SOCCER STUDY GUIDE

Soccer is played on a rectangular field that may vary in size.  The rules state that the game is played in 4 equal quarters with an intermission between halves.  The teams consist of 11 players: 5 forwards, 3 halfbacks, 2 fullbacks, and a goalkeeper.

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TERMS

Assist              One player passes the ball to a second player, who scores as a result of the pass.

Back               Movement by players towards their own goal;

Communication to a teammate, who is carrying the ball, for a pass back;

Communication to a teammate letting him know that he has support behind him;

Another name for a fullback.

Back pass       A pass made to a trailing player (one who is behind the ball carrier).

Bicycle kick    A technique whereby a player kicks a ball while leaving his feet and with his back

to the intended target. Both feet are in the air, hence the reference to riding an

imaginary bicycle. Also called a "scissors kick".

Caution           When the referee shows a yellow card to a player and records that player's name

because of misconduct, he is said to have "cautioned" the player.

Dribbling         The art of moving the ball forward on the ground while protecting it from

opponents’ tackles.  It is a skilled combination of good and body movements and

feints, often performed at high speed.

Drop ball         A method of restart in which the referee 'drops' the ball to the ground. The players

may not kick the ball until the ball touches the ground.

Drop kick       A punting method the goal keeper uses where he drops the ball to the ground, then

punts the ball just after it hits the ground.

Dummy           To pretend to be about to receive the ball, but allow the ball to travel past oneself,

in order to deceive the opponent.

Dummy run     A run by a teammate of the player with the ball, intended to draw one or more

defenders away from the area under attack.

Encroachment Being within 10 yards of the ball when a free kick, corner kick, goal kick or

penalty kick is being taken by an opponent.

Fake                The act of a ball carrier 'faking' an action, to elicit a response from a defender,

then the ball carrier performs another move. Example- faking a shot, then passing

the ball off to a teammate.

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Far post          The goalpost that is farthest from the ball.

Feint                A maneuver performed by a ball carrier that is intended to get the defender to

react, allowing the ball carrier to move the ball the other way. Any of the step-

overs and moves created by famous players constitute feints.

Man on           A term used for communicating that the ball carrier or the player about to receive

the ball is going to be under pressure from a defender.

Man-to-man defense A defensive system in which a player will be assigned responsibility to

mark a specific individual opponent. Often used to neutralize a particularly

dangerous and mobile attacking player; if the strategy is effective, the neutralized player is said to have been "marked out of the game".

Mark              A defender who is guarding an opponent is said to be marking him or her;       

A player guarded by another player (as in "Who's your mark?").

Mark up         Used to instruct players to guard an opponent so that all attacking players are

marked.

Marking back A fullback with primary responsibility for marking one of the opposing forwards.

Obstruction     A foul committed by a player who deliberately interferes with an opponent,

without actually trying to play the ball themselves.

Offside            A violation that occurs when a player receiving a forward pass does not have two

opponents between him or herself and that goal line.

Square            A player situated at any point on a line parallel to the goal line with respect to a

teammate is said to be in a "square" position.

A term used to communicate to a player that a teammate is supporting

him in a square position .

Square ball     A pass played "square", in other words parallel to the goal line or perpendicular to

the touch line.  A lateral pass.

Stopper           Name of a position; usually applied to a single central defender playing in front of

a sweeper.

Striker            A position name given to a player in a central attacking position.

Support           A player on the ball is said to have support when s/he has one or more teammates

in position and ready to receive a pass.

A defending player, challenging the player on the ball, is said to have support                 when a teammate is ready to cover if he is beaten by the attacker.

Sweeper          Position name; usually applied to a central defender playing behind the stopper

and wing fullbacks with responsibility for "sweeping up" loose through balls

which are played in behind the other defenders.

Switch             Word used to notify a player that another player has left his position, requiring

that the open area needs to be filled.

Instruction to a player on the ball to switch the point of attack to another area of the field.

Instruction to a teammate to trade positions.

Switch field     The act of directing the ball from one side of the field to the other (in other words,

from an area near one touch line to an area nearer the other touch line). Frequently used as a tactic to catch the defense which has been drawn to one side

 

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of the field.  “Cross” would be another term to request the ball be sent from one side of the field to the other.

Switch off        To trade marking assignments.

