Figuring Out Soccer

I asked a group of parents what topics they'd be interested in seeing me discuss on this site. While I got a few good ideas, overwhelmingly, the request was "Please explain soccer."

I understand that plea. I had it myself a few years ago when my son played youth soccer. It wasn't a sport that I would have chosen for him, but all of his friends were playing and, frankly, there aren't too many activities available for very young children. While he played, I did the unthinkable. I read a magazine whenever he wasn't playing. Soccer bored me.

It bores you, said my stepfather, because you don't understand it. (That's only partly true.)

Soccer is, actually, a simple sport, with less than 20 rules. The basic premise is easy: put the ball in the opposing team's goal. Only the goalie can touch the ball with his hands, unless the ball goes out of bounds; it is inbounds by throwing it. Defenders can't cross the center line. Sportsmanship is vital.

A good site for the general rules of soccer is at Soccer Coach. A quick overview:

You can only substitute during a stoppage in play.

There aren't official time outs in soccer. In other words, the clock never stops.

To score a goal, the entire ball must go across the goal line.

Off-sides is an oft-called penality. (I recommend you check out the rules site for this one.)

Know Your Soccer Terms is a site with diagrams, explaining the different positions, the field set up, and other information.

These are the very basics. Next time, I'll go more in-depth on youth soccer.

The copyright of the article Figuring Out Soccer in Parents of Athletes is owned by Sue Poremba. Permission to republish Figuring Out Soccer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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