WAY BACK WHEN SOCCER STARTED

 

The soccer fanatics always look forward to the moment when their favorite teams will score goal against the opponents. Goal makes all the differences between the winning team and the defeated one. To score a goal, the ball must be kicked into the net fastened to the posts. Soccer is one of the most loved games in many countries and making a name in this arena is not easy.  

Soccer goal posts play an important role in the match. Over the years, those posts have evolved a lot. We will take a closer look at evolution of both soccer and goals posts throughout this write-up.  

Walking Back to 13th Century  

Before the 13th century, soccer was mainly played by the peasants because this sport was played barefooted. The elite persons restricted their choice only to sports on horseback, such as Polo. The upper class considered soccer as 'Mob Soccer'. The youths from two villages used to play soccer. The rules and regulations, in those days, were far different from what is governing modern-day soccer. The number of damage and injuries was also higher at that time. Due to high rate of on-pitch injuries, King Edward III banned the sport.  

In that century, people used to become riotous while watching the game. Another reason behind the ban was an emerging belief that soccer was distracting the common men from practiced by almost all and sundry as preparation for war. The sport was banned for the next three centuries. Anyone playing soccer was imprisoned or fined 4 pence as punishment.  

That ban failed to discourage people from playing football. They kept their love for the game alive. During the 16th century, King James I lifted the embargo. He even encouraged the Christians to play on the weekend (Sunday) after their morning prayer.  

Encouragement for Schools  

Later, the students in schools were encouraged to play the game. Those students were from the upper class. To minimize injuries to the participants, rules and regulations were created and implemented. Even off-side rules also came into practice. After steam engine was introduced, matches were organized among the schools from the neighboring nations. However, in absence of any authority to create and implement universal rules, every school used to play according to their own set of rules.  

In order to maintain fairness and decorum, two sets of rules were used to be followed in two halves.  

Evolution of Goals  

Evolution of football has also revolutionized goal post design. In the 15th century, two strategically planted bushes were used as goal posts. Those were referred to as gates. Modern-day goal posts are now available in different sizes like 24ft in length (standard), 12ft in length or the smaller one for children.  

Most of the rules developed in the early period of soccer playing, along with the measurements of the goal posts, are still used in today's matches. The soccer fans should be grateful to those people who never let their passion die down in spite of banning and dire consequences, which has brought us the game in today's refined form.  

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        BENEFITS OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

There a lot of sports in the world today that everyone can choose to play. Sports has evolved to play an important role in societies and also to something that defines us as human beings. With having many available sports to choose from, the controversies are set on the importance of the sport to participants and how it makes us better people. Soccer is called the beautiful game for a reason because it makes people around the world very happy no matter what situation they are in. AS in any sport, there are a a lot of controversies over soccer and one of the biggest questions critics ask is soccer a sport that has benefits? In my opinion, it certainly is and it is especially good for children and youth.  

Soccer is an outdoor sport and it is very fun to play. Some sports do not require a lot of physical activity from participants but soccer requires more physical activity than any sport around the world. Many children today have health risks due to obesity and inactivity. Soccer is a sport that encourages kids to turn off the T.V., get off the couch and get some exercise.  

Soccer is exercise and it is also fun. Since soccer is very demanding physically, it forces players to dig deep in themselves to find that motivation to give that extra push. When kids play soccer they learn discipline and how to get along with others. They may also decide to play other sports and this leads to a more active lifestyle. These are habits that result in healthier living as the child grows older. 

Children who play soccer may also enjoy watching soccer. Not only will they be able to learn more about the game but they may find excellent role models. I personally found my role model by watching soccer, and my role model, Paul Pogba, inspires me to be a better player and person on and off the field. A 

Soccer is a game that is equally fun for boys and girls. They burn calories and increase muscle mass. Kids who play sports are more likely to learn how to eat properly and to think in terms of which foods will do the most for them. 

Playing soccer is a way to make friends and being involved promotes self-esteem. Athletes are often more careful about taking care of themselves and avoiding habits that can detract from their game. Self confidence and pride are other positive results of soccer. Soccer players develop a team attitude and become protective of each other. They care about the other team members and look out for them in other areas of life besides soccer. 

Kids who play soccer in small towns or begin playing when they are young are often part of coed teams. This is a plus for everyone involved and doesn’t happen in most other sports. Boys learn about respecting girls and everyone benefits from this. When boys and girls learn to work together as equals, lessons are being learned that will serve both sexes well. 

Soccer is a game of skill and one that has many benefits, especially for those who play the game. 

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WHY HEAD A SOCCER BALL CORRECTLY 

Heading the ball is unique to soccer. Since soccer players cannot pass the ball with their hands and arms, they often play the ball off their heads, and it's kind of flashy and fun to watch! Ultimately, a good header begins with your mental frame of mind, and being willing to go for it. However, done incorrectly may not only cause you to foul the ball, it can lead to serious head or neck injury. 

Most head injuries result from two players going after the ball at once and heads collide. Though soccer's not technically a contact sport and is generally safe, statistically, it has the highest rate of collision injury compared to any contact sport, including American football! And yet, soccer players need to approach the ball with unbounded confidence! 

You shouldn't be afraid of heading the ball. So, master the art of heading and you'll not only be a much more confident player, you'll minimize your chances of sustaining an injury. This brief guide covers the basics of why and how headers are done, and includes a few beginner soccer tips and drills to get your game safely 'headed' in the right direction. 