Tackle             The act of taking away, blocking, or stealing the ball from an opponent by using

one’s feet.

Turn                To reverse direction while in possession of the ball, normally in order to go

 forward or to play a cross or a shot.

An instruction to tell a teammate about to receive the ball that he has time and space to turn.

To "get turned": for the ball carrier to put himself in a position facing the defender in order to try to beat him.

To "turn a defender": to cause him to over commit to one side so as to dribble the ball behind him.

Up                   Passing the ball forward, towards the opponents goal.

The movement of players towards the opponents goal.

Wall                The players who stand between the ball and their own goal at the time a free kick

is going to be taken. These players form a human barrier between the ball and their goal.

Zone defense A defensive system in which players are assigned responsibility for particular

areas of the defensive third rather than for individual opponents.

 

KICK OFF

The game is started with an indirect kick called the kick-off at the half-way line within the center circle of the field by means of a place kick. 

1.      The ball must be stationary before it is kicked;

2.      The kicker cannot touch the ball a second time before it has touched another player,

3.      The opposing team must stay at least 10 yards (10 feet in our indoor games) from the ball until the kick is made; and

4.      The ball is in play as soon as it is touched and moves.

The following additional conditions are attached to a kick-off:

A.     The ball must move forward from the kick and not just in any direction. In order to send the ball backwards, a forward motion must first take place; simply stepping on the ball, causing it to bobble forward, is enough.

B.     All players from each team must be in their own respective half of the field.

C.     There is no option for the kicking team to elect a quick restart rather than wait for the opponents to be 10 yards away or in their own half of the field. A kick-off can only be properly taken after the referee's signal indicating s/he's ready and everyone is properly in place.

If the above rules for a kick-off are infringed by either team:

A.     If the kicker touched the ball a second time before anyone else touched it, the opposing team gets an indirect free kick from the spot where the second touch occurred. However, note that the ball must have been validly put into play (by kicking it forward, with all players in their proper half of the field, etc) for the second touch rule to apply.

 

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B.     For any other infringement, the ball never has been validly put into play, and the kick gets retaken. If a player persistently infringes the kick-off rules thus requiring repeated restarts, it is possible the referee may decide to caution that player with a yellow card.

After a goal scores; kick-off restart: The appropriate restart after either team scores a valid goal is a kick-off by the other team, identical to the rules for kicking off at the start of a half. That is why the referee's signal for a goal is to point to the center spot, to indicate the restart.

 

OTHER GAME RESTARTS

 

Direct Free Kicks- A method of restarting play, where the player taking the kick may shoot the ball directly into the net. Direct kick is awarded for the following incidents:

Tripping, pushing, jumping, striking, kicking

Holding, spitting, handling

Tackling and charging offenses

Indirect Free Kicks -A method of restarting play, in which the ball must be touched by another player after it is kicked in order for a goal to be scored. Indirect kicks are awarded for the following incidents:

Obstruction

Dangerous play

Misconduct

Indirect Free Kicks awarded inside the defender's goal area:

A.     The spot for the kick is relocated to a point on the goal area boundary line that is parallel to and 6 yards out from the goal line, located nearest to where the infraction occurred.

B.     As many defenders may deploy along the goal line itself as they wish, even though this is less than 10 yards away from the spot for the kick. Except for along the goal line itself, defenders must, however, otherwise yield a 10-yard distance from the kick.

IMPORTANT: The attackers ordinarily have a right to elect to take an immediate restart if it is to their advantage when the referee stops play for the IFK call, rather than wait for defenders to clear away either 10 yards or to the goal line. The defenders do NOT necessarily have a right to sufficient time to set up their defense along the goal line! So, hurry defenders!

 

THROW IN

A throw-in is awarded when the whole of the ball passes over the touch line, either on the ground or in the air.

At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower:

  1. faces the field of play (and normally also faces the direction in which he is going to throw the ball);
  2. has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touch line (that is, the thrower's feet may not be entirely inside the touch line);

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  1. uses both hands (many referees interpret this to mean "with equal force")
  2. delivers the ball from behind and over his head.

The Field of Play

Unlike basketball or American football, the position of the player or the player's feet is irrelevant. Only the position of the ball matters.

