saltlakemusic
Soccer Fever · May 15, 11:54 PM
Last week I visited the Gateway’s Skybox restaurant, had a succulent burger, then noticing the entire staff donned with Salt Lake Real soccer shirts, pondered what a major league soccer team meant for that particular establishment. I was told by the young lady at the concierge desk that business on game nights (both home and away) has recently exploded, bringing the well awaited revenue that the Real franchise has promised since it’s beginning conception last year. The arrival of Salt Lake’s premier major league soccer team has sparked a noticeable fanaticism among Utahoo, myself included.
So it occurs to me that it may be fun to go outside and kick the ball around the field a little bit. I busted out the old cleats (which I threw away back in 1999, so I settle for a pair of deteriorated low top skate shoes coated with sand from Goblin Valley), rode my shorts up a little, pumped the ball up a bit, then headed out the door ready to let my happy feet do their thing. Five or ten minutes later was back on the love sac sweating like a porn star, lungs hissing like a coal miner’s and ready to swallow my own tongue. In conclusion: Soccer is hard.
After embarrassing myself during a scrimmage with my 6 year old niece’s friends* several days after, I decided it would be wise to re-acquire the fundamentals, Swayze style. That’s right, I practiced in private for a whole Saturday, making up stupid cone drills and evading imaginary defenders, rebounding kicks off the neighbors chain link fence**. The next week I went kicking the ball around with friends and felt exponentially more comfortable, turning me into “Clive” the well-to-do ladies man about town.
Athletic Position
This is the most frequently used stance in soccer. The feet are spread as if ready to walk, about shoulder distance apart. The knees are bent and ready to spring the rest of the body into action. The head is upright and focused on the direction of the field action, while the back is slightly bent and flexible, hunching the player over slightly while the neck keeps the head upright, never focusing on the ground. The arms are held out for protection as well as balance.
Dribbling
Control over the ball is essential. In order to do this the ball must remain in close contact with the rest of the body. A player moving at full speed can dribble the ball further ahead than a player moving slowly, since the time it takes to regain contact with the ball is much less. A defender can easily take away the ball if you let it move beyond your immediate grasp, therefore practice dribbling the ball making contact with every individual step (left=kick, right=kick, left=kick, etc). If this feels extremely gay at first, that means it’s working. While dribbling, keep your head up staying focused on the action of the field, looking down only when absolutely necessary. Ball handling is worthless unless combined with proper vision. The defender will catch on quickly to your habits of dribbling, as well as your tendency for speed and direction, that’s why it’s crucial to practice going faster and slower while dribbling, as well as changing direction to keep the opponent guessing, rather than traveling in a consistent straight line. Practice bursts of speed, and sudden deteriorations in speed along with all intermediate speeds while dribbling.
Receiving
Unlike in other sports, in soccer an incoming ball should be cushioned and controlled, met with a slight give upon impact and not just violently deflected. As the ball falls closer to the ground, slightly hop up to meet the ball so that as your body starts to fall it matches the velocity of the soccer ball before making contact. First start with the instep of the foot, hold the ball at waist level, then letting it drop making sure to let your foot cushion the ball like a delicate egg, giving way slightly to increase the time of contact. As you feel more comfortable try dropping the ball from shoulder height, work your way higher slowly until you are tossing the ball high into the air and cushioning it delicately as it returns to the earth. Next try the same drill cushioning the ball with the inside of either foot, this will send the cushioned ball to the immediate left or right as it lands, preferably away from corresponding defender. After you’ve mastered the insides of the feet, try the same cushioning technique using the mid thigh, avoid getting into the habit of letting the ball simply stop after cushioning it, this is too easy to defend against. As soon as the ball is received it should be moved into the next phase of play, never trap the ball where a defender can access it, be prepared to pass or dribble accordingly. Next try the same drill using the chest, arch the back to cushion the ball then straighten it again to let it fall to the feet, always keeping a close eye on the ball.
