Deborah W. Crisfield - The Everything Kids Soccer Book: Rules, Techniques, and More About Your Favorite Sport!

THE
EVERYTHING
KIDS'
SOCCER
BOOK

2ND EDITION

Rules, techniques, and more about your favorite sport!

Deborah W. Crisfield

PUBLISHER Karen Cooper

DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier

MANAGING EDITOR,EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing

COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Katrina Schroeder

SENIOR DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson

Copyright 2009, 2002 by F+W Media, Inc.

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews and photocopies made for classroom use.

An Everything Series Book.

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Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.

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ISBN 10: 1-60550-162-X
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-162-8
eISBN: 978-1-60550-162-8

Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

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Interior illustrations by Kurt Dolber.

Puzzles by Beth L. Blair

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the Summit Charge

Acknowledgments

Id like to thank Laura Madden for her coaching skills, Rob Stone for his knowledge, Carrie Finizio for her connections, the Summit Charge for their inspiring play, and JAC, JDC, and CBC for keeping it fun, as always.

Contents

Introduction

Introduction

S occer can be found in more countries than any other sport in the world, and no other game is played by more people. Its the fastest growing sport in the United States, and its the second most popular game for kids in this country (behind basketball). Yes, soccer is on top of the world, and you are on top of this exciting trend.

This book will help you become a super soccer player. If youve never played before, youll get step-by-step instructions on every skill. And if youve already spent some time on the ball, the games and drills will help you improve your skills.

The first chapter covers some of the history of soccer and all of the rules, field markings, and equipment. If youre a little confused about the offside rule, look in Chapter 1.

The skills begin in Chapter 2. This is where youll learn how to control the ball, the first step for any soccer player. Passing skills and strategy are discussed in Chapter 3, and dribbling is in Chapter 4. By the time youve read this far, you should be able to move the ball down the field like a pro.

There are a few among you who are daredevils, Im sure. You folks dont mind being the center of attention, diving on the ground, and jumping hard into a group of attackers. You are goalkeepers. From cutting the angle to stopping the toughest of shotsall of the essential goal-tending info is in Chapter 5.

Once youve learned to move the ball, its time to develop your soccer brain. You need to know how to think like a soccer player. Chapters 6 and 7 help you understand field positions and strategies, from attack through the midfield and on to defense.

Of course, playing soccer is all about having fun, being healthy, and enjoying yourself. Chapter 8 will help you stay fit and avoid injuries, and Chapter 9 covers all levels of soccer, from pick-up games to the World Cup.

And, of course, every chapter is filled with puzzles, jokes, games, and other fun things for you to do while you learn about the worlds favorite sport. Kick back and enjoy!

CHAPTER 1
Soccer Rules!

O kay, so you know that soccer rules, but what are the soccer rules?

Soccer is about as simple as it gets. To play, you need a field, two goals, and a ball. Thats it. The goals dont even have to be official goals. Cones, T-shirts, even a couple of trees will do the trick.

And talk about easy! Basically, its no hands allowed, and kick the ball into the opponents goal. Pretty simple, huh? Think about the rules for soccer compared to the rules for baseball or football. Even three-year-olds can learn the basic rules of soccer, but there are many grownups who still cant figure out baseball.

But if youve caught the soccer bug, youll probably want to know a few more rules than the average three-year-old. Like, whats the deal with the offside rule? And how do you do a kickoff? And what are those yellow and red cards I keep hearing about?

Read on for the answers, but dont worry. Soccer really is still as simple as you thought it was.

FUN FACT

Ancient History

Soccer is one of the oldest sports in the world. No one is quite sure when or where it started. China was the first country to actually write about a game that involved kicking a round object into a goal, and that game was played more than 4,000 years ago! The game was called tsu chu, and it was played for the emperors birthday.

More Ancient History

In England during the time of knights and castles, whole towns would play a game like soccer. The ball would be anything that rolled and the goals could be close (if only a few people were playing) or as much as ten miles apart if hundreds of people played.

The Object of the Game

Go for the goal! Thats the whole point of the game. Two teams, each with a goal to defend, battle to get the soccer ball into the opponents goal. The winning team is the one with the most goals when the time runs out. The official time is two 45-minute halves, but most leagues use shorter halves for younger players. The length of the game, the size of the ball, the size of the field, and even the number of players changes according to how old you are. (See the table on page 4.)