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Some Tips about Soccer Coaching

May 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If not for the thousands of volunteer youth soccer coaches available over the United States today, a large number of children who enjoy playing soccer would not have any options for organized play.
Volunteer coaches are the backbone of youth soccer but the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) emphasizes the necessity of educating every coach on the rules of play, safety, and more. It is for this reason that they offer a national coaching program together with the National Coaching Commission of Youth Soccer.
The job that youth soccer coaches have is special. It is their sole responsibility that every young and aspiring soccer star understands how the game is played and leaves every playing ground after having fun, learning about teamwork and enjoying the game in an atmosphere and which is safe and educational at the same time. What this entails is that these volunteer coaches should be given the needed training and certifications that they need in order to give these youths the experience that they require.
The American Youth Soccer Organization offers training on a variety of levels: U-6; U-8; U-10; U-12; intermediate; advanced; and national. The U-6 through U-12 training classes is offered as stand-alone courses with no pre-requisites. They are usually either offered to all coaches at a nearby school, or may (in more rural areas), be combined with other areas as a one-day course on a regional or even state level. The time needed to complete the standard AYSO coaching training is as follows:
U-6: 2 hours
U-8 2 hours
U-10 3 hours
U-12 5 hours
Intermediate 15 hours
Advanced 18 hours
National 56 hours
A variety of special topics are covered during these training courses such as:
Correct play.
Appropriate drills.
Tips for dealing with children (and their parents).
Discipline.
Team procedures.
Safety issues.
Equipment.
And more.
Other than the standard training which is offered by the AYSO, a large number of local leagues may have their own training policies which make attendance at their own training sessions mandatory. They also make CPR and first aid certification a necessity before assigning a coach to any team as well. Certain youth athletic associations may also need aspiring youth coaches to submit a criminal background check, sex-abuse clearance check and/or a credit check so that they can work with children as coaches, even if they want to do so as volunteers.
Who then can become a soccer coach? Well, anyone who is above the age of 18 and who has successfully completed all the required training and certification processes in their local leagues and the necessary criminal and child-clearance checks required, may register as a volunteer coach by most local league standards. Nobody can or should be turned away by virtue of their age as long as they are 18; race; political or religious affiliation. No other formal soccer training or soccer experience is required by them
If you require some more information about becoming a soccer coach in the location where you reside, you may contact your local youth soccer league, Regional Coach Advisor or call the American Youth Soccer Organization at 1-800-872-2976. They should be able to place you in contact with the necessary local league advisors and supply you with all the coaching information and requirements that you need.

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The Basic Points and Rules of Soccer

May 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Soccer is a racy game which is played by two competing teams in a period of 90 minutes divided into two 45 minute halves. Each team consists of 11 players including 5 forwards, 3 halfbacks, 2 fullbacks and 1 goalkeeper. The game starts with a kickoff at the center field; the whole aim of the game is to keep the ball in constant motion across the field and to attempt to get it to the goalpost of your opponent. The ball is kept constantly in motion by dribbling, kicking or propelling it forward with the head or chest. Nobody is permitted to hold the ball while it is in play. The goalkeeper is an exception to this rule however as he may handle the ball in the goal area near the net.
A point is scored when a player is successful at getting the ball into the goal of an opponent. A single point is given for each goal and any team with the most points wins the game. If the score is a tie at the end of regulation time then a period of overtime may be added. If the teams remain tied at the end of the overtime period then the winner is determined by shoot-out. This allows each particular team to take five shots which are unblocked (except by the goalkeeper) to the opposing goal. At the end of the day, the team with the most shoot-out goals wins the game.
In order to obtain control of the ball while in play, an opponent may intercept in by various means and this includes tackling which entails taking the ball through footwork only. This means the player should not deliberately kick, trip or hang onto an opponent. There is a penalty for making use of hands or arms in order to move the ball forward and this penalty results in a free-kick by an opponent at the place where the foul occurred. Penalty kicks permit an opponent to stand at a distance of just 12 yards from goal and leaving only the goalkeeper around to protect the net. Other fouls such as obstruction of players or wasting of time, may result in the giving of an indirect free kick, this free kick should be touched by at least one other player on the kicking team before a goal may be scored.
Players or coaches are not permitted to call Timeouts. However, referees may stop play briefly if a serious injury occurs or the ball crosses the goal line or goes outside the touchlines.
If a ball in play has been accidentally driven over the touchlines, an opposing player may throw it in with the use of his hands. If it is driven over the goal line, it is put back in play by kicking it from the corner of the field (appropriately called a corner kick) by the opposing team, or a goal kick from the area in front of the goal. Although anyone from the defending team may make a goal kick, it is usually made by the goalkeeper.
The rules of soccer have not changed that much since the game was created in the 1800′s in Europe. The only major change which has happened in the last century is the offside rule; this rule allows a player to be declared offside which means he is in an unfair position near the goal line of his opponents. Offside positions are usually penalized by allowing the opposing team has an indirect free throw. Another recent rule allows the substitution of players, under international rules this is two players while in the United States up to five players may be allowed.

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The Story of Soccer

May 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Soccer has been a whole lot more popular in the United States in the last 3 decades. Over 3 million children from the ages of 5 to 19 are currently playing soccer in youth leagues over the United States.
Soccer started in England sometime around the 1850’s; initially it was a game which was played exclusively by aristocrats. It was played in boarding schools and private clubs all over the country. Due to the fact that the sport is easy to play and cheap, it became a sport for the masses. Nowadays its one of the most popular sports in existence.
In 1863, the London Football Association was created and ever since then it was responsible for standardizing the rules of the game of soccer all over Europe. Due to its efforts it took less than two decades before professionals all over Europe were enmeshed in the game.
Spain, Germany, Italy and France all took up the game of soccer before the beginning of the 20th century. As interest in the game spread all around the world, interest in formal competitions grew as well. 1900 saw the first soccer game being played at the Olympics and medals were introduced 8 years from this time. However, professional soccer players were absent from the Olympic Games for about 8 decades.
1904 saw the birth of The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), years after this in 1930 the first World Cup competition was held. The World Cup is a tournament in round-robin style which puts teams of different nations against each other every four years. The World Cup has become a truly international event with over 200 countries seeking participation annually. However out of all these countries only 24 are eventually allowed to compete.
The United States took a very long time to enter into the real soccer fray; however the U.S Soccer Federation (USSF) was formed as early as 1913. Despite this fact, most Americans had their own preferences in another kind of sport – American football. It was not until 1975, when the world’s most famous soccer player Pele joined the N.Y Cosmos, that the sport became somewhat popular in the United States. Due to his presence, a lot of people became more involved in the sport and it became very popular. However when Pele retired, the North American Soccer League became less popular and it finally dissolved in 1985.
However, in 1994 when the men’s World Cup competition was held in the United States, soccer became popular once more in the United States. Major League Soccer was then founded in 1996 with 10 teams and 32 games per season. An excess of 3 million fans watched the entire playoffs. 1991 saw the introduction and participation of women in the game with the Women’s World Cup Competition launched for the first time ever.
Youth soccer has become rather popular in the United States today. Nowadays you have sports teams and leagues in communities all over America. From players in grade school to semi-professional high school teams and those in colleges. Different players and competitions are available for competition from spring to fall. U.S Youth Soccer which is a division of U.S.S.F boasts of at least three million players annually.

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