Soccer Fan Blog

Soccer is enjoyed both competitively and recreationally by all ages. Participation in any sport however can potentially lead to injury. Injury to the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is a common injury to those participating in soccer. Rehabilitation and treatment following an ACL injury is costly and will most likely result in significant loss in playing time for the athlete. Injury or rupture of the ACL can occur during contact or non-contact situations such as running and jumping. During running, injury most often occurs with quick directional changes, rapid decelerations and torsional or rotational movements. The landing phase of jumping with varus (outward) and valgus (inward) stresses at the knee accompanied by rotation also stress the ACL and can possibly result in injury. In an effort to decrease the incidence of ACL injuries, a preventative training program should include neuromuscular training. Traditional lower extremity strengthening programs have utilized machines to exercise the quads and hamstrings. These programs do little to improve dynamic strength and stability which are very important in knee joint control on the soccer field. Neuromuscular training involves challenging the proprioceptive system via various balance and stability activities. Through neuromuscular training, dynamic joint stability can be improved and hopefully decrease injury.

Neuromuscular control or stability relies upon the proprioceptive system. This system consists of proprioceptors or sensory receptors within the ACL and the other soft tissue structures within and around the knee joint. These receptors are located throughout or body and provide our brain with information of position sense and joint stresses so that our muscles may respond appropriately and protect our bodies from injury. A neuromuscular training program typically consists of balance exercises on the involved limb, dynamic joint stability exercises, plyometric exercises, agility drills and sports specific exercises. Balance training may include double or single leg stance on flat surfaces, a wobble board or even a trampoline. Dynamic joint stability training involves controlled balance movements such as lunges, balanced reaching activities with the upper or lower extremities, step-up and step-down exercises, squatting with or without weights on different surfaces and single leg squats. Plyometric or jump training involves quick and powerful movement involving pre-stretching of the muscle to produce a stronger muscular contraction. An example of a plyometric activity would involve jumping off of a box and then exploding up and over another obstacle. These exercises help to facilitate quick directional changes and control in landing and jumping activities. Jumping exercises using plyometric training might include two and one legged jumping on a trampoline, 180? turning jumps and vertical jumps.

Sports specific skills training activities include running, lateral running, backward running, shuttle runs and agility drills. Agility activities may include figure 8 running, quick directional changes which are not preplanned but rather directed by a coach or trainer, passing, kicking and throwing activities.

The training program should include enough exercise to induce muscular fatigue for the athlete and train the appropriate muscular responses. Proprioceptive deterioration can increase with muscle fatigue; therefore the training program needs to include enough repetitions to create some fatigue in the athlete. The training should also be performed throughout the ROM of the joint to stimulate and train different receptors at different angles of joint motion.

Beth Bartels is a Physical Therapist at Excel Physical Therapy in Nebraska. You can learn more about this topic and others by signing up for the FREE newsletter at www.excelpt.com

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Most people associate watching football in the 21st century with going to a soccer stadium, listening to the commentary on the radio or watching the match live on TV, but people rarely mention other alternative viewing. Is this because it is seen as uncool and not classed as following a soccer match properly?

Since the introduction of Ceefax in the 1970s and other technological improvements in the 1990s (like sky/cable television and the internet), there have been other alternative ways to keep track on how a team is getting on which has a kind of ?cult? feeling to it.

The oldest alternative viewing to the traditional avenues is Ceefax (phonetic for ?See Facts?), which was introduced by the BBC in 1974 (who at he time were working on ways of providing television subtitles for the deaf). Their system was the first teletext system in the world. It was a basic information system with the absence of sound, pictures, or anybody giving your basic information.

It was basically simple pages of blue-and-white text that you could access via your television remote. But what does this have to do with football? Well the Ceefax service holds information on a wide range of topics, such as News, Sport, Weather, TV Listings and Business and these pages are kept up to date (usually being the first to report a breaking story or headline).

Most people in the British Isles that you speak to have in the past used Ceefax on a match day (especially before the development of the internet). Everybody looks at football scores on Ceefax as it is the original internet. People will leave Ceefax on in their living rooms on a Saturday afternoon to keep track of how their team is doing and will wait anxiously for the blue-and-white text on the screen to refresh hoping that their team holds on in the dying minutes or scores that dramatic last minute equaliser. Some people are anxious whilst starring at the blue-and-white text and I have know people to spend a large part of the match sat in front of their TV waiting for the black rectangles to change in favour of their team.

