manchester United that can be used for high school?

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Soccer Goalkeeper Jerseys

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

June 18, 2004 — Irvine’s Marriott Hotel will play host June 20 to California’s first Professional Muslim Singles Evening.

The event meets halal guidelines, with a structure allowing professional unmarried Muslims to meet with a view to potential marriage.

Kamran Beg, Global Management Consultant and event chair, comments: โ€œThese evenings are motivated by, and structured to, a halal framework. The intention is to maximise opportunities to meet and get to know like-minded people, with a view to possible marriage.

โ€œWith tens of thousands of Muslims living in the Sunshine State, we hope this will appeal as an effective way to meet potential marriage partners. The aim is to achieve positive compromise between traditional Muslim and modern Western values.โ€

The Singles Evenings were inspired by the concern of English Muslim parents over finding suitable marriage partners for their children. The first event took place Manchester, England, in July 2003, quickly followed with further evenings in London, New York and Toronto.

The events represent a whole new concept and, although sticking to the fundamental framework of arranged Muslim marriages, remain a unique approach to finding partners.

One break from Muslim tradition is that attendees are not chaperoned by parents. Instead, Kamran and colleagues take a surrogate guardian role, creating an enhanced atmosphere among young professionals of a similar age. Should any attendees wish to communicate further outside the event, this is done with full parental consent.

The programme has been a major success, leading to 13 engagements and six marriages in the UK, with three more marriages arranged to take place this summer, including one in the United States.

To reinforce the halal structure of the event, attendees are strongly recommended to gain full parental approval and to attend in formal dress. Each potential attendee is subject to a stringent telephone interview before their place is confirmed, confirmed that as many like-minded people as possible are in attendance.

Kamran continues: โ€œI’m sure the evening will prove a great success, and will be the first of many such events we hold in California.โ€

The evening will be held on Sunday 20 June at 1600 in the Irvine Marriott Hotel, 18,000 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, Orange County. A fee of 5 is charged and both a written and telephone interview will be undertaken before the event.

Notes to Editors

โ€ขThe inaugural halal Professional Muslim Singles Evening took place in Manchester on 11 July 2003.

โ€ขAll attendees are vetted rigorously in order to ensure that as many like-minded, responsible, dignified and upstanding professional attendees were present at the event.

โ€ขThe event was devised to meet the concerns of Muslim parents and their children, many of whom are outstanding professionals looking for a suitable partner.

โ€ขThe strategic aim of the events is to foster an intelligent networking community in which Muslim male and female professionals can meet each other against a matrimonial backdrop, though within the precincts of a halal setting and environment.

โ€ขRather than parents chaperoning their children at the event, which is the traditional norm, the surrogate guardians or chaperones in this case would be Kamran and his consultancy associates.

โ€ขThe event had the personal support and endorsement of large sections of the Muslim community.

โ€ขThis specific type of singles event is intended to complement the more typical family, social and work circles normally relied on to find a suitable counterpart.

โ€ขThe programme gives a degree of empowerment to female attendees by protecting their contact details. Any female enquiring about a man she has met is given his details unconditionally after the event, although if a man enquires about a specific female, her consent has to be obtained before her details are released.

Kamran A. Beg

Kamran A Beg was previously the Head of UK Strategy and Business Development at WorldCom, a global telecommunications enterprise.

Prior to his role with WorldCom, Kamran was a management consultant providing consulting expertise, predominantly to blue chip organisations in areas including corporate strategy, leadership and customer relationship management (CRM).

Kamran currently runs his own management consulting practice, which is based in the UK, providing consulting advice to the boards of various enterprises.

Kamran’s academic qualifications include an MBA from Manchester Business School (1995). In 2001, he attended the Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard, where he completed the Leading Change and Organizational Renewal Executive Programme, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, where he completed the Corporate Strategy Executive Programme.

For further information please contact Kamran Beg on +44 (0) 7980 001 426 or +44 (0) 7876 042 660 or visit www.kamranabegevents.com.

This release has been issued by Kamran A Beg for Professional Muslim Singles Evening Events.

