Soccer: The World's Most Popular Sport
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................3
History of the
Activity.................................................................4
Nature of the Activity.................................................................4
Playing Area...........................................................................5
Physical Conditioning.................................................................6
Practice
Drills..........................................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................7
Introduction
Soccer is the worlds most popular sport. It is the national sport of most
European and Latin-American countries, and of many other nations. Millions of people in
more than 140 countries play soccer. The World Cup is held every four years. Soccer is
one of the most famous international sport. Soccer is known world wide and is played in
the Olympics.
In a soccer game there are two teams of 11 players who try to score a point by kicking a
ball into the opponents net. Soccer is played on a rectangular field with a net on each
short side of the field. All players must hit the ball with their feet or body and only
the goalie is allowed to touch the ball with his/her hands. There are many things you can
do to condition yourself to play.
Soccer the way we play it came from England in the 1800's. Soccer was not that popular
until the mid-1900's. Today soccer is very popular and it is one of the nations
fastest-growing sports. There are many exercises and drills you can do to improve how you
play soccer. There is also many physical conditioning that players can do. Soccer can
help you stay fit and healthy. Many people can play soccer and benefit from it. Soccer is
very fun and a great recreational sport.
History of the Activity
Games similar to soccer were played in China as early as 400 BC. In about 200 AD
the Romans played a game in which two teams tried to score by advancing a ball across a
line on the field. The Romans passed the ball to one another but they never kicked it.
London children in about 1100 played a form of soccer in the streets. During the 1800's
the people of England played a game similar to soccer. Many rules changed and each person
interpreted the rules differently. In 1848 a group of school representatives met at
Trinity College in Cambridge and drew up the first of soccer rules. In 1863 English
soccer clubs founded the Football Association. By the late 1800's soccer began to spread
to the rest of the world. The Canadian Soccer Association was established in 1912 while
the United States Soccer Federation was set up in 1913. The first World Cup Championship
was in Montevideo, Uruguay. Since then it has been played every four years except during
WWII. During the 1970's soccer grew to be a very popular spectator sport as well as
participant sport.
Nature of the Activity
A soccer game begins with a kickoff in the center of the field. A coin is flipped
to decide which team will kickoff. The other team kicks off at the start of the second
half when the teams switch sides or nets. After a team scores the other team gets to
kickoff to begin again. The kickoff takes place in the middle of the field. When the ball
is kicked it must travel the circumference of the ball and touch another player before
the kicker can touch the ball again.
After the ball is in play it remains in play unless it crosses a goal line or a
touch line. All players attempt to stop the ball from coming in there zone while at the
same time trying to score a goal. A player may kick the ball into the net with any part
of the body except the hands and arms. If the ball goes out of bounds the play is
restarted with a corner kick, a goal kick, or a throw-in. The referee decides what type
to use. If the ball crosses the goal line and the defensive team touched it last then
there is a corner kick by the offense. If the offense touches the ball last and crosses
the goal line then it is a goal kick. A throw in happens when the ball crosses the touch
line. When it crosses the touch line the team that did not touch it last throws the ball
in bounds. The ball is thrown over their head with two hands. Fouls are called when a
player does not obey the rules and acts unsportsmanlike. When a foul is called the
opposite team receives a either a penalty kick, a direct free kick or and indirect free
kick.
Physical Conditioning
There are many exercises that people can do to improve in soccer. Exercises that
strengthen your legs and improve flexibility are ideal. Physical conditioning is
important if you plan on being good at soccer. Here are five exercises that are ideal for
soccer:
1. Running: running helps to improve cardiovascular fitness. In soccer there is lots of
running for the ball so endurance and a speed is a must.
2. Leg Extension: using weights can help strengthen the legs. Using weights makes you
kick harder and makes the ball travel farther, as a result you become a better player.
3. Leg Machines: exercising all muscles in the leg makes you kick harder and prevents
injury when you are diving all over for the ball. The strong muscles help prevent
injuries.
4. Stretching: stretching allows you to be more flexible. Sometimes soccer players need
to kick the ball in the most awkward positions. Flexibly helps the player to kick the
ball in those positions more effectively.
5. Weight Training: all around weight training makes a soccer player even better. A
stronger body helps prevent injury and improve all around performance.
Practice Drills
Practice Drills help the soccer player be more skillful and a better player. There are
many drills that can be done. Drills like dribbling to head butting are often used. Some
of these drills include:
1. Practicing kicking the ball is a very important and often done drill. To practice the
player will kick the ball into the net. Often there is a goalie that they try to score
on. Kicking is the most important skill in soccer. Practicing will make your kick
stronger and more controllable.
2. Passing is also a very important skill. One drill that can be done is to run side by
side with another player and pass the ball back and forth. This skill will improve your
passing and receiving skills. Passing is also vital in the game of soccer.
3. Heading is one of the only ways to legally hit the ball when it high in the air. With
another player heading can be practiced. One player throws the ball high over top of the
other player. The player then will jump up and hit the ball with his forehead and try to
control the ball. Heading is very hard and often lots of practice is required.
4. Control of the ball is also very important. By setting up pylons in any order and
distance and weaving through them in a pattern like formation can improve your control of
the ball. Trying to go quick can also improve your speed of running while dribbling a
ball.
5. One on one practices improve both your dribbling and tackling. With two players one
is given the ball and must keep the ball away from the other player. While one player is
improving his faking and dribbling the other is practicing his defense and tackling. When
this drill is done often it can improve your offense as well as defense.
Conclusion
Soccer can be done in many age groups. Children often play the sport in school as
early as elementary school. Many adults also play the sport. Seniors rarely play soccer
because of the easiness it is for them to get injured. Soccer is often very demanding.
Soccer for many kids can be very fun. Most children don't think of soccer as work and
often enjoy playing soccer. Adults also sometimes find soccer fun and even some adults
have careers in the area as a professional soccer player.
Soccer is very valuable in obtaining "life long" fitness. Soccer can be a very
demanding sport. Soccer can improve your cardiovascular fitness as well as strength and
flexibility. All the physical conditioning and practice drills are very important in
keeping fit. Soccer players are able to be healthy and strong because of the physical
involvement.
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