Some people would argue that it is sad to sit in front of your TV waiting for the screen to refresh, but it is surprisingly engrossing. If all you are interested in is the score, then it is the ideal medium. Think about it this way, you have no annoying adverts, no annoying analysis from inapt soccer commentators and just the scores which you are interested in. With the plans to replace all analogue TV signals with digital in the British Isles for 2008, sadly this alternative viewing is going to disappear.

A similar version to Ceefax has developed on the internet over the past decade due to technological improvements. There are many versions of the TV Ceefax system on the internet in one form or another and usually comes under the form of ?Live Scores?. If you do a simple search on the internet for soccer Live Scores you will be amazed at how many sites are returned in the results. In essence it is just a modern day version of Ceefax.

Instead of sitting in front of your TV watching Ceefax refresh you are sat in front of your computer watching an internet site refresh. There is no real difference in the service which is provided, just the fact that it is coming from a different medium. Like with the Ceefax service, if you ask most soccer fans in the British Isles who use the internet, they will be able to name a site they use to keep track of their team on match day. If you were to pick out differences between the two it would be the fact that websites take advantage over the number of people accessing the site by placing advertisements alongside the scores.

During the 1990s, Sky Sports was launched in the British Isles and their introduction was to have a massive impact on soccer. Sky revolutionised soccer with their live matches, showing live games on Friday?s, Sunday?s and Monday?s. Sky also introduced a live manned version of Ceefax called Sky Sports Saturday. Their service is just an advanced version of Ceefax on a match day, with an anchorman and various ex professional soccer players talking about the action as it happens.

All that Sky have done is taken hold of Ceefax and expanded on it. They use ex professional soccer players to provide key moments from one of the matches they are watching and they then report back to the anchorman, telling him that player X has just won a free-kick but it?s still 0-0 at Old Trafford. Admittedly it is more interesting then sat watching blue-and-white text refresh as it tells you more, but at the end of the day it is still a basic score service. I would say their service (which is similar to the one that the BBC run) is an overly-manned version of Ceefax with a human face.

The last alternative version to watching soccer is live commentaries which various websites provide. Again this is just another basic version of Live Scores and Ceefax. You will visit a website and have the option to watch live commentary on a match of your choice. It will give you details of the match action as it happens like ?attacking throw-in Chelsea Cole right channel?, but like the other services the score will remain the same.

Soccer fans will class watching Ceefax, Live Scores and Live Commentary as not properly following a soccer match, but to some people this alternative viewing adds more entertainment to the match day. Instead of watching a dire 0-0 match being played out on TV, it is sometimes more entertaining listening to the moans and groans of an ex professional on Sky Sports Saturday as he describes players missing chance after chance. Also alternative viewing gives fans of lower leagues clubs a chance to see how their team is getting on as they are not given the same TV/radio coverage as the more illustrious clubs. Alternative viewing might be seen as uncool by certain fans, but to many it is still cult viewing.

Steven Gore is the editor of SoccerManager.com, the free online soccer game

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The game of soccer is played in two halves, the lengths varying between age groups, but professionals, college and high school play two 45 minute halves. The most obvious rules to soccer are that the game is played between two teams, consisting of nine players and a goalie. The players on each team are divided into offense and defense, and are only allowed to play the soccer ball with their feet. The main objective in soccer is to kick the ball into the opposing teams? goal, scoring a point, or a goal. Only the goalie is allowed to use either his or her hands as well as feet.

Soccer players will often practice ?juggling?, which is a skill that consists of keeping the ball in the air through the use of the feet, knees, thighs, head, or chest, all legal places on the body to control the ball. The use of the hands or the arm will result in the opposing team taking possession of the ball.

