How to Play Soccer For Beginners

1. Soccer, also known as football everywhere besides the U.S., Canada and Australia, is a fun, competitive game. It is the most played sport in the world, with over 200 million players in about 200 countries. Now, it is referred to as the beautiful game because of its dazzling degrees of technical skill, team play, and individual contribution. If you re serious about playing soccer, know that you re going to have to train harder, longer, and faste .....

Learn how to dribble

2. Dribbling is controlling the ball while running. If you want to keep the ball in your team s possession, you re going to need to dribble well. Dribbling is all about touching the ball strong enough to carry it forward, but light enough so that it stays by your side ? and away from opponents. Learn to dribble at different speeds. When you re running down the sideline and you ve beaten your man, your dribbling will look a lot different from when y .....

Learn how to pass

3. Passing is all about putting the ball exactly where you want it. In order to pass a soccer ball, kick the ball using the inside of your foot. This will give you less power but more accuracy. Once you master the basic pass, you can then try to slice and hook the ball in order to pass it to one of your teammates. Pay attention to where your planter foot is placed. Your planter foot should be right next to the ball, your toe pointed in the direc .....

Know how to shoot

4. If you re really close to the goal and all you need is accuracy, you can shoot using the sweet spot of the inside of your shoe, like a pass, but usually, you re going to be farther away and will need power as well as accuracy,of course. Set your planter foot and aim the toe of the planter foot to where you want the shot to travel and always have a slight look at the target before you shoot. You don t have to get much of a running start, b .....

Think about moving off the ball

5. Some estimates say that professional soccer players run 6 to 8 miles (9.7 to 12.9?km) during a 90 minute game.[1] That s a lot of running. It doesn t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a lot of the running you ll be doing is when you don t have the ball. Learn how to get into open space, how to run to where to your teammate expects or wants you to be, and how to run past a defender who s guarding you. .....

Learn how to defend

6. Defending the goal is an underrated achievement. It can be extremely difficult staying on your man or getting the ball away from your man. There are three basic things that you need to remember when guarding a player in soccer: Don t be fooled by feints, tricks, or jukes: keep your eye on the ball. A good soccer player will try to juke or feint with their body in order to get past you. They re hoping that what they do with their body will dis .....

Get comfortable heading the ball

7. Try hitting the ball with your head right where your hair meets your forehead. Do not use the top of your head! When getting ready to head the ball, don t lift your head back; move your upper torso back instead. This will give you more power and won t strain your neck as much. .....

Learn how to juggle

8. Juggling is very hard to master but an important part of the game. Truth be told, you won t need to juggle very often in a game, but knowing how to juggle does several things: It helps you control a ball that s coming at you from the air. Not all passes are on the ground. The ones that aren t will need to be intercepted and controlled by some form of juggling. Juggling helps improve your touch on the ball. If you know how to juggle your .....

Learn how to use your non dominant foot

9. It s really important to be able to dribble, pass, and shoot the ball with your non dominant foot. Good defenders will take away your dominant foot and force you to play with your non dominant foot. If you can t use your non dominant foot, you ll be playing with a handicap. Practice only using your non dominant foot during practice or when you shoot or juggle by yourself. Accustoming your body to the muscle memory is an important part of being .....

Practice taking corner kicks and free kicks

10. You want to be able to send corner kicks right in the middle of the penalty area, usually up in the air so that a teammate can head the ball in. Free kicks can either be taken quickly and simply passes to a nearby teammate, or you can organize a set play where you kick the ball in a certain area while your teammates execute a play. .....

Be original and spontaneous with your playing style

11. Try to develop your own playing style, one that suits you. Are you a tricky player who relies on juking out other players? Are you fast enough to beat everyone with sheer speed? Are you great at using your body and power to blast goals? Are you expert at keeping opponents from getting off shots? Find out what kind of player you are, set goals for yourself on how you can become a more rounded player, and remember to have fun. Soccer isn t the most .....

Understand the object of the game

12. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opponent scores. A goal is scored when any part of the ball passes the goal line. Goalies in their own penalty area are the only players on the pitch who can use their arms. All other players may use any part of their bodies except their hands. .....

Know the positions of soccer

13. There are 11 total players on the pitch to start the game. Although the positions can be rearranged however the coach sees fit, there is usually one goalie, four defenders, four midfielders, and two strikers. Goalie: this person protects the net and is the only one on the field who can use their hands in the penalty area. The goalie has to be flexible, quick to anticipate, and good at communication. Defenders. Defenders usually stay behind .....

Know that kickoff starts the game and the beginning of the second half

14. One team starts the game by kicking off. The opposite team gets to kick off after halftime. At the time of kickoff, each team s players need to be entirely on their half of play. Once the whistle has blown and the ball is kicked, the players can move freely into both halves of play, provided they are not offside. .....

Understand offside

15. Offside is one of the more crucial rules in soccer, and it s designed to keep soccer players from cherry picking, or bunching a lot of their players near the opponent s goal at all times. A player is offside when s/he is: Ahead of the ball, as well as In the opponent s half, as well as Behind the last defender when the ball is passed to him by one of his teammates Offsides is negated on: Throw ins Cor .....

Understand throw ins

16. Throw ins happen when the ball fully travels outside the area of play. Possession goes to the team who wasn t the last to touch it. This team gets to throw the ball in from the place where it went out of bounds. A player throwing can get a running start, but must generally stop near the area where the ball went out of bounds. A player must bring the ball up with both hands behind his or her head and release the ball over his head with .....

