by Niv Orlian
Soccer warm up exercises are the most frequent in pre match situations and training. there's no other type of exercise that a soccer player will spend more time with then with warm up. Professional teams usually spend around 30 minutes of their training sessions on a quality warm up, because this has three major effects on players, effects that we will discuss in the following paragraphs.
-Soccer Pre game Warm up - Avoiding Injuries
Our muscles and tendons can easily cause problems if they are used at their fullest without a proper series of soccer warm up drills. The muscles work on the same principle as an elastic string would. Pull it slowly and the elastic will be able to stretch without problems, but if you pull it in one quick motion, there's a risk it might snap. Ok, your muscles won't just "snap" if you use them intensely without the proper warm up, but there's a good chance you might strain them or develop other injuries.
That's why a good part of soccer warm up drills includes stretching exercises, which slowly get your muscles used to the effort.
-The Importance of Soccer Pre game Warm up - Higher Performance
It's not called warming up for nothing: when performing these exercises, you actually warm your muscles and entire body, allowing it to be ready for effort. By performing soccer pre game warm up exercises, you set your muscles, heart rate and breathing to the same levels you will be using in the match, so you can easily accommodate to the variables that the match brings.
Try this very simple exercise to test this theory: warm up for 30 minutes thoroughly, using a wide range of soccer warm up drills that work with your entire body, not just your legs. After you're done, do 5-10 sprints on the width of the soccer pitch and measure your heart rate and the general difficulty of each sprint.
Now, come back in another day, do a couple of stretching exercises so you don't develop any injuries and simply start sprinting (the same number of sprints as the day before), without getting a proper warm up beforehand. You will notice that you will have harder time breathing throughout and between the sprints, they will be harder to perform and at the end, your heart rate will be much higher than yesterday, meaning that your body had a harder time adjusting to the high level of effort.
-The Importance of Soccer Pre game Warm up - Concentration
This is strictly related to the other two benefits of a quality warm up. Knowing that you're fully prepared for the match/training session and that there's no risk of injury, you will be a lot more focused on the game and on doing your job right. Soccer warm up exercises will also get your body ready for the effort as I explained above and this has a positive effect on concentration. When you're not focusing on having to breathe right or stopping to catch your breath, you can, again, concentrate on your job.
These should be enough reasons to convince you of the importance of soccer warm up exercises. If you're a player that wants to give his or her best on the soccer pitch, your first concern will be giving your best in the soccer pre game warm up drills.
About the Author
Niv Orlian is the author and the owner of a Soccer Fans website that provides information on various topics related to soccer.
Wants to Improve your Soccer Conditioning? For the complete guide to soccer fitness click here.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Soccer Field Dimensions
by Niv Orlian
Back in the day when soccer was in its infancy, soccer field layout was rather irregular in its dimensions and this created several problems for the players. One player from, say, York would play on a field that was 60 yards long, while the guys in Liverpool would play on one that was 140 yards. Obviously, when either team played on the competitor's field, they were at a loss.
That is why, over time, soccer field dimensions were regulated, first by the Football Association, the first soccer organization in history, created by the English in the late 19th century, then by FIFA.
Today's dimensions of soccer fields still offer some room for variation, because not all pitches can be made on a same exact perimeter. So, the width of the field can range from 50 to 100 yards officially, but it's rarely the case with modern soccer fields that they hit these extremes. The length can range from 100 yards to 130, but you can't have a pitch that would be 100 yards wide and 100 yards long, obviously.
The field is split in half by a center line, which has a symmetrical distance towards each of the widths and there is a center circle at the middle of this line, which is always 10 yards in diameter. This circle ensures that opposing players are kept at a safe distance when the team in possession kicks off.
The goal must be 24 feet wide and 8 feet high and it must be placed exactly on the middle of the pitch's width. The goal is surrounded by two boxes. The first one, called the protection box or the goalkeeper box is 6 yards wide and long and in this area, the keeper is said to be protected: any contact with the goalkeeper in this area will produce a foul for the defending team.
The bigger box, also called the penalty box or penalty area is 18 yards wide and 44 long and in this area, every foul from the defending team will produce a penalty kick, which is taken from 12 yards from the goal, with just the attacker and the goalkeeper facing off. This is usually a sure goal, so you might not want to be so aggressive around the penalty box.
Let's take a look at some of the other soccer field dimensions that aren't usually that important, but can still regulate the game a bit further. The corner circle is set around the corner flag and is 1 yard in diameter. Basically, when a player takes a corner, he can place the ball anywhere inside this circle so he can more comfortably hit the ball and give it a swirl. Otherwise, it's very difficult to keep the ball inside the soccer field dimensions if you're striking the corner from right, but with your left leg, or vice versa.