When a player on one of the teams kicks or knocks the ball out of bounds on the two long sides of the soccer field, the opposing team them takes possession of ball by doing a ?throw-in?, in which both of the feet must remain on the ground while the player throws the soccer ball back into play. If the soccer ball is kicked out of bounds over the line of their own goal, it then results in a ?corner kick? where the opposite team takes the ball to the corresponding corner and kicks the ball back into play to one of their teammates. However, if the team kicks the ball out of bounds over the goal line of the opposing teams? goal, the play will then turn to a ?goal kick? taken by one of the defensive players of that team.

?Fouls? are called under a number of circumstances. A few of them are when a player touches the ball with his hand or arm, if a player slide tackles another player, excessive pushing, tripping or force, unsportsmanlike conduct, or off-sides (when the offense of one team is closer to the goal they are trying to score on than that teams? defense; unless the ball was there first). In these circumstances, the referee will generally call the ball dead in the spot where the foul occurred, and give the opposite team a ?free kick?.

In the case that the regulation time of the soccer runs out while the score is still tied, it will often result in a ?shootout? where the goalie of one team is up against a single player from the opposing team. The first one to score a goal wins the game.

Dana Bradley writes about Adidas Coupons,Florsheim Coupons and Shoes on sale.

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South Africa has been given the opportunity to host the world's greatest event in 2010. Since, South Africa is a country in Africa, many people are skeptic about the prospects of a SA Soccer World Cup. However, South Africa is in MANY respects a developed country with a modern infrastructure and economy. Many areas in SA will match the average American neighborhood. The average South African is far better off than the average African, but the wealth inequality is huge – especially between rich and poor – black and white – although, after apartheid, more than two million black people entered the middle class. It's good to see that so many black people (although it's only a small portion of the black population) take now part in the economy. It's important for the stability of the country. The black middle class is one of the reasons why SA has it's longest run of economic growth in its history.

People's main concern is the safety and security situation in South Africa. As a resident of the beautiful city of Cape Town, I can assure you that the tourist areas are really safe to visit. Yes, crime against tourists have been reported like anywhere else in the world. Just take common sense precautions and you'll be fine. South Africa is a magnificent and diverse country and the scenery absolutely prolific. It's the closet you'll get to paradise! Visit South Africa in 2010 – you'll be surprised how developed, friendly, diverse and beautiful this country is!

Feel free to visit http://www.2010soccerworldcupsouthafrica.com for all the latest news – updated daily!

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Kicking

There are many different ways of kicking the ball. In order to kick the ball to the direction that we want, it requires high level of skills. Kicking methods can be divided as follows;

Kick the ball by using foot instep

When using foot instep to kick, make sure that the foot you use be fully bent downward and the foot instep should fully touch the ball. Once the foot touch the ball, the ball have to skim to the ground. Importantly when you kick the ball, if position if the knee is too much lean forward to the ball?s position, the direction of the ball will heading down, and then touch the ground before it reach target, which effect to the ball speed. On the other hand, if the knee is too much lean backward to the ball?s position when kicking, the ball will rise up and not go to the desired direction. Therefore, you have to make sure that the knee is in the right direction, not too forward and backward. The foot that not use for kick, put it beside the ball and make sure it is away form the ball around 4-12 inches. Focus on the ball all the time you are kicking.

Run and kick

Run and kick is often use during the game and this method of kicking is quite difficult to do as you seem to have no time to do the kick exactly as instructions. However, The right position when you have to kick while you are running, make sure that you are close to the ball as much as possible. Put the standing foot beside the ball and bend down your knee a little bit, your shoulders and head slightly lean forward. Swing the leg that use for kick fully stretch. Your head should bend down until you kick the ball completely, and always focus on the target that you want to kick to ball to.

Kick the ball by using inside of the foot

This figure is the simplest method to kick the ball, often used when we need to pass the ball to others, because by using this method, you can control the direction of the ball completely and it has the most accuracy. To do this figure, bend down both of your knees a bit when kicking and push the kicking leg follow through after touch the ball.

Kick the ball by using heel

This method of kicking mostly used for trick the person who try to snatch the ball from you and this method is very simple. Firstly, you have to step or jump over the ball, pretending you want to carry the ball forward, then immediately use the heel to punch the ball, pass it to the back direction. This figure require a bit of skills and accuracy when you use heel to kick the ball, because at a time of kicking the ball will be at your back and will not be able to see it. So you need to estimate about the ball?s position in order to kick it correctly.

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