Archive for June, 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Cool Stadiums

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

The whole world can’t wait for the 2010 Soccer World Cup to begin. South Africa has emerges as the host for the 2010 world cup after a lot of debate, bidding and voting.. A lot is in stall on the soccer wall calendar 2010 with the first teams to compete being the host city-South Africa and Mexico.Many theorize that it would certainly become likely for the final world cup winners football game to have an African nation involved however this is yet to be seen. For the many who might not be able to eyewitness the tournament, you might be interested to knowing what kind of stadiums the football stars will be doing their soccer tricks. Well South Africa really took to heart their being the 2010 hosts and over the years constructed five totally new stunning stadiums.Here’s a peek for all you ‘soccerholics’:

*Moses Mabhida Stadium- opened on November 2009, this stadium has a glass roofing and is teflon coated. Build on the former Kings Park Soccer stadium.

o Capacity: 70,000 o Location: Durban o Design: looks like the South African flag from an ariel view.The legs of the arch join which signifies the uniting of the formally devided country.This arch has a staggering height of 347 ft at the  highest point. Has a translucent glow if lit.
* Green Point Stadium- reconstructed for the World Cup. Scheduled to hold the first six round matches, one second-round, one quarter and one semifinal match.

o Capacity:70,000 o Location: Cape Town o Design: has a noise-reducing exterior cladding and is situated very near the ocean and has the mountains as a the backdrop. Has a retractable glass roof weighing 4,500-tons.

* Mbombela Stadium- comes from the Siwala world meaning “many people together in a small space.” o Capacity: 40,000 o Location:Nelspruit o Design:  has a ‘jungle’ like theme with zebra stripped seats and a roof structure that resembles  a giraffe. * Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium-Will be hosting five first round matches, one second round, one quarter final and the third place playoff. Name taken from the municipality name not the x-president Nelson Mandela.

o Capacity: 50 000 o Location:Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth o Design:nicknamed ‘the sunflower’ has a roof with a series of petal like looking structures.

* Soccer City Stadium- scheduled to hold all the main events both the opening and final match.The largest stadium in Africa.

o Capacity:94,500 o Location: Johannesburg o Design:very lit during the night and resembles an African pot.

With all these stadiums, this year is surely to be a Cup to remember. Doesn’t it just makes you want to book the next flight straight to the heart of Africa?

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Free Soccer Drills:Secrets Revealed

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Free soccer drills

An easy way to explain to the players about the role of free soccer drills. There are no set rules. Since you are the coach you can devise your own innovative drills.

Have an open mind to tweak the existing soccer exercises and alter them to suit your requirements. Some of the best practices for creating a effective soccer training program.

Be open to new ideas. Not every plan will materialize as planned. The kids will be absent only when it rains or get sick. All the potential obstructers are listed ensure they are handled properly.

It works well to have several soccer practice games ready. If some do not fit into your schedule, eliminate them and go to the next. Just go with the flow and you will be able to make out what works best with the kids.

Soccer Drills

It’s mandatory for every kid to warm up before any practice session. The kids should use the soccer ball apart from using regular soccer skills to warm up their body. Make the kids kick the ball back and forth apart from rotating the balls between their feet.

There are a variety of such free soccer drills that can warm up the players by way of a fun activity.

It is important that every player has a soccer ball each. Many individual activities should be planned that can be performed using the ball. The players should involve in activities such as shooting, dribbling and hitting the ball against the wall etc. The player’s movement should be free and the playing area shouldn’t have any lines or marks.

Upon completion of individual activities in soccer coaching the players should be involved in some group activities. The drills like passing and receiving the balls are lot of fun. Let the kids play soccer in teams and without a goalkeeper. Don’t restrict the players by setting boundaries, at the same time they should be allowed to hit the goals.

Upon learning to attack the players should be taught how to defend. This will give them a free hand in developing their own unique style.

It is mandatory the kids are grouped together as a team in group activities. The kids take up some time to adjust from individual to group activities to learn the concept of team play. The coach should just guide the players and no more than that.

Make them realize the concept of interdependence to win matches. The players learn to work as a team, practice in a limited area while not doing much the ball, this is the biggest impact of this drill.

Handling soccer exercise in this way is the easiest. Have an open idea to mix and add couple of free soccer drills that you think will make the kids learn soccer better.

If this material was useful please subscribe to our soccer coaching for young adults to enhance and develop your knowledge on coaching soccer available through various mediums like articles, newsletters and videos.

About the author

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Youth Soccer Training.

 

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Up And Coming Stars To Leave Arsenal?

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The loss of some of Arsenal’s young stars seems immentant in the January transfer window despite all the effort made from their youth program.

The problem for Arsenal at the moment is that youngsters like Fran Merida and Jack Wilshere cannot expect much of a chance in first grade games because  there are already a lot of talented midfielders in the first grade team, this has seen their movement into first grade limited to only meaningless Champions league or Carling cup games.

With certain youngsters ready for a first grade role Arsene Wenger has landed himself in a difficult situation. With players like Walcott, Fabregas, Diarra, Diaby, Nasri, Rosicky and Ramsey akll vying for a place in the team in central midfield, not to mention the likes of Arshavin who can also play a midfield role, the chances for the talented youngsters coming through seems to be very limited, especially in midfield.

The irony is, of course, that at the moment, Arsenal don’t have and youngster to trial as strikers which they desperately need at the moment, due to injuries to Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner who are Arsenals lead strikers.

