SOCCER TIP 02 

  

A very essential attribute to soccer and any other thing you do in life is punctuality. Been punctual means that you go to practice about 30 minutes early, help set up drills and organize the team warm up. Doing this consistently will earn you respect from your teammates and especially your coach. College soccer coaches look out for leaders like this on and off the pitch so been punctual will surely maximize your chances of getting recruited by a college soccer team. It will also develop your leadership skill which will earn you the captain band. 

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CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOCCER CLEAT  

Some soccer players are overly obsessed on the type of shin guards, cleats, socks, and other equipment they get. Some believe that getting the most expensive or good looking cleat for example, will make them better players. There are some people who are already good at playing soccer but they need to dress good, to feel good, and play good. Others who aren't as good in the sport think that they can be as good as these people because of their appearance ritual in every game. Do not believe that dressing well will automatically make you a good player, you have to work at it every day and night in order to be good. 

Soccer technological innovators invent soccer cleats specifically for the position that you play. For some players, they can play in any type of soccer cleats, and others cannot. Well if you are one of those people who require cleats specific to your position, I will recommend that you go on YouTube and look up soccer reviews for you, and you will see different reviews on soccer cleats specifically to the position that you play. 

Remember guys, cleats and other utensils won't make you a better player automatically, they help make you a better player providing that you are putting in that extra work.

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HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER VS. CLUB SOCCER 

In the United States, one could participate soccer activities in multiple different programs. Some people enroll in a club soccer team, high school soccer team, recreational soccer team, and organizations such as, AYSO, YMCA, etc. Some people enroll in more than one soccer program like for example; I am doing club soccer which is active from fall to winter and then summer, and I also participate in our high school soccer team which is in season during the spring. It is great that the different programs are scheduled in a way that no two programs will be in conflict especially with time and commitment. Most successful soccer players play soccer year round and those are the people who dream of making in it into a division one college, get recruited by a professional team, and represent his or her country in the world cup and international related tournaments. 

The purpose of this piece is to address the similarities and differences between club soccer and high school soccer, and as to what extent it affects a player. I would like to advice that these notes are strictly from my own point on view and traits that I have observed from both high school and or club soccer players. First off, both programs are very good at least here in Iowa, and it keeps one busy all the time. The high school season officially starts around March 17th or so, and then goes around to about June 6th. The high school season's commitment on a varsity team level is a little high but not as high as that of club. Remember these points I am about to make are strictly from my own personal experience. For my high school team, we practice six times a week about two to three hours per day which adds up to an average of 12 to 15 hours a week. Our games are usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and every Wednesday after practice, we have team dinners. During our team dinners, we have a nice healthy meal, and then watch our previous games and see what good we have done and what places we need to improve on based on performance. We are also mandated to keep our grades up in order to participate in the program while still committing to the hard work everyday before and or after school. When the high school soccer season rolls around, I rarely get 7 hours of sleep because practice usually ends at 8 in the evening, and before I get home, freshen up, and eat, its about 8;30pm and I still need to catch up with my assignments, so on average I usually get to bed at 1 in the morning and then wake up at 6. The nice thing about high school soccer is that some teachers give you extensions on homework and projects based on your commitment to the class and the sport. 

The club soccer program is a little different compared to the high school program. The commitment level in both cases is about the same because in my club team, we usually practice about 2 to 3 times a week. I bet some of you are saying that the high school program requires more commitment because we have to practice 6 times a week but hold on. In the club soccer program, committed individuals which is usually about 98% of team do some extra work outside of practice. My buddies and I usually go out to the trail or the field and do some technical work and put in some good deal of conditioning. Remember, the club program is filled with players who are committed to playing in college and hopefully higher so every competitor has to put in that extra work in order to meet the level of play in this program. Club soccer teams travel all around the state and outside the state too. The tournaments are usually during the weekends. The tournaments been during the weekend limits your leisure time with friends because you need to catch with homework and possibly study for upcoming tests and quizzes. In the high school soccer program, no payment is required but in the club program, one has to pay thousands of dollars in order to play. When it comes to getting extensions from teachers, it is likely that one will get none because it is an outside of school program. In addition to all these time consuming commitments, the club program also requires a great deal of commitment from parents who spend thousand of dollars on this program travelling in and out of state for tournaments and games. 

It is crystal clear that both programs require a lot commitment but the club program requires a little bit more commitment. Both programs are fantastic and offer a lot of exposure to college coaches. In conclusion, players engaged in the club soccer program and high school program are the most committed to furthering their skills and getting more exposed to coaches who will hopefully recruit them. Soccer takes up a lot of your time but every time and money consumed is 100% worth it. I would advice that if you are financially able to, enroll in both programs in other to learn more about the beautiful game and exploit your skills to college soccer scouts. 