Football Shirt

Manchester United, online sports betting favorites, will look to get their season going in the right direction when they host Tottenham Hotspur in an English Premier League match on Saturday.

Manchester United recently resigned superstar Wayne Rooney in their first positive action in a couple of weeks. They followed three straight draws with a victory over Stoke City in their last EPL match. Despite those woes, they still sit third in the EPL standings. Tottenham has climbed to fifth in the standings.

Tottenham has scored just eleven goals in nine league games. Rafael Van der Vaart leads the club with four goals. The Tottenham offense is not big on the attack. That has gotten them in to some trouble in games. Gomes and Carlo Cudicini have been solid in goal. They have each allowed four goals and played about the same amount of time.

Manchester features a much more dynamic offense. Rooney has just one goal in EPL action, but others have picked up the slack. Dimitar Berbatov leads the club with six goals. Javier Hernandez and Nani each add three. Manchester can attack with the best of them. They are capable of applying endless pressure on opposing defenses and goalies. Edwin Van der Saar has been solid but unspectacular in goal, allowing twelve goals in his nine starts.

Manchester United took a pair of 3-1 wins over Tottenham Hotspur last season. Both clubs are in the midst of Champions League action, but that shouldn’t distract them in this game. This is crucial for both teams to continue to move up the standings and try to return to the Champions League again. The home advantage and attacking offense should help Manchester, but you can’t count out the stellar defense of Tottenham.

Premiership Betting

Being able to receive the ball under pressure is one of the most critical skills that soccer players must master. Let’s take a look at one of our favorite activities for developing this soccer skill.

You need three players and a ball. Player 1 passes to player 2, who has player 3 on his/her back. Player 2 has to receive with the first touch and pass back to player 1. Have the players perform this is in a grid 10×15. They all take turns.

You can vary the activity by increasing/decreasing the defensive pressure. You can ask the receiver to hold his/her position or check at an angle to create some separation from the defender.

You can decrease the grid size to restrict movement and encourage strength on the ball.

You can increase the grid size, so that the players are dealing with balls being played over longer distances.

You can also have the players pass the ball in the air, so that the degree of difficulty increases.

For your more advanced players, add a box to confine the players movement. The ball must not leave the box after the reception. This adds the dimension of receiving the ball in tight space, as well as being under pressure.

This is a great training tool for your central midfielders and target players. This will improve their ability to hold the ball up in the final third and maintain possession in tight situations

Related posts:

1. Receiving Drills – Out of the Air
2. One-Touch Passing Drills
3. Key Coaching Points for 4v2 Passing Drill

Ultimate Soccer Coaching

I know that you could buy the soccer jerseys online, but I was going out this weekend and wanted to buy some then. Philly is a major city with a major int’l population so there has to be stores that sell jerseys. I already checked Modell’s and surprisingly they don’t sell any soccer jerseys there. Can anyone please help, because I really would like to buy some jerseys or some fan gear this weekend. Thanks

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Soccer Goalkeeper Jerseys

Have you ever given a thought as to why is soccer the most popular game in the world. Consider this! A team of 11 players pitted against an opposition with the same number, every player having a distinct style, position, and strategy, communication and thought-process. No wonder then that it is a challenging if not intimidating job for any coach to align them together to create a winning combination.

Soccer planning, tactics, or strategies (whatever you may like to call it) should focus on one and only one thing; utilizing each player’s unique ability and their position on the field to create a winning approach.

This can e achieved in a variety of ways out of which communication is the most important and relevant. This is applicable to both communication between the players and the coach as is between the players themselves. When the players talk to each other, they understand each other more, gel with each other better, and hence are in great coordination on the field. It must be kept in mind that like any other sport, soccer also needs your team to be in a great mental shape to win tournaments.

In order to help you create a great soccer team, you need to build effective strategies. Following are some things that you can keep in mind when formulating such plans for your team.

Get the Basics Right

Make the players understand that all their efforts should be directed towards just one objective; getting the ball to the player who is in the best position to control it. In other words, we are talking about someone who has ample time and space to move the ball forward.

