Coaching Soccer For Dummies Read online

  The two distinct classifications that exist for soccer programs are recreational and competitive. Each type requires a vastly different approach to coaching. Do you know what type of league you’re coaching in this season? Before agreeing to volunteer, check with the recreation director to learn more about the league and make sure it’s the right fit for you.

  Recreational leagues

  If you’re coaching soccer for the first time, chances are good that you’re involved in a recreational league. This type of program focuses on teaching kids the basic skills of the game. Generally, the program has rules in place regarding equal playing time.

  Often, with kids ages 8 and under, the league scales teams down to 4-on-4 and has them play games on much smaller fields to allow each child plenty of touches with the ball. Usually, these teams have no goaltender. Because the players are so young and are just learning the skills, having a child positioned as the goaltender would result in an enormous amount of standing around and very little action for the youngster. Typically, pylons (orange cones) are set up at each end of the field to serve as the goals.

  Recreational leagues also feature rules that have been altered to meet the needs of the age and experience level of the kids. In the younger divisions, you don’t see corner kicks, indirect kicks, or penalty kicks (all terms that we cover in detail in Chapter 3, when we address the basics of the game). Referees don’t call offsides; there won’t be throw-ins; and a child touching the ball with his hands often isn’t whistled for an infraction but is gently reminded that the action is a no-no.

  Another trademark of a recreational program is that coaches are allowed on the field during games with the youngest kids. Usually, the league allows a coach from each team to stand on each half of the field, giving coaches a chance to talk to their players during the course of play and to provide positive feedback and encouragement.

  When meeting with the opposing coach before the game, encourage him to provide positive feedback to your players when the action is at his end of the field, and let him know that you’ll do the same when the play takes place near you. At this level, you just want kids running around and getting a feel for kicking the ball and being with their teammates.

  As kids become older and stay involved in the sport longer, they naturally become more competitive. Winning takes on a more prominent role with a lot of kids around the age of 10 or 12. If these kids still play in a recreational program, some of the emphasis will shift to winning, but not at the expense of league policies regarding equal playing time.

  Competitive leagues

  Children whose thirst for competition can’t be quenched in their local recreational program can turn to the avalanche of competitive leagues that exist. These leagues are typically referred to as select or travel teams, which we examine in greater detail in Chapter 20.

  This type of program is for youngsters who have demonstrated higher skill levels than many other kids their age. These elite programs give kids the chance to compete against others of similar ability in their state or region. Usually, kids involved in these programs have their eyes on long-term advancement in the sport, such as playing at the collegiate level (or, as is often the case, their parents are thinking college scholarships and have pushed the children into this highly competitive environment).

  Coaches of select or travel teams have an array of issues to deal with that the recreational volunteer coach doesn’t face. For example, you have to orchestrate tryouts; make cuts; and, at the oldest levels, make game tapes to send to prospective college coaches.

  Your schedule is crammed with practices and is typically tournament heavy, with lots of travel and weekends away from home. The environment is entirely different because victories in tournaments push the team into the national spotlight and garner lots of attention for the players involved. Coaches are given the reins of a select or travel team only if they have a strong coaching background and have proved through their experience to be well versed in all areas of the game.

  If you’re in a highly competitive league that you don’t believe you’re adequately prepared for, notify the league director immediately. Let him know that in the best interests of the kids, you would prefer to coach a less experienced team in a less competitive league. Do what you’re better suited for at this time in your coaching career.

  Chapter 3

  Getting Up to Speed with the Basics

  In This Chapter

  Becoming familiar with the field

  Matching kids with positions

  Learning the rules of the game

  Varying the rules for younger kids

  Soccer is a truly amazing, wonderfully complex, and sometimes even mysterious sport. If you never played it as a child or have little experience coaching it as an adult, the rulebook may seem more difficult to learn than a foreign language, and the markings on the field may look pretty imposing. But you have nothing to worry about. In this chapter, we take you on a tour of the field; explain all those lines, rectangles, and arcs; and let you in on a little secret: The rules really aren’t as difficult to comprehend as you may think.

  In this chapter, we talk about the various positions and the skills required to play them. We also guide you through the maze of hand signals that referees and linesmen use during the course of games that you need to be familiar with in order to provide your team with the best possible coaching at all times.

  Surveying the Field

  At first glance, all the markings on a soccer field may look intimidating or confusing, but when you can easily identify them, you see that each serves a specific purpose. Just like the markings on a basketball court or hockey rink, they’re part of the foundation of the game.

  In many sports, the size of the field or court never changes. But soccer is a different story. The size and shape of a regulation soccer field can vary in length from 100 to 130 yards, and its width can be anywhere from 50 to 100 yards. In international matches, games are generally contested on fields that are 120 yards long and 80 yards wide. (Take a look at the markings on a soccer field in Figure 3-1.)