Know the grounds for a yellow card

17. A referee issues a yellow card as a warning to a player. Two yellow cards result in a red card, after which that player must leave the game permanently. Reasons for yellow cards include: Dangerous play. High kicking near a player?s head, for example. Illegal obstruction. This happens when a player intentionally takes a position between and an opponent when that player isn t within playing distance of the ball. Charging the goalkeeper .....

Know the grounds for a red card

18. A red card can be given out before a yellow card if especially dangerous play is involved, although a red card usually results from two yellow cards. Reasons for red cards include: Kicking a player intentionally. Jumping up at a player and making contact. Charging a player in a rough way, especially if hands are involved. Charging a player from behind. Tripping a player. Hitting, pushing, holding, or spitting at a player. Han .....

Know the difference between a direct free kick and an indirect free kick

19. A direct free kick is when you can kick the ball directly into the goal for a score without the ball touching another teammate first. An indirect free kick must be touched by another teammate before counting as a score. .....

Know that a foul inside the penalty box results in a penalty kick

20. A penalty kick happens when a defender fouls an opponent in his or her own penalty box. All other players except the goalie and the player taking the penalty kick line up outside the penalty area. The goalie must stand on the goal line and cannot move off of it before the ball is struck. The ball is placed on a designated area called the penalty spot. After the ball is hit, it is live, meaning that if it ricochets off the goalie or post, it can b .....

Know the difference between a corner kick and a goal kick

21. If the ball goes over the goal line (but not into the goal) and was last touched by the defending team, the ball goes to the closest goal line corner and becomes a corner kick, with possession going to the attacking team. If the ball goes over the goal line (but not into the goal) and was last touched by the attacking team, the ball goes to the edge of the 6 yard box and becomes a goal kick, with possession going to the defending team. The goalie .....

How to Pass a Soccer Ball

22. Passing the ball means kicking it to your teammate. Along with dribbling, passing is one of the most important skills in soccer as it occurs very frequently throughout the game. By passing the ball, a team rotates the possession among its teammates.A pass can either be grounded or aerial. It can be short or long. Depending on the situation, different types of passes are executed. However, the short grounded pass is the one which is used most freq .....

How to Dribble a Soccer Ball

23. Dribbling is the most used skill in the game of Soccer. Without learning this skill, it is impossible to play the game. Dribbling involves lightly tapping the ball with your feet, dragging it forward or in a particular direction with every touch. This is what is referred to as ?running with the ball?.TechniqueNow as far as dribbling is concerned, there is no fixed technique to carry the ball. The skill of dibbling is open to a lot of creativity, .....

How to Shoot a Soccer Ball

24. Shooting the ball means kicking it with force in a particular direction with the objective of scoring a goal. It is an essential skill not only for forwards, but for midfielders and defenders too, as there will be situations where any player, irrespective of his or her position, will be required to shoot. If you don?t shoot, your team does not score.TechniqueThere are three parts of the foot that are used in three different types of shots:1. Shoo .....

How to Juggle a Soccer Ball

25. Juggling the ball refers to keeping the ball in the air by bouncing it off your feet, chest, head, thighs and other parts of the body. While it may appear as a fancy skill that is used for showboating, its usefulness goes much beyond that. Learning how to juggle a soccer ball can improve your touch as well as your overall balance.TechniqueWhile a soccer ball can be juggled using any part of the body, the primary parts used in this activity are bo .....

How to Receive or Trap a Soccer Ball Without Pressure

26. Ok, let me tell you straight away that this step and the next one, are the MOST IMPORTANT STEPS in this guide. They lay the foundation of a good soccer player. Without learning the skill taught by these steps , everything else can fall out of place.Receiving or trapping the ball is a skill that separates good players from mediocre ones. Unfortunately, most beginners overlook this skill as it is not too obvious to notice in games. However, the fac .....

How to Receive or Trap a Soccer Ball With Pressure

27. As mentioned in the previous step where we learned about receiving the ball when there is no pressure, the skill to receive or trap the ball when there is pressure is equally important to learn, as it will help you in getting out of situations where the opponents are pressing you.TechniqueThe technique used to receive the ball when an opponent is putting pressure on you is to use a single touch to divert the incoming ball in a direction which wil .....

How to Chip a Soccer Ball and Make a Long Pass

28. Have you watched soccer professionals on television making 60 yard passes with ease and wondered ?how to kick a soccer ball far ??. Well you are not alone. The first thing you have to understand is that they are NOT KICKING WITH TOO MUCH POWER. It is all about TECHNIQUE. These passes are possible when you learn how to chip a soccer ball. Though usually chipping is associated with one on one finishing moves, the technique in chipping a ball has ma .....

How to Improve Your Vision in Soccer

29. Having a great vision is a must if your really want to get very good at soccer. Possessing this ability makes it possible for you to spot teammates and opportunities that mediocre players are unaware of. It lets you make intelligent decisions regarding what to do when you have the ball and when you don?t have it too. Once you know what is happening around you, the decisions like when to pass a ball, to whom to pass it to and positioning yourself .....

How to Beat a Defender Using Skills and Fakes

30. A lot of times you will find yourself in situations where you are one on one with a defender or even more than one defender. More often than not it is always best to pass to an open teammate as that is your best bet to keep possession. But overdoing this is not correct. Sometimes it is better for the team if you are selfish and take it upon yourself to beat the defender. But this requires you to develop skills that use quick movement of feet, goo .....

Taking Your Game to the Next Level

31. Now that you have gone through the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Steps in learning how to play soccer, I hope you would have gained the understanding of the fundamentals of the best sport in the world, as well as learned the techniques of various important moves . But most importantly, I hope you would have been inspired to start developing a plan on how to approach this game with even more determination and sincerity, because just like anythi .....