The best approach is to keep the ball rotating from player to player so as to create an attacking position. Help the players learn tactics that prepare them to handle the ball before the ball gets to them either through their feet, head, touches and so on. Also help them understand that whether they are in an offensive or defensive situation they must adapt themselves quickly to the needs of the game.

Recognizing and Playing As Per Your Designated Role

The more said about this matter, the better. It is vital to understand and also make the players know that every player must play as per their position. It is a fact that not all players in the team can play on every position. This must be worked upon early on in the training sessions. Identify each player’s strength and accordingly allocate positions or roles in the team.

Once that has been accomplished and every player is aware of what role they are supposed to play in the team, they must stick to it and play in their respective positions only. When they do so, they help each and every player play to their full potential. As the game evolves, every position in the field is gaining equal importance as against earlier times when only attackers were considered match-winners. Today every role is distinct and every player performing that role a playmaker.

Adapt Quickly and Make Adjustments

On the field, things change quickly and you must be prepared to adapt quickly to such changes. An excellent example of this is that while some teams play excellent soccer all through the game, for some reason or the other, they are not able to score. In such a scenario, a coach must think quickly and device a strategy that helps the team to correct areas where they are lacking or may be change their tactics to create scoring opportunities.

Remember, plans made in advance may not work in the game whereas small changes can create a bigger impact.

Set Personal Objectives

Even with the best team in your hands, you may stand to lose. Why, because you did not spend enough time creating specific objectives for each and every player. It is vital to set personal objectives for each player. Incorporate baseline testing as a core activity in your sessions. It is very beneficial in letting you know about the strengths of the team. As a plus point, the kids will love to do the activities involved. You would not need to motivate them to take part in this testing as they will themselves find it very interesting.

Of course, through baseline testing and its results, they stand to gain a number of immediate and long-term benefits. Your strategy should also focus on helping the players understand that they are not competing with each other. This helps them perform well as a unit and is the key to a great defense. Develop games that help them work on their roles as well as cover spaces adequately.

Last but not the least, as a coach, always keep motivating your players even during the practice sessions. Shout from the sidelines, applaud, observe, and praise. These will not only inspire the kids to perform even better but also give them a feeling of playing in a real match

Leave your feedback below!

Yours in soccer,

Andre Botelho

Andre Botelho’s Soccer Coaching Blog

i want a good quality soccer jersey but i don’t want to spend alot. please give me a site that 100% works.

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Soccer Goalkeeper Jerseys

At the highest levels, one-touch passes dominate. You can’t expect beginning players to play one-touch successfully, but as they improve, you can begin to incorporate one-touch activities into your practice sessions. Here are a couple of our favorites:

Start with two players and one  ball 10 to 20 yards apart. Have the players pass back and forth with one touch. To make it more competitive, you have each group race against the others. The first team to 50 passes wins. You can vary the surfaces used in this activity.

You can also use three players. Set them up 20 yards apart with two on the outside with a ball. There will be one worker in the middle. He/she has to check to the ball and lay off with one touch. You can use the inside of the foot, outside of the foot, head, chest, inside volley and laces volley. Each player works for 45 seconds to a minute.

To make this more meaningful, you can ask the players to complete as many passes as possible within the time frame.  You should have multiple groups going at the same time. Ask for the top three groups. This activity now makes them play on the move.

You can then move to a 3v1 one touch game in a 10×10 grid. They now have to make decisions as the pressure has increased with the presence of a defender. The player that loses possession has to defend.

Even the pros work on passing fundamentals

You can challenge the players by playing a game of 21. This game is played with two teams of 6 or 7 players. They are on open touches, but the only passes that count are one touch. The first team to 21 one touch passes wins. It is important to note that if one team turns the ball over at 7 first time passes (or any number of passes), they continue from 7 when they regain possession of the ball.  This is probably my favorite game for teaching one touch soccer, because it allows the players to be creative when necessary and helps them recognize when they must continue the flow of the game.

Related posts:

1. Key Coaching Points for 4v2 Passing Drill
2. Shooting Drills – Scoring Half Chances
3. Receiving Drills – Out of the Air

Ultimate Soccer Coaching