The soccer field (pitch) may be imagined as a three dimensional box with invisible vertical planes rising from the outside of the two touch-lines and the outside of the two goal-lines. As long as the ball is within those invisible planes or is in contact with one of those planes, it is not out. It must entirely leave the box to be out. This is a very simple concept, but, particularly for those accustomed to basketball or American football, there are times where the ball appears to be out of play when it is not. For example, a ball rolling along outside the touch line remains in play as long as part of the ball is over the touch line. A player may run outside the touch line to play it.

 

GOAL KICK

A goal kick is the way that play is restarted when the ball, having last touched a player of the attacking team, passes over the goal line and a goal is not scored. The whole of the ball must pass over the goal line, either on the ground or in the air.

 

The kick is taken by the defending team at any point within their own goal area.

 

Note that if it is last touched by a defender, we have a corner kick instead.

The ball may be kicked by any player from the defending team from any point within the goal area.

a.       The ball is not in play until it leaves the penalty area. This means that once the ball is kicked, no player of either team may play it until it leaves the penalty area. If someone does play it in the area, the kick is simply retaken as the ball was never in play.

b.      The opponents must remain outside of the penalty area until the ball is in play. That is, the attackers are not only prohibited from playing the ball while it is in the area but are actually prohibited from entering the area at all. On the other hand, defenders can take up any position that they want either inside or outside of the area.

c.       The kicker must not play the ball a second time until it is touched by another player. This is similar to the ruling on all restarts except a drop ball. The kicker can not play the ball again until it has

1.      cleared the area and

2.      touched another player of either team. If the second touch takes place in the area, the ball is kicked again. If it takes place outside the area, it's an indirect free kick to the opponents at the point of the second touch.

 

CORNER KICK

A corner kick is the way that play is restarted when the ball, having last touched a player of the defending team, passes over the goal line and a goal is not scored. The whole of the ball must pass over the goal line, either on the ground or in the air.

 

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A corner kick is a direct free kick taken by the attacking team from the corner of the field in the attacking end.

A player receiving a CK cannot be offside, but considering where the ball is placed, offside would be unlikely anyway. There is frequently jostling for position among attackers, defenders and the goalkeeper, which can be a concern for the referee. Defenders have to be 10 yards from the ball until it is kicked, just as with free kicks.

 

PENALTY KICKS

Penalty kicks are one of the most dramatic events in soccer. They are also one of the most nerve-wracking. Important considerations include the following differences between a PK and a normal direct free kick:

a.       the defending players are not allowed to form a wall;

b.      all players except the penalty taker (and the defending goalkeeper) must be outside the penalty area and behind the ball, and must remain there until the ball is kicked;

c.       the ball must be kicked forward;

d.      the defending keeper must remain on his goal line until the ball is kicked.

 

DROP BALL

A drop ball is the residual (catch-all) restart for any situation where the game is stopped and the rules do not specify that a different method (such as a free kick or throw-in) should apply to put ball back into play. In some situations, the rules do specifically call for a drop ball restart, e.g. where the referee has to halt the game while the ball is in play to attend to an injury.

The rules for a drop ball are as follows:

A.     The referee drops the ball at the place where it was when play was stopped.

B.     The ball is in play and may be touched by the players only after it hits the ground.

C.     If a player touches the ball before it hits the ground, or if the ball hits the ground and goes off the field without being touched, then the drop ball is retaken at the original spot.

D.    If play is stopped while the ball is inside the goal area of either team and a drop ball is the appropriate restart, the drop spot is relocated to a point on the goal area boundary line that is parallel to and 6 yards out from the goal line, located nearest to where play was stopped.

OFFSIDE

The offside rule generally provides that a pass cannot legally be made to an off-ball attacker who is ahead of the ball and in the attacking half of the field.  There must be at least two defenders (one of whom may be the goalkeeper) between him/her and the goal when the ball is passed to him by a teammate.

Specifically, under the offside rule, an off-ball attacker who is in his opponent's half of the field must stay even with or behind the ball. If the attacking player goes ahead of the ball, s/he must stay even with or behind the second-to-last-defender until the ball is played or touched by one of his/her teammates.

The off-ball attacker will be called for an offside infraction when they are ahead of the ball and closer to the opponent's goal than two defenders IF:  the referee decides that s/he interfered with play, or interfered with an opponent, or gained an advantage from being in an offside position.

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