Brief rhyming text follows a group of children through some exciting plays during a soccer game

The official playing and coaching manual for youth soccer of the United States Soccer Federation. The definitive playing and coaching manual for youth soccer. Compiled by the coaching, educational and technical staff of U.S. Soccer, this book offers extensive information on all aspects of the game, technique, tactics, laws, prevention and care of injury, coaching preparation, organizational structure, model training sessions, and more than 100 practice games suitable for developing aspects of every player's game. Features numerous games for developing dribbling * passing * finishing * heading * defending * goalkeeping, as well as games specifically for young beginners * games to teach tactics * overall soccer decision-making. Extensive technique section offers detailed pointers on dribbling and turning moves * shielding * passing * receiving * drives * chips, bending the ball and volleys * heading * marking * tackling * goalkeeping catches * dives and saves. Tactical chapters offer detailed information on fundamental attacking tactics * defensive principles * restart tactics for defensive and offensive success. Model training sections construct excellent practice sessions, from warmup through cool down exercises * useful for all coaches as a guide to improving performance * efficiency * enjoyment of training.

The games presented in this book were designed to allow the ball and the game to be the true teachers. The aim is to get away from stagnant, boring line drills and restrictive exercises and give ownership of the game back to the players in the form of fun, age-appropriate exercises. In recent years, coaching at youth level, not only in soccer but in all sports, has trended toward specialization and over-coaching, which in effect has taken the joy of the game away and in many cases driven players away from the sport. These games will not only make your practices more fun, they will teach your players the skills and principles of soccer while allowing for creative expression.

Through stunning infographics and high-quality illustrations, the world of soccer is brought to life. Full of facts and stats, players and personalities, this is the beautiful game as you have never seen it before. Whether it is uncovering the most goals scored in an international tournament, or comparing the left-foot of the world's best players, the intriguing and often surprising truths of soccer are uncovered. From the legend-makers Brazil and their world cup wins, the tallest and shortest players to have graced the game, to pitting the top players against each others, these striking and fun infographics put the game's most intriguing questions to the test. Who has scored more from the penalty spot, Ronaldo or Messi? Which goalie has the safest hands? Who has received the most red cards?

Appealing to a wide audience, this ground-breaking handbook takes an in-depth look at soccer match analysis, highlighting the latest in match analysis research and the innovative technologies now being used by professional soccer clubs around the world. Bridging the gap between research, theory and practice, these methods can be used by coaches, sport scientists and fitness coaches to assess and improve: styles of play, technical ability and physical fitness objective performance feedback to players the development of specific training routines use of available notation software, video analysis and manual systems understanding of current academic research in soccer notational analysis. This is the first book to focus exclusively on football, and is based on the authors' extensive experience in academic and professional match analysis.

The ultimate competitive games approach. The favorite small-sided games of some of the nation`s top coaches. These games give players practical insights into attack, possession, combination play, defending & finishing. EXCELLENT.

Meyer & Meyer Premium — the next level of instructional sports literature with high-quality, full-color books. The Soccer Games and Drills Compendium is a comprehensive compilation of 350 realistic drills and games that facilitate high-quality design and quick implementation of modern soccer training. The many drills are divided into technical, tactical, and fitness-based focus areas. Individual focus areas cover basic training content, such as passing, dribbling, shots on goal, feints, juggling, and 1-on-1 situations, followed by focus areas with differentiated and advanced content, such as transitioning and reacting, chaos and action, game start variations, active defense, tournaments, and topics on tactical training. In addition, this book includes exercises for soccer-specific speed training, athletic and endurance training, indoor training, goalkeeper training, and team building. In this compendium you will find a wide variety of soccer-specific training exercises, and the graphics and practice-oriented design make it an optimal resource for taking effective training content and implementing it on the field. The many variations included with the drills and games make this compilation ideal for training players at all performance levels and age groups.

Gene Ventriglia was a very poor fourteen-year-old immigrant when he arrived in New York harbor in early July 1958. Coming from the tiny village of Alife (Italy), he had grown up in a farm village of about three hundred inhabitants. The village, as well as his parents' house, had been leveled by bombs in the final days of World War II. In 1958, the memories were still very much alive as postwar reconstruction was far from completion. These were the surroundings where Gene Ventriglia grew up. Gene had only known his small village and was unaware that common items, such as telephones and TV sets, even existed. One can only imagine his reaction upon seeing the New York skyscrapers and the size and number of cars when he first walked on the New York streets. He had no idea how his life would change in the very near future. How would he react? He wondered if he would make friends. After all, how would he communicate? He did not know a word of English. Gene soon realized that getting a good education was the key to success. However, he also realized that it would take great efforts and motivation on his part. Was he willing to put in the necessary effort? He needed to learn a new language in a community where he only heard Italian. His search to find that American Dream lasted more than sixty years. During this time, Gene was faced with one challenge after another in his search for that dream. In each case, Gene used his passion for the game of soccer to fuel his inner motivation and determination not to give up every time he arrived at a dead end. Gene's path to finding that dream was full of surprises. In all cases, he was very determined and he demonstrated outstanding motivation to achieve his goal.

Known as much for the emotional outbursts and violence of its fans as for its own stars, soccer (or football, as it is known outside the United States) is a global game. Its international controlling body, FIFA, boasts more members than the United Nations. Bill Murray traces the growth of what during pre-industrial times was called "the simplest game" through its codification in the nineteenth century to the 1994 World Cup, held for the first time in the United States. Murray weaves the sport's growth into the culture and politics of the countries where it has been taken up, analyzing its reputation as a game that has seen more riots and on-field brawls than all other types of football combined. He vividly illustrates how soccer has become the world's most popular sport, one that has resisted the interference of politicians, dictators, and profiteers and - more recently - the demands of television, through which it has spread to virtually every corner of the globe. The World's Game will be entertaining and enlightening to anyone from the most avid, knowledgeable fan to those who merely hope to learn a little about the sport.