Passing
Passing is typically done with the insides of the feet, the instep and toes being more difficult to use, though providing significantly more power to the pass. As you approach the ball, place the non-kicking foot next the ball with the toes pointing directly toward the target. Make sure the knees are bent and flexible, keeping the body directly above the ball, lock the ankle tightly as if it were a fist ready to punch something, point the toes slightly up and allow your foot to make contact with the ball below the ankle between the ankle bone and toes. Make sure to follow through with the kick, allowing the foot to move in the direction of the target. Practice also with the instep of the foot, this time pointing the toes down instead of up, this type of kick is different from the one previously mentioned off the inside of the foot, being used for longer distance and higher velocity passing. Also practice with the outside of the foot, in this case the toes are also pointed down only this time slightly inward as well. Contrary to some beliefs, this method of kick is done with the same uniform up and down motions as the other kicks, although the ball tends to move sideways upon impact.
Mid-Fielder
On offense, the mid-fielder’s objective is to find the ball, receive the ball, then immediately find a place to pass it to. Defensively, the mid-fielder must be able to cover up those passing lanes, and try to receive the ball before the player he is defending. The mid-fielder therefore must see the field in terms of triangles, the defender must intercept the angles, while the offensive player must learn to make passes that penetrate this field created by the defense. Playing keep-away using soccer skills is therefore a valuable game for helping a mid-fielder to become more aware of the friends and opponents on the field.
Goalkeeping
The goal keeper has to have excellent hand-eye coordination, so unlike the mid-fielder, the goalie should always practice stretches and drills while holding a soccer ball. In addition the goal keeper must be extremely flexible and nimble, there are lots of stretching exercises that can be enhanced by simply handling a soccer ball simultaneously doing stupid looking left to right juggles and rotations around the back and between the legs. This player has to be good with both hands too, otherwise opponents will take advantage shooting for the players weaker side, therefore drills should be done with left and right hands alternately as well as simultaneously. The goalie catches the ball using the same receiving techniques mentioned earlier, but with the hands instead of feet this time. In the athletic position tuck your elbows in to and position both hands openly at the chest making a “W” shape with the arms. The legs should not be spread apart or shifted to one side, this can easily be exploited by the shooter by aiming between the legs or to the side opposite to which you are tilted. You should jog in place slightly like a fag when anticipating the incoming shot, staying loose and springy.
When jumping for a ball you should leap off of one foot in the direction of the shot, the non-jumping foot should be raised to allow the knee and shin to protect you from any chance of being blindsided and thrown off balance, as well as protecting the goal by covering more space closer to the area being shot at. If the ball comes in below the waist, bend down and snatch it with both hands cradling it quickly to the chest after bringing it under control and back to the “W” position. If the ball comes in above the waist, receive it with both at the chest bringing it back into the “W” position. The best ball a goalie can use for practice is a medicine ball, after which a regulation soccer ball seems like a humble plaything.
Speaking of humility, I hope the more experienced soccer players will not be too upset if I forgot any drastically important fundamentals here (if so, it’s probably because I suck and you are much cooler than me). I also hope that some of the aforementioned drills will help to build basic skills like they did for me (both when I was 12 years old and 25 years old). There’s only so much that solo training can do, for development a player needs to test their skills against opponents and teammates, during drills as well as organized games. Sit-ups, push-ups, sprinting, jogging and jumping are all valuable training exercises not to be underestimated either. Most importantly, soccer skills are directly proportional to the amount of consistent practice a player puts into them, no pain= no gain.
(* While trying to lob a pass overtop of a little blonde headed girl I landed the ball right in her pot belly, causing quite a display of tears and forcing an early end to our little game. Quite embarrassing, and not the first time. My niece is convinced I did it on purpose, but only Freud knows for sure.)
(** This took place for 2 continuous hours until the ball finally went overtop of the fence and landed in a fresh pile of the Hunt’s*** delicious dog poop.)
(*** The Hunt family owns the Hunt Murder Mystery Dinner Theater company in Salt Lake City Utah, their dog is a Cocker Spaniel and poops piles the radius of a Frisbee with virtually no surface tension. The soccer ball landed almost as if in a nutty, uncooked pancake.)
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