New to soccer

[Derk]

Hello there. Me and my friends decided we want to be on the soccer team just for the hell of it for our senior year. I am 6'4'' 190 lbs and I played basketball for the high school the past 3 years. I don't really know much about soccer anymore. I used to play YMCA for 4 years when I was like 8, but all we did back then was kick the ball. I always played defender.

Are there any websites or advice yall can give me to explain to me basic skills and drills and stuff to improve them as well as philosophy of the game?

Thanks! I've been wanting to be active in soccer for a very long time!

[servotron]

Watch some of the game..... watch what defenders do, which is stick to your man and play your position.

If you're playing defense a lot, learn how to reliably clear the ball in the air with your head, and learn how to properly kick a rolling ball and a flying ball, just so you can feel like no matter how the ball is coming to you, you are comfortable in getting rid of it, even if it just means out of bounds or blasting it down the field.

Learning to kick properly will help you alot. Learn to sidefoot pass (this doesn't take much to learn) and learn to kick long clearances with the top of your boot. You can do both of these practices by yourself, but they are entirely, 100% essential to playing defense or playing soccer at all.

[Derk]

well how would the coach decide which position to put me as? By height or strength? I don't know how it works for soccer I'm just trying to base some assumtions from basketball.

Also, how do soccer players train? They do more quick feet and running than lifting weights and train for more endurance then strength?

[Joep]

well how would the coach decide which position to put me as? By height or strength? I don't know how it works for soccer I'm just trying to base some assumtions from basketball.

Also, how do soccer players train? They do more quick feet and running than lifting weights and train for more endurance then strength?

Whatever you do in training, have a ball at your feet. Just running is useless. Just try different positions in training, and eventually you'll know where to play.

Can I advice something rather mindnumbing that I feel has always helped me alot? When I get the ball played into my feet, I don't want to have to worry about it bouncing off. Your first touch is really important, cause you can create alot of time and space for yourself with it. I trained it like this. Line up in front of wall, couple of yards away. Pass the ball against the wall at a high speed, and when it comes back, pass it again (without stopping it), and again and again etc. Use the inside of the foot your most comfortable with and try to maintain a high speed. Make sure the ball doesn't bounce away, it means you hit it wrong. When you feel you can do that with control at the distance you've chosen, move closer. etc etc. up until your really close and can still maintain a high speed without losing the ball.

It's mindnumbing, it really is, but it helps. I should probably also tell you I have done this from the age of 6 up untill I was about 10, half an hour a day :o . But your touch is like knowing how to ride a bicycle, it'll never go away.

[loden]

I started playing soccer at 21 after having played basketball in soccer. Just two years later I was able to play for a D3 school.

In soccer, your touch is the most import thing. Touch is the most difficult skill to aquire. Touch is basically defined as feel for the ball. That means you can recieve the ball with ease and make it do what you want. Touch takes a long time to develop.

Touch is developed by having constant contact with the ball. To have a flawless touch, your whole body needs to be coordinated. When on your own you need to juggle, dribble, and shoot at goal endlessly. Try to constantly develop your arsenal. Always work on your weak points. Develop BOTH of your feet. Good luck.

[loden]

Soccer is a skill sport. Your fitness should always take 2nd role to your skill. I can school guys who are waaaay faster and more explosive then I am. Why? My technique and touch are superior. My arsenal is vast. My vision of the field is better. I got the technical part of soccer out of the way, so I can actually think about what's happening on the field as opposed to what I should technically do with the ball.

[Derk]

my skill in shooting>dribbling>juggling. However my right foot is not too bad but it's like I have no left foot lol. I also can't maintain a basic juggle for more than 3 stikes without it bouncing off....mind you I haven't even been practicing but for 2 days though...

[Joep]

my skill in shooting>dribbling>juggling. However my right foot is not too bad but it's like I have no left foot lol. I also can't maintain a basic juggle for more than 3 stikes without it bouncing off....mind you I haven't even been practicing but for 2 days though...

About not having a left foot. Being two-footed is a natural advantage (which I don't have) it can be practised, but I found out that you'll only maintain a good left foot if you keep practising. Minute you stop with that, it's gonna go downhill. It did for me anyway. Loden is completely right by the way. See if you can find anything about the Wiel Coerver method. Juggling is to controlling the ball in the air as what I told you about shooting against a wall is to controlling it on the ground. You'll never need to juggle in a game, but when you get a high ball, it's nice to be able to control it so you can create some space for yourself.

[loden]

If you have a foot that's lagging in development, you have to do more work for it. If you're going to do 100 touches for your right foot, do a 150 for your left. I gurantee, you will improve.


As for juggling, you don't necessarily have to juggle in the conventional sense. It's not a problem if you can't keep the ball in the air. Just practice continually kicking it up and bringing it down with every surface of the boot. It's a good idea to start every training session with gettting at least a 100 touches per foot.