How to Play Soccer - The Fundamentals

Bill Shankly (the former Liverpool manager) once said

"Soccer is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, on controlling the ball and making yourself available to receive a pass"
It sounds quite simple really doesn't, but:

• What are the rules of soccer?
• How do the rules of soccer influence how to play soccer?
• What specific skills are required?
• What tactics should be employed?
• What are the physical attributes needed by soccer players?
• Do soccer players need specific fitness requirements?
• What should I learn first?
• What formation is the best one for a team to use?

What to do First

 When you are learning how to play soccer, then the very first thing that you should do is ensure that you develop great technical skill.  Getting technical skill can only be done through a lot of practise and repetition of various soccer drills.  Whilst teamwork and tactics play a huge part in the way a team plays, the teams performance will be limited based on the technical ability of the players and the level of skill that players have.

The basic skills that are required for soccer player are:

• Ball Control
• Dribbling
• Passing
• Shooting
• Heading
• Defending
• Goalkeeping

To ensure that you have good soccer skills, a great deal of practice is required to develop good soccer skills a great deal of practice and commitment is required. The key to developing great soccer skills is repetition.  I recommend that players do at least 30 minutes a day of solid practice to develop these skills, including juggling a soccer ball to ensure that their technical ability is of an adequate standard.

Tactics and formations

Teamwork is vital in playing soccer and having a good understanding of how to get into goal scoring positions and conversely how a team can defend against the opposition requires an intimate knowledge of the game and of how to get players to play using different soccer formations.

Soccer Fitness

Being Fit for Soccer does have a major impact on how to play soccer.  I was in a team once that had limited technical ability compared with the majority of teams in our league, but guess what we were runners up in the league purely because we were the fittest team in the league and often won games in the dying minutes, because we were fit enough to "run the opposition off their legs".  So never underestimate the impact that fitness will have on your game.

Rules of Soccer

There are various forms of soccer, ranging from micro soccer (3 a side) to the standard game of 11 a side. FIFA are the worldwide governing body for soccer, and it is FIFA who control the laws of the game that dictate how to play soccer from a rules perspective.  Understanding the laws of the game does have a bearing on what you do, and all players should make sure they understand the laws of the game.

A combination of learning the soccer skills described here, team tactics and team formations, soccer fitness and an understanding of the laws of the game constitute the basics of how to play soccer.

See some more of Nigels articles, or his website for more details information on how to play soccer.

Nigel Reed has been involved in soccer during the 60's, 70's and 80's as a player and has been coaching youth soccer in Australia since 2000. Nigels main soccer website has detailed information on How to play soccer as well as a number of Free Soccer Drills Good luck with your coaching.

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How to Play Soccer- The Principles of the Game - The Theory Behind How the Game Should Be Played!

When you are coaching and teaching players how to play soccer, having an understanding of "the Principles of the Game" is essential knowledge that will help your players adapt to any situation. Whilst not commonly taught or described in coaching manuals, The Principles of the Game are the very foundation of playing soccer. These principles

1. Have remained the same for as long as the game has existed, even though we may not have know it at the time.
2. Apply to the game regardless of different systems of play and the different formations played by teams
3. Will withstand the evolution of the game
4. Will always apply regardless of whether your team, or the opposition team plays a 4-4-2 system or a 3-5-2 system or a 4-3-3 system.

In fact the principles of play are vital in coaching because understanding them will make it far easier to deal with and exploit variations in formations and systems of play that you will encounter from opposition teams.

 

Getting players to an acceptable technical or skill level is a mandatory part of coaching, but understanding these principles will help you get the most out of your skilled players.
The principles of play are divided into 2 categories

Attacking Principles


The attacking principles apply when our team has the ball is looking to:

1. Keep possession of the ball
2. Move the ball forward into an attacking position
3. Create chances to score a goal

Defending Principles 

 Conversely, the defending principles apply when the opposition has the ball, and our team needs to:

1. Prevent the opposition from creating a chance to score a goal
2. Limit the opportunities for the opposition to get into attacking positions
3. Regain possession

Attacking Principles of Play Basics

 When your team has the ball, the Attacking Principles apply, regardless of the position that the ball is on the field. The five principles of that govern play when you are attacking are:

1. Penetration
2. Depth
3. Width
4. Mobility
5. Improvisation

Defending Principles of Play Basics

 Conversely, when the opposition has the ball, the Defending Principles apply, again,regardless of the position that the ball is on the field. The five principles of that govern play when you are defending:

1. Delay
2. Depth
3. Balance
4. Concentration
5. Control/Restraint

This article has covered the basic concepts of the Principles of Play, and I believe that it is essential to understand these principles when teaching players how to play soccer, and when coached correctly will equip players with all of the required knowledge to combat any side that you come up against.

Nigel Reed has been involved in soccer during the 60's, 70's and 80's as a player and has been coaching youth soccer in Australia since 2000. Learn more on How to play soccer and take advantage of the Free Soccer Drills on Nigels website Good luck with your coaching, unless you play my team of course and remember Practice Makes Permanent

© 2009 Coaching-Youth-Soccer-For-Success

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