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SOCCER TIP 

It is true that if one wants to excel as a soccer player, one needs to be very agile and always run an extra mile. That is very true but during a game, one also needs to know when to use his or her energy, and when to conserve it. This is one of the hardest things to know but the more you play, the easier gets. For starters, one needs to practice this act before actually making it second nature. You need to pick and choose where and when you need to use your energy to destroy the defense. This skill requires one to be able to know what to do way before one has the ball. This aspect is called speed of play and in every team, the player with the fastest speed of play is usually the most valuable player. It is definitely not easy to do all this but as the saying goes, practice makes permanent, so the more you practice, the easier it gets. Final tip to you guys is that, play soccer as much as you can during the day, and you will definitely see a difference. 

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SOCCER MANAGERS
A soccer manager is someone who manages the team as the name implies. The manager plays a huge role in decision making both on and off the pitch. Managing a soccer team is one of the hardest things to do out there but also one of the most fantastic jobs anyone could ask for. I believe that if a manager has a very good relationship with his or her players, the better the team will be.
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LEADERSHIP IN SOCCER 

Leadership is a very important part of every society. Everyone in this world can be a fantastic leader. One can be a leader in anything no matter what activities one is involved in. There are numerous leaders around the world who inspire people and continue to inspire more and more people. Some historical leaders in the likes of Martin Luther king Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Zinedine Zidane, Maradona, Seedorf, etc. have demonstrated important leadership roles and use their positions to inspire a lot of people around the world. Some major athletes outside of soccer who demonstrate strong leadership skills are for example, Michael Jordan etc. Leadership can be and has been displayed in the sport sector, government, economics, society etc. Leadership in soccer is very important on and off the pitch.  

Leadership in soccer is very important on the pitch. Every team has a very strong leader who keeps the team together in so many ways. The player with the most leadership potential is given the arm band known as the captain. The captain has a captain band around his arm which demonstrates the superiority in his or her leadership capabilities. According to the championship thinking coach, the performance of all successful sports organizations, coaches, teams and players can be traced to the unifying force of leadership greatness. For over three decades, Jim Meier, the Championship Thinking Coach, has studied, taught, coached and applied consulting services directed to the development of sports leaders that win on and off fields, courts, courses, and other arenas of play. His professional leadership training is grounded by having learned from and partnered with the best. A leader is someone that others follow. Period! From this simple truth Jim provides an integrating and practical approach to developing leaders others want to follow. This is achieved using proven leadership principles, concepts, assessment tools, techniques and frameworks that are delivered in relevant sports language and current to changing realities. Now how does this connect to soccer I bet most of you are asking, leadership in the beautiful game of soccer starts from the coach and develop from there.  

In the professional league, professional soccer players always have to demonstrate a strong leadership[p capability on and off the pitch for example, Barcelona forward Neymar again showed he is capable of providing leadership and impetus in the absence of Lionel Messi during their Champions League victory over BATE Borisov. With Messi missing for two months with a knee injury the responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Neymar to drive Barca from the front and he has risen to the occasion. Last Saturday he hit four goals in the Catalan side's demolition of Rayo Vallecano in La Liga and then on Tuesday he provided both assists for Ivan Rakitic's double in the 2-0 victory over BATE. There are multiple soccer players who demonstrate strong leadership off the soccer pitch as well. Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as an ambassador for Save the Children. On his first day as a global ambassador, Ronaldo presented a charity auction in aid of the charity’s newborn and child survival campaign in Egypt. “I’m so proud to support Save the Children. I’m delighted at the funds raised during tonight’s auction and at the support of so many players from across so many different world-class teams in making it such a success,” he said. “This is the most important thing of tonight. Hope it’ll go a long way in stopping needless child deaths.” The auction raised enough money to help Save the Children reach 7,000 children and over 36,000 adults in Egypt with access to healthcare and secure livelihoods so that those families can have a chance at a brighter future. Soccer players like Cristiano Ronaldo aren't just fantastic players and leaders on the soccer pitch, but leaders outside of the soccer pitch also. Helping in giving kids a brighter future is not only amazing for the person doing it , but also for the unfortunate, or should I say fortunate kids who receive these fantastic aids. 