  Of course, in youth soccer, the field size is scaled down considerably to account for the small bodies (see the “Reduced field size” section, later in this chapter). Often, one regulation soccer field can accommodate at least a half-dozen youth games at one time. Field sizes vary greatly from community to community and are often dictated by a combination of how much space is available and the number of participants.

  Figure 3-1: The field of play.

  The soccer field includes the following elements:

  Touch lines: These are the “sidelines” of the field. Balls that cross over these lines can be picked up (touched) by players in order to put them back into play.

  Goal lines: These are the lines at both ends of the field, also referred to as the end lines, and the goals are positioned directly atop the lines.

  Corner areas: A quarter-circle with a radius of 1 yard marks off four small corner areas to indicate exactly where the ball must be placed for corner kicks.

  Halfway markings: The halfway line runs across the center of the field and is primarily used for the opening kickoff. During kickoffs, each team is required to stay on its half of the field. The middle of the halfway line is marked by the center mark, which is where the ball is placed for kickoffs. Surrounding the center mark is the center circle. When a team is kicking off from here, opponents must stay outside the center circle. The other purpose of the halfway line is determining offside violations, because a player can’t be called offside when he’s on his team’s side of the halfway line. (We get into deeper detail on the topic of offside later in this chapter.)

  Goals: The goals at each end of the field are 8 feet high and 24 feet wide in a regulation international soccer match, such as the World Cup or the Olympics.

  Goal areas: These rectangles are directly in front of each goal and measure 6 by 20 yards in regulation soccer. Besides indicating where the ball is placed for goal kicks
, it’s the area of the field where goalies have some shelter and are partially protected from collisions with opposing players.

  Penalty areas: This area is the larger rectangle that surrounds each goal area, and it measures 18 by 44 yards in regulation soccer and includes the goal area within it. The goalie can handle the ball when it’s inside his penalty area or goal area. The lines marking the sides of the penalty areas closest to midfield in regulation soccer are 18 yards from the goal lines and are referred to as the 18-yard lines.

  Penalty kick marks: These marks in regulation soccer are 12 yards from each goal and are centered between the goal posts. If a team commits a major foul within its own penalty area, the referee awards a penalty kick that’s taken from the penalty mark in that penalty area. The ball is placed on the penalty kick mark. When a penalty kick is taking place, only the goalie is allowed to defend 1-on-1 against the shooter.

  Penalty arcs: This semicircular arc extends from each penalty area. During a penalty kick, all the players except the person delivering the kick and the goalie must remain outside the penalty arc, as well as the penalty area. Referees don’t award penalty kicks for fouls committed within these arcs, and goalies can’t touch the ball with their hands within them either.

  Taking Up Positions

  In soccer, the basic playing positions on the field are goalie, sweeper, fullback, halfback, and forward. In a typical full-scale soccer game of 11 versus 11, you have a goalie, sweeper, three fullbacks, three halfbacks, and three forwards (see Figure 3-2). As the coach, you can modify your line-up and use all sorts of different formations, which we detail in Chapter 15.

  Each position on the soccer field carries its own specific set of responsibilities. The positions are as different as the kids under your care who will be manning them this season. Starting from your own goal and working out, the following sections outline each position. (For tips on assigning children to various positions, see Chapter 5.)

  Figure 3-2: A standard line-up.

  Goalie

  This player positions himself between the goal posts and usually stands a few yards out from the goal line. His number-one responsibility is to defend your team’s goal and prevent the ball from going into the net.

  Any time the ball is within the goalie’s own penalty area, which includes the goal area, he’s allowed to touch it with any part of his body. So he can scoop the ball up with his hands, hold it, or simply kick it away. When the goalie strays outside his own penalty area, he’s just like any other player on the field and can’t touch the ball with his hands or arms. Although he’s allowed to wander all over the field, doing so is a strategy usually not recommended under any circumstance. You always want him stationed in front of your net and ready to make a save when called upon.

  When a goalie is positioned inside his goal area, he receives special protection from opposing players. When the goalie has the ball in his hands or arms, opposing players aren’t allowed to kick at it or interfere with the goalie’s throw. Only minor and incidental body contact by opposing players is allowed during a play for the ball in this area. Although the rules in this area of the game are generally left to the discretion of each individual referee, most goalies are allowed the privilege of not being interfered with while they’re grabbing the ball.

  But goalies do have some limitations that they must adhere to, which include the following:

  The ticking clock: A goalie who secures possession of the ball can’t stand and hold it for an extended length of time while his team gets set to begin an attack. The goalie has six seconds to put the ball into play. If he delays the game by holding onto it longer than that, he can draw a penalty and forfeit possession for his team.

  Doubly possessed: When a goalie has possession of the ball with his hands, and he sends the ball back into play, he can’t touch the ball again with his hands until an opposing player makes contact with the ball anywhere on the field or one of his teammates plays it outside the penalty area. This rule doesn’t enter into play when the goalie is playing the ball with his feet. He can dribble or kick the ball just like any other player on the field, whether or not he touches it with his hands. So he can stop the ball with his hands, put it on the ground, and kick it to a teammate. He can even gain possession of the ball with his feet, dribble it, and then scoop it up if he chooses to do so. He can’t possess the ball twice with his hands, though. A ball played back to the goalkeeper by a player on his team can’t be picked up if the other player plays it back with her feet.