It seems likely that Wilshere will be taking a loan move away from Arsenal in the near future. He has been shown intrest from Burnley to move to Turf Moor, but given that manager Owen Coyle is on the verge of quitting the club to move to Bolton Wanderers, it seems unlikely that the Clarets will take their interest any further while their managerial situation remains unresolved. Wilshere himself has stated that he would prefer a loan move to another Premier League side. Recent rumours have leaked that Wilshere is contemplating a loan to West Ham for the remainder of the season and with Arsene Wenger admitting the youngster needs first team soccer, a move could be on the cards.

Fran Merida’s situation with Arsenal is much more complicated. Transferred from Barcelona to Arsenal as a youngster in a similar fashion to Cesc Fabregas, Fran Merida has shown a lot of comparisons with his Spanish counterpart. Fran Merida however has not been able to step up into Arsenals first side, and with his contract due to expire in June 2010 and Arsene Wenger unable to persuade him to sign a new deal with the club, Fran Merida has decided that he will join the club he supported as a boy; Atletico Madrid, but unlike Wilshere, he will make his move permanently on July 1st 2010 so he will probly never been seen in the official Arsenal jersey again.

Although Arsenal’s midfield is hard to crack, It’ can’t feel good for Arsenal fans to see young players leave Arsenal in search of more accommodating teams, although only temporarily in the case of Wilshere, only because there is no room for them in the first grade squad.

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Is The Premier League Ruining England’s Chances?

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Just days before the World Cup starts and Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United and England captain, has been ruled out of the competition after sustaining a knee ligament injury during training.

 

Many people may put this down to bad luck. Some may point to Ferdinand’s injury hit season being proof that something like this was almost inevitable for the United star, others have been quick to state that it is the old “injury jinx” striking again just before a major finals event.

I believe that the luck theory is less than accurate and that the reason that top players get injured before donning  the England jersey is most likely due to the repetitive strain of the sheer number of matches that the team faces in a single season.

Playing for a top side also means taking part in four competitions a season.    Among these are The Premier League, The FA Cup, The Champions League or Europa Cup, The Carling Cup and The FA Cup.   This list doesn’t include any of the pre- and post-season games that occur in a season, or the number of pre-season friendlies in which a team can participate.

As well as playing a lot of games, England plays games with a high degree of intensity. England’s game is different from others in that it is played at a faster pace and at a higher intensity.  A number of top players are known to engage in between forty and fifty difficult games in a single season, plus training.

The workload is immense and the toll comes on the player’s body. Injuries are unavoidable with this kind of consistent strain.

For proof, look no further than England’s National team. Rio Ferdinand, Bobby Zamora, Owen Hargreaves, and Michael Owen all suffered injuries this year, leaving the squad, which originally had 30 men insanely short staffed. Wolcott injured a shoulder against Stroke in 2008, leading Capello to feel that he was lacking as a player.

The players on the team that are fit, didn’t get that way easily A specialist trainer helps Ledley King to keep his knees in working order. Aaron Lennon, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, David James, and Wayne Rooney have all succumbed to injury this season and are in recovery. Gareth Barry is continuing to do so and will miss the first game of the finals against the U.S.A. Then of course there is David Beckham, who’s body finally gave up a couple of months ago after almost two constant years of soccer with LA Galaxy and Milan, when an Achilles injury ruling England’s most capped player out of the playing squad for the finals.

In England, we love soccer, desiring huge, quick games, by our fervor may indeed end up hurting our players. 

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Free Soccer Drills:Dribbling Secrets Revealed

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Free soccer drills

It is true that there are many coaches who struggle a lot to find effective and free soccer drills for their players. It basically means that they are looking for such drills that the kids can perform all by themselves by just using the ball.

The best way to kick-start the training sessions are to use soccer drills that do not require any equipment. Apart from that , these soccer exercises are designed to suit the player’s age, learning potential, and the role he plays for the team.

The great drill to teach the players is to dribble a soccer ball and at the same time, be conscious of what is going on around them. It is better than asking your players to dribble through the cones and thats why this is used by many coaches around the world and thats why this is highly successful drill.

Sure that that this drill demands more involvement from players but it makes sure of it in soccer practice.

Soccer Drills

I’ll definitely guide you through this.

Mark a square of about 20 yards by 20 yards. The size of this square will vary depending on the number of players, and their age.

Have an identical number of players positioned evenly alongside the square. All the players should face inwards and every player should have a ball of their own.

When the whistle is blown, each player should dribble the ball to the opposite side and stop on it. Of all the free soccer drills, this drill coaches the players to dribble across the square with their heads up and and do not interfere in each others’ path and thats why this is effective.

This drill adds more fun when the players are asked to dribble across the square and back again making them to turn 180 degrees with the ball. Keep varying the number of times players have to dribble across the square. Let them compete where the final player is eliminated until there is only one player left.

Sometimes,when the players are only a few, you’ll have to ask the players to run with the ball and not to dribble it.

Coaching the kids of the vital techniques of ball dribbling is truly a great fun. Some tough and light drills are added in the soccer training programs to make the event interesting. It is absolutely perfect, if some are just added for fun and not directly linked to the soccer game.

The important thing is that kids shouldn’t do too much of anything in soccer coaching.

Believe me! Once you start to apply these free soccer drills in your training programs, you will be amazed to see how quickly the kids learn the essential elements of the game.

You’ll have to consider joining the youth soccer coaching community for it has got lots of articles, newsletters and videos.

About the author

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Free Soccer Drills.

 

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