Leadership in soccer is not limited to helping unfortunate kids and giving back to communities, but also improving the social status of communities in every nation. Soccer can be used and is used to promote world peace, friendship and, positive morals in youths. There is an ongoing soccer program in South Africa, that promotes peace amongst people. As part of his commitment to the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI), Terry Behan is using soccer to promote social change in South Africa. Modeled after the Institute's Henry Crown Fellowship Program, ALI brings together successful young leaders ages 25­-45 from six countries across Africa to develop their leadership capacity and encourage them to apply their entrepreneurial talents to the foremost challenges of their continent. As a requirement of the initiative, each "ALI Fellow" is required to design and carry out a leadership project of his or her own choosing. For his project, Behan saw an opportunity to use the popular sport of soccer to provide underprivileged South African youth with new opportunities.  Behan launched the African Eagles soccer league with a three-year pilot program in a town near Johannesburg in 2003. "With the 2010 FIFA World Cup coming to South Africa, local companies are now willing to support soccer-related development programs," said Behan, whose project integrates professional soccer coaching, educational  mentoring, and entrepreneurial training for youth. "We believe we can create a world-class soccer academy that benefits the underprivileged, promotes holistic values and produces talented, educated, and morally and socially minded young players who will ... make the nation proud," he said. 

Leadership in sports is very important, and the most important of all is giving back to the people. 

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SOCCER FANS 

Just like in American football games, soccer fans in European countries come out in numbers and cheer on their teams. The number one dream for all high school soccer players in the United States is to have a big crowd supporting them just like in football games. I hope situations change within the next few years and have soccer as one of the biggest sports here in the United States of America. 

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UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT SOCCER POSITIONS 

There are numerous soccer positions one could play during the game and they are all equally important. Some of the positions requires players to go an extra mile and some of the other positions do not require that amount of hard work. Understanding how to play your personal player position in a game is important but understanding everyone's position in the field is the key to personal success in soccer. In the professional leagues, one could easily pick out the players who know the roles of every player in the pitch. 

Knowing what every players role in a soccer game is very difficult and it also requires a lot of mental hard work. In order to know the roles of every player in the pitch, one should definitely try all the positions for example, center mid, center defensive mid, right mid, left mid, center back, right back, left back, center forward, right attacking mid, left attacking mid etc. You are definitely not going to be great at playing all of these positions but  having an idea of what the position requires gives you an edge over other soccer players. Some of you guys are thinking how will this help? Well the number one benefit and the most important benefit is called speed of play. Speed of play is knowing what to do with the ball well before you receive it from another teammate. Speed of play is the game changer, if one has a very fast speed of play, one could realize open spaces and utilize it to create opportunities and  unbalance the other team's defensive unit. Another benefit of understanding all positions is the ability to realize when you need to fill in someone else's position well before they leave their zone. If one understands all the positions, he knows what the teammate is going to do even before he or she does it, knowing this will help move the defense as a unit and stay compact without leaving any spaces in between players especially in the midfield. 

My advice to all of you out there who are seeking advice on how to be a better player is, have a sound knowledge of every position on the pitch. 
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SOCCER IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 

Soccer is the most played sport around the world and it influences the lives of a lot of people around the world. Both fortunate and unfortunate people use soccer to empower their lives so analyzing the effects or contribution of soccer in people's life is very important. Some people are well equipped with all the necessary equipment to perform in the beautiful game but others, the less fortunate, are not equipped with all of the necessary equipment needed to participate in soccer games.  The game of soccer requires a lot of financial support and for some people, financial problems are the main reasons why they do not excel in soccer. The motive of this blog is to find ways to use soccer to empower the lives of people in lesser developed countries and to what extent will it be beneficial to the international community. 

According to the sport and development organization, research shows that investment into sport in developing countries is much less than in developed countries, as sport development is usually not a top priority in the national budget or in the education system of most developing countries which also means that there are fewer prospects for athletes to continue their sport training or pursue professional sport careers in a developing country. In turn, the lack of talent-building opportunities in a developing country leads to less return on the little investment put into local talent, further debilitating local sport development structures and sport career pathways. What does this mean? This means that a lot of talent is been wasted due to financial struggles in developing countries and which in turn leads to a lot of negative effects. Some of the negative effects due to this struggle to the international community is that, some talented young kids will not have a chance to develop and exploit their talent due to these struggles. Another negative effect is that the talented kids would have helped the economy of their developing country by putting them under the spotlight but since the government doesn't pay attention to the sport sector, young talented athletes will not be able to help their country. Less developed countries are unable to utilize the talent of their strong performers and/or tend to lose them to more powerful nations in global sport. Sport regulated by global processes can thus contribute to the underdevelopment of a developing country’s talent. 