  Sweeper

  This player holds down the position in front of the goalie and rarely strays from the goal-scoring area. The sweeper’s top priority is to make sure that no ball gets behind her. As the last line of defense before the goalie, the sweeper has the responsibility of “sweeping” the ball out of the goal-scoring area. Sweepers must always be aware where the opposing players are near the goal and guard them very tightly when they’re positioned to get a shot on goal. A sweeper usually doesn’t leave the goal area unless a teammate is available to provide back-up while the sweeper steps out to defend another offensive threat. Or if her team is pushing the ball downfield, she moves forward to provide support for the midfielders and eliminate any gaps in the field that can be exploited by the opposition if it regains possession of the ball and begins a counterattack.

  Fullbacks

  These players play in front of the sweeper and provide primarily defensive help. The primary responsibility of the fullbacks is to help ensure that players from the opposing team don’t get close enough to take quality shots. Youngsters who play these positions are also sometimes referred to as stoppers, because you rely on them to stop the opposing team’s attack when it’s converging on the goal.

  The left and right fullbacks, as their names suggest, play to the left and right of the center fullback. These players have the task of containing the other team’s forwards, who are playing opposite them. While the forwards’ jobs are to penetrate the defense by attacking the corners of the field and distributing the ball to the center forward (or striker), the left and right fullbacks must be focused on stopping that penetration, or at least slowing it down and making sure that the opponents don’t get off a quality centering pass. In most cases, the center fullback is responsible for picking up the striker when he poses an offensive threat.

  Because the fullbacks play in the shadow of their own goal, coaches generally don’t want them taking any unnecessary chances with the ball that can put their team at risk. That means they don’t spend a lot of time dribbling; instead, their focus is on getting the ball away from their goal and out of danger as quickly as possible. Fullbacks typically send clearing passes to the sidelines to avoid turning the ball over to the opponent in that dangerous middle-of-the-field area, where an attacking player has a lot of options.

  Rarely do fullbacks have any type of offensive responsibilities, although they can spark offensive attacks from time to time. So the team benefits if they’re as skilled at handling and passing the ball as their teammates are and can get attacks going.

  Halfbacks

  Halfbacks play between the fullbacks and the forwards, and provide both offensive and defensive support. When it comes to having success in soccer, your team’s effectiveness is determined, to a large extent, by which team controls the middle of the field the best. During games, the center of the field is where a big chunk of the action usually takes place.

  And that’s where the halfbacks enter the picture. These players, also referred to as midfielders, are stationed in the middle of the team’s formation. Their top priority is to gain possession of the ball and get attacks under way by dribbling the ball upfield or getting the ball to the forwards with accurate passes. It’s no secret that the team that maintains possession of the ball the longest is the team that probably generates more quality scoring chances and likely winds up scoring more goals, too.

  The essential job of the halfback is to control the ball, distribute it to teammates, and m
ove the ball upfield if he’s unable to spot an open teammate. Halfbacks also handle a lot of the throw-in responsibilities (see the “Rules of the Game” section, later in the chapter), which can be a valuable offensive weapon at the opponent’s end of the field. Sound throw-ins are also important at your end of the field, because an inaccurate throw can quickly turn into a great scoring opportunity for the other team.

  The center halfback has additional roles beyond those of the left and right halfbacks. When on the attack, this player often joins the action as a second striker and is counted on to deliver shots on goal from a little farther out than her teammates on the front line, who usually work in much closer around the net. She also serves as a trailer on a lot of attacks and can be effective in taking advantage of any rebounds the goalie may give up. All the halfbacks have defensive responsibilities as well and must provide support whenever the opposing team has possession of the ball.

  Forwards

  These players are counted on to score goals for the team. When the team has possession of the ball, these players move forward and look to receive passes from the halfbacks that they can use to deliver quality shots on goal. Soccer actually has two types of forwards:

  Striker: The center forward, whose primary focus is scoring goals. The striker is clearly an important piece of your offensive puzzle. But his skills will be suffocated and his ability to score greatly reduced if you don’t have halfbacks who can get the ball to the wingers (see the next bullet) and wingers who can push the ball upfield and into the corner areas. The bottom line is that the center forward is going to be only as effective as his teammates allow him to be. After all, soccer is the ultimate team game.

  Wingers: The forwards to the left and right of the striker, who look to create shots for themselves from the outside or deliver passes to the striker in the middle of the field. The left and right forwards’ primary responsibility is to dribble the ball down the sideline, work their way as close to the end line as possible, and then look to center the ball back to the striker for a shot on goal. A lot of the team’s success in the opponent’s half of the field is dictated by how effective the left and right forwards are at getting the ball to the striker in positions that produce quality scoring chances.