I know, I know, another soccer post.. This article is a must read though.
Via Feministe
*I really should have titled this better. Read the article, though. It doesn’t matter if you know about or like soccer. It just might make you see why soccer is so important though.
16 years ago when I was younger and much more energetic and my kids were 4 and 6 I began coaching American Youth Soccer teams. I got a call from the region’s assistant commissioner who asked me to coach a team of 4 and 5 year olds. I told her that the only thing i knew about soccer was that it was some kind of kick ball game. She told me that there were a paucity of coaches and I would learn “everything I needed to know” at a 1 day clinic on a Saturday. When she added that there was no coach of my kid’s team I said ok.
I contunued coaching for the next 11 years; attended two additional coaching and two refereeing seminars; and became a reagonal referee and an “advanced” coach, whatever that means. I got hooked on the game. I took my family to three World Cup games in 1994 and enjoyed attending live US Soccer games when possible.
I had always watched what we Americans call football-a true misnomer because it has very little to do with feet. Football is a virtually static game. A play lasts a few seconds. Of a “one hour” game the actual playing time is less than 10 minutes. After each play, the ball is placed at what is called the “line of scrimmage” and the players walk to their teams “side” of the ball. The coach tells the quarterback what to do next then the quarter back tells the rest of the team. The offense returns the the line of scrimmage and the action resumes for a few seconds. The process repeats itself for three hours interrupted by “time outs” incomplete passes and referees reviewing tapes of the plays to make sure they called it right. When a team loses possession, play stops and each side bring a whole nwe team onto the field. Football’s “Super Bowl” is the championship game resulting from competition between 30 American teams.
Soccer is a 90 minute game of virtually continuous action. Each side can substitute three players for the whole game. If four players on a side are injured, they either play or the team plays short-sided. Soccer is played in two 45 minute halves. The coach prepares his team BEFORE the game and gets 15 minutes at the half to talk to them and make corrections to her strategy. During play the players must make snap decisions and develop their own strategy. The line of sides is dynamic-it changes with the position of the defenders. The general rule of conduct (called the “Laws of the Game”) is fairness. Conduct that gives a side an unfair advantage is called a foul and corrected by the referee, whose decision is final (no checking tapes here). Dissent can get a player kicked out of the game as can repeated minor violations. Soccer’s World Cup is a competion between the 32 best teams (each comprised of the best players in each country) in the WORLD. The champion is automatically seeded into the next cup-4 years later. The other 31 teams must qualify through regional competitions, during which about 75% of the countries are eliminated.
I learned over the years that the best soccer players just KNOW where the ball is going BEFORE it leaves a foot. They are creative on the field and understand the dynmacs of the game. This game truly develops in players the concept of teamwork and the skills to strategize and improvise. The Brazilians call it “the beautiful game” and it is loved by the rest of the world. So, when I hear stories about mayor muckhead (samll-town small-minds) and thier prejudice against immigrants and the best game in the world I feel sorry for them and the image they create of Americans in the minds of the rest of the world.
P.S. I liked the coach’s rule about hair must be shorter than her uper-back length. She’s a cool lady that don’t take no smack from her misogynistic players.
Thank you, daddio. You said what I’ve been hinting at all along about soccer.
Okie dokie.