 The sport and development organization also claims that " In developing countries, players are either enrolled in official clubs linked to the national soccer association or they play for non-affiliated sports associations. For non-affiliated players, their only chance of obtaining an international transfer deal is through the informal and often clandestine networks of player agents, forming an underground labor market in soccer." It is possible that the player’s situation does not improve upon arrival in a European country – in the worst case, those players under the age of eighteen and who are unsuccessful in being recruited onto a European team, often find themselves without a work contract or even a return ticket to their home country. Soccer associations do not receive payment for the international transfer of non-affiliated players. The transfer fees for foreign players from developing countries to European clubs are so low that they barely cover the education and training costs of the transferred player in their country of origin.  The question now is, what can we do to prevent these disasters from happening and how can we help young talented soccer athletes exploit their talent. For one, the government has to realize the benefits of investing money on young talented athletes and use them to benefit their economy and the strength of their national government financially afterwards. According to the united Nations, local industries and a local sports sector may emerge should the events generate enough interest as to attract people willing to attend the event and purchase products and services associated with the event. At the local level, a ‘virtuous cycle’ can be created, in which sports-related services are provided, creating jobs and opportunities to upgrade skills and produce further services and products – a positive ‘spill-over’ effect from local sports events. To begin, it has been suggested that local communities build their own skills, to be followed by developing skills that are specific and relevant to their community’s social environment and local context. Local communities can then use their own capacities to organize the event, showcasing the community’s abilities in progressively gaining recognition in the region and internationally. 

Sports especially like soccer will be a great tool to help developing countries to strengthen their government and the influence they have on other nations. Soccer is for sure the most popular sports so using it to empower lives is a fantastic method for both the young talented athletes, the community, and especially the national government. 

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CRISTIANO RONALDO LEADING GOAL SCORER IN REAL MADIRD'S HISTORY 

The Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading goal scorer in the whole Real Madrid history of soccer. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most hated and loved players in the world but he keep proving that he is the best by fulfilling great accomplishment. If you know Real Madrid you will know that great goal scoring machines have played in the team, namely Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Adebayo etc. Cristiano Ronaldo achieving this great accomplishment means that he is not only the best player in Real Madrid's history but the best player in the planet right now.  

A question that pops up to my head is whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo will gain more respect than he does because he definitely deserve a lot of love and respect. I believe that this outstanding player is not done yet, he is going to keep achieving great things and shaming all of the haters who obviously have no respect for great athletes and individuals like him. 

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COLLEGE SOCCCER


As a lot of soccer fans know, college soccer is one level down from professional soccer. NCAA college soccer program is obviously college soccer level program but it has one of the best future players in the world. There are different soccer divisions here in the U.S.A, namely Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 and so on. All of the divisions are very competitive but the most competitive division in the NCAA program is Division 1. There are a lot of debate on whether or not college athletes should be paid so this blog will be focusing on this specific question due to the fact that soccer is one of the biggest sports offered at the college level.
First off, lets start with division 1. It is pretty clear that D 1 is the most competitive and the most commitment required division but do you think that college athletes in the D 1 level must be paid? For athletes in the D 1 program, I think that they should be paid for a number of reason. The nature of the program is time consuming, requires a lot of commitment and extra hard work on and off the field. The more competitive the program gets the more work expected of athletes in order to be on the same level and beyond with athletes in the program. Division 1 athletes are also expected to have very good academic success, engage in communal activities and be leaders both in athletics, academics, and in the community. As one would imagine, meeting all of these requirements is not close to been easy not even one bit. Because of this reason, I personally believe that adult incentives must be provided to the athletes who meet all of the requirements. It is true that most division 1 players gain some form of athletic scholarship ranging from half tuition to full tuition but is that enough for all of the work they put in prior to enrolling in college and the extra work they are expected to do as leaders on and off the athletic program when they actually enroll in college? On my opinion, I do not think that full tuition scholarships are definitely enough for division 1 college athletes due to the fact that the NCAA college program make a fortune of off the outstanding college athletes who spend days and nights working on been better athletes, leaders and role models in both sports and education.