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PEP GUARDIOLA 

As Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola sits in his office this week, it will not be inconceivable to think that at some point he will wonder about the task awaiting him when he takes over at Man City in the English Premier League next season.  

It is as manager/coach/trainer that Guardiola seems to have become the SI Unit for measuring successes for young up-and-coming managers. Very unfairly too I feel. Young managers, it seems, are not allowed to fail, learn from their failures and then get better. Guardiola has won titles at his two clubs and at some point with Barcelona it seemed that he was rewriting every record going.  

Before he took over, Barcelona had lost the CL semis over two legs to Man United, and in the league they had finished in third place behind Villareal and 13 points behind Champions Real Madrid. In his first season in charge at Barcelona he reclaimed the title with 87 points from Real Madrid and then beat Manchester United in the Champions League final.  

In 2012, at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich inexplicably lost the CL final to Chelsea on penalties. Twelve months later Juup Heynckes led his team back to the final again and beat Dortmund in the Wembley. Heynckes was to be replaced by Guardiola later that summer.  

So Guardiola takes over the German champions, who had won the title by a whopping 25 points and were also European champions. In his first season he retained the title but lost in the semis on aggregate to a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona. This season he is on course to retain the Bundesliga while Bayern have qualified for the quarterfinals of the Champions League. All going well.  

The Premier League in England is not the most technical, nor is it filled with the world's current best players as much as it was nearly a decade ago. However, it is a unique league. Unique in that fans of even the lowest ranked sides expect their teams to get something from any visiting team irrespective of class, money or league position. It is a league that has a punishing schedule and no winter breaks. It is a league where industry and endeavor from lesser talented players readily bridge the gap between them and their more gifted opponents.  

City will present to Guardiola the challenge of managing a team not at the very top and one that does not have many homegrown players in their ranks. He will be managing, or will have to oversee, a turnover of players complete with the difficulties these present. While doing this he will be expected to win the league in his first season, as he has done in his previous two jobs.  

Guardiola loves his teams to dominate possession and is known to not be particular about his centre-backs physically. In England, crosses into the box are regular and driven set-pieces are the norm. Also, Man City only have a recent league pedigree, unlike both Barca and Bayern; so clubs will not give in so easily. As Louis van Gaal has found out and Jose Mourinho says every so often, in the Premier league you fight for every point. There is little room for coasting along in a season.  

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SOCCER SHOOTING TIPS

• Observe the goalkeeper's position. Have they left a gap that you can exploit? 
• Select the best technique for your shot. A side foot shot will have greater accuracy, but an instep (laces) with good follow-through will have greater power. 
• Put your non-kicking foot alongside the ball. 
• Keep your head down and your eyes on the ball when striking. 
• Keep your body over the ball. 
• Make contact with the middle to top half of the ball. 
• Maintain your composure. 

Tips to improve your chance of scoring:  

• Shoot wide rather than high. There's a better chance of getting a deflection that will wrong-foot the goalkeeper. 
• Shoot low. It's harder for a keeper to reach shots along the ground because it's further for them to travel. It's easy for them to jump up and save, but much harder to crouch down and get it. 
• Shoot across the keeper. It's tougher for them to hold these shots, and means they could divert the ball back into the path of another attacker. 

Where Are the Most Shots Made? 

Ever wondered if there's actually a "sweet spot" in a soccer goal? A place where you could kick the ball and it would go in almost every time?  

Well, there may not be a definitive "sweet spot," but a recent study did take a look at where scored goals most often went into the net. Here are the results:  

• Top Left: 8 percent 
• Top Center: 4 percent 
• Top Right: 5 percent 

Ouch. As you can see, shooting high means you have a pretty low percentage of actually scoring.  

• Middle Left: 7 percent 
• Middle Center: 8 percent 
• Middle Right: 6 percent 

While you have a better chance of scoring if you shoot to the middle than up high, the odds still aren't much in your favor.  

• Bottom Left: 22 percent 
• Bottom Center: 21 percent 
• Bottom Right: 19 percent 

Look at these stats: 62 percent of all goals were scored low. This makes sense because it is very difficult for goalkeepers, especially tall ones, to get down to the ground. It's much easier and more natural for them to jump high.  

Also, looking at the statistics, 67 percent of goals were scored in the corners versus 33 percent down the middle. If you combine the two statistics and shoot low into the corner, you should have a much greater success rate in scoring goals.  

As with any soccer technique, you need to practice if you want to improve your shooting skills. Fortunately, the techniques used for shooting are similar to those used for passing. So you can build up two vital soccer techniques at the same time.  

But most importantly: If you see the goal, shoot!  

This one piece of advice is important enough to reiterate: You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. If you see an opportunity to shoot, take it! The only way these tips can help you is if you implement them, both in practice and in games.  

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REF AND SUBS 

A soccer team can choose to substitute a new player for one who has been playing at any point during a game. When the coach decides to make a substitution, he or she tells an official who hangs out near the team benches, and that official signals the referee. At the next dead ball (a stop in play that occurs when the ball goes out-of-bounds for a throw-in or goal-kick but not for a corner kick or a foul) the ref stops the game and allows the substitution to be made. There are two somewhat picky rules about this process. The substitute is supposed to wait at the side of the field at exactly the half-way line until the player who is being substituted for leaves the field completely. Refs are allowed to discipline (by giving yellow or red cards) players who violate these rules. 

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