The penalty box circle is one of the soccer field dimensions that are used mostly for orientation by the referee. It's situated around the penalty spot, 10 yards around it and it's sole purpose is to allow the referee to figure out the correct wall distance in case of a free kick that's near the box. For example, if the attacking team gets a free kick outside the edge of the penalty area, the referee will automatically know that the defending team's wall should be placed at the penalty spot, which is 10 yards away, the correct distance the wall should stay in.
These soccer field dimensions are standardized for all of the modern pitches, but the game will play differently on various sized fields. For example, on a very wide pitch, wing game play is bound to be more efficient, because your wingers will have a lot more room to maneuver in. Short fields benefit players with great speed and technique that can solve a one-on-one duel in close quarters.
Long fields benefit speedy players, that love to hit the ball forward and make a run for it and they're a nightmare for defenders that lack the speed to cope with them. Longer fields also require more coordination between lines, otherwise a team might allow the opponent far more spaces than they would like to.
About the Author
Niv Orlian is the author and the owner of a Soccer Fans website that provides information on various topics related to soccer.
Wants more info regarding the rules of soccer? For the complete guide to soccer rules click here.
Back in the day when soccer was in its infancy, soccer field layout was rather irregular in its dimensions and this created several problems for the players. One player from, say, York would play on a field that was 60 yards long, while the guys in Liverpool would play on one that was 140 yards. Obviously, when either team played on the competitor's field, they were at a loss.
That is why, over time, soccer field dimensions were regulated, first by the Football Association, the first soccer organization in history, created by the English in the late 19th century, then by FIFA.
Today's dimensions of soccer fields still offer some room for variation, because not all pitches can be made on a same exact perimeter. So, the width of the field can range from 50 to 100 yards officially, but it's rarely the case with modern soccer fields that they hit these extremes. The length can range from 100 yards to 130, but you can't have a pitch that would be 100 yards wide and 100 yards long, obviously.
The field is split in half by a center line, which has a symmetrical distance towards each of the widths and there is a center circle at the middle of this line, which is always 10 yards in diameter. This circle ensures that opposing players are kept at a safe distance when the team in possession kicks off.
The goal must be 24 feet wide and 8 feet high and it must be placed exactly on the middle of the pitch's width. The goal is surrounded by two boxes. The first one, called the protection box or the goalkeeper box is 6 yards wide and long and in this area, the keeper is said to be protected: any contact with the goalkeeper in this area will produce a foul for the defending team.
The bigger box, also called the penalty box or penalty area is 18 yards wide and 44 long and in this area, every foul from the defending team will produce a penalty kick, which is taken from 12 yards from the goal, with just the attacker and the goalkeeper facing off. This is usually a sure goal, so you might not want to be so aggressive around the penalty box.
Let's take a look at some of the other soccer field dimensions that aren't usually that important, but can still regulate the game a bit further. The corner circle is set around the corner flag and is 1 yard in diameter. Basically, when a player takes a corner, he can place the ball anywhere inside this circle so he can more comfortably hit the ball and give it a swirl. Otherwise, it's very difficult to keep the ball inside the soccer field dimensions if you're striking the corner from right, but with your left leg, or vice versa.
The penalty box circle is one of the soccer field dimensions that are used mostly for orientation by the referee. It's situated around the penalty spot, 10 yards around it and it's sole purpose is to allow the referee to figure out the correct wall distance in case of a free kick that's near the box. For example, if the attacking team gets a free kick outside the edge of the penalty area, the referee will automatically know that the defending team's wall should be placed at the penalty spot, which is 10 yards away, the correct distance the wall should stay in.
These soccer field dimensions are standardized for all of the modern pitches, but the game will play differently on various sized fields. For example, on a very wide pitch, wing game play is bound to be more efficient, because your wingers will have a lot more room to maneuver in. Short fields benefit players with great speed and technique that can solve a one-on-one duel in close quarters.
Long fields benefit speedy players, that love to hit the ball forward and make a run for it and they're a nightmare for defenders that lack the speed to cope with them. Longer fields also require more coordination between lines, otherwise a team might allow the opponent far more spaces than they would like to.
About the Author
Niv Orlian is the author and the owner of a Soccer Fans website that provides information on various topics related to soccer.
Wants more info regarding the rules of soccer? For the complete guide to soccer rules click here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)