            The NCAA program is trying to make it seem like college athletes are equipped with all of their needs but they really aren't. College athletes should stand up as a unit and demand to be paid for their tremendous work and this will have a very high significance in the United States. This will show that athletes and non athletes can stand up and request for the things that they definitely deserve under the court of law.
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SOCCER AT A YOUNG AGE
Parents enroll their children to all kinds of sports at a very young age. It is common that a little boy usually enrolls in soccer, football, basketball and baseball around the age of 5 and 6. In girls, parents usually sign them up for dance, softball, and gymnastics (they usually enroll girls in gymnastic around when they are 18 months of age) ranging from 18 months of age to 6 or 7. Little kids do not usually request to join a specific sport  and or activities but their parents enroll them in different activities for a couple reasons. One of the reasons is that parents want to expose their children to all the possible athletic and academic opportunities possible. Secondly, parents also want their kids to personally weed out the activities they do not want to participate in and focus on the activities that they are more interested in and enjoy participating in. 
Some of you guys have already grasped on what I am getting on and others are thinking what does this have to do with soccer. Soccer is one of the sports that parents enroll their kids when they are very young. For example, I have a friend who joined soccer, football, basketball, and baseball but he quit all of these sports and focus on soccer because that is what he enjoys doing. Ok enough with all this twist and turns and let me get straight to the point but before that I want you guys to reflect on the most popular sports that both little boys and girls are exposed to at a very young age. At first, especially in the United States of America, soccer is one of the least common sports that children are enrolled in. Presently things have changed and more and more parents are enrolling their kids to soccer programs like AYSO, YMCA soccer, Little strikers and a whole lot more other organizations.
This blog is meant to persuade parents to include soccer as one of the main sports they expose their children to. Most parents choose not to enroll their kids into soccer programs because most kids are enrolled in football, basketball, and baseball, which ,means that most of their child's friends are engaged in these activities and not soccer, their child's friends not been in the same activities as they are is a great thing because the child can meet new people and make good friends with other kids. It is hard for teenagers to enjoy something that they have not been exposed to since they were young so adjusting to a new sport and or activity is not always easy. Some kids, most commonly in High School, enjoy watching sports like soccer and decide to participate in the High School team but then realize that the sport is not for them due to the fact that they were not exposed to the game as a kid.
                Note to parents: please do your children a favor and enroll them in all of the activities you possibly can, it will definitely help you all out in the future because your child will discover his or her passion and enjoy doing whatever his or her passion is for the rest of their lives. Underdog sports like soccer are a good opportunities for your kids to meet new people and have different perspectives about sports and life in general. . . . . . .
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US MEN'S SOCCER 

  

One of the biggest soccer stereotype around the world is that the United states do not know anything about soccer. Popular stereotypes are "they will dribble with the soccer ball a little and then grab it with their hands and run." These stereotypes are definitely not true but globalizing it and using it have a big effect on the U.S national team.  

The past world cup of 2014 was a great year for the U.S national team because of their breathtaking competition. The U.S team entered the tournament as the underdogs but ended it as heroes even though they did not bring the world cup trophy to the American soil. The U.S team worked extremely hard during the months leading to the FIFA world cup and used the stereotypes to motivate them and get themselves under the spotlight. The moral of this blog is that don’t think that using stereotypes to discourage people will always work sometimes the table turns. 

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COMPARING SOCCER TO FOOTBALL 

|Researches have been debating about the equivalence of medical injuries from soccer to football. A lot of studies have been done on the long term physical and mental effects of soccer and football. Researches focus on these two sports because of the nature of their games. Football is a heavy contact sport and soccer is a semi heavy contact sport. The researches focus more on head contact and not the rest of the body. They examine football and soccer players with a concussion history and other football and soccer players without any record of concussion in their lives. 

 The focus on todays blog is whether soccer is as a dangerous sport like football. This is a question that the majority of soccer players, fans, and researchers want an answer to. What do you think? Do you think that soccer is as dangerous as football? On my opinion, I do not think that soccer is as dangerous as football. I am not supporting soccer because I am a soccer player but because of previous medical comparison records between soccer and football. Think about it? Well first of all, have you watched a football game? How about a soccer game? Could you spot the difference in contact? 

Football players wear helmets and soccer players do not. Football players need their helmets because they need it to protect them from any form of tackle. Deliberately aiming to tackle the head in football is totally part of the game which makes it more dangerous. In soccer, players do not wear helmets because they do not need it. Soccer players do not need helmets because soccer players only bang their heads on accident. Soccer players rarely bang their heads together basically about two times out of ten. Medically speaking, it has been proven that football players usually have way more concussions than soccer players a ratio around four is to one, four representing football and one representing soccer. 

I am not saying that soccer players are not in a risk of getting severe medical health damage in the long run like football players but I am arguing that football players are at a way higher risk than soccer players. It is true that both football players and soccer players want to argue that the opposite sport is more dangerous, the argument is no use if we do not come to a solution. I think that great intellectuals should come together and provide protections that would protect both soccer players and football players from a medical health damage over the long run. Both sports can have different protection gears for example, better and newer innovative helmet for football players and a new developed head gear to protect soccer players in case of a head contact incident occurs. 

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