Soccer has been a huge factor in all times of my life basically, because I started playing at a very young age. The relaxation I get from just being able to go out and play soccer with a couple of friends doesn't come from anywhere else, but just on the pitch with a ball and a goal to shoot at. I love the game so much because the time where I can express myself as a person the most without any hesitation is on the soccer field. The freedom of just being in the middle of a really tight head-to-head game is what makes me want to just keep playing it more and more because the decisions are made by just you then, right in that moment. All of those things combined is what makes soccer so great for me and that is why it is one of my biggest passions in life. As all athletes like to get better at their sports they play, I do too, so to gain more knowledge about soccer I chose to read a soccer book called "
Soccer Strategies: The Top 100 Best Ways To Improve Your Soccer Game," by Ace McCloud, for my 2nd quarter IRP project. This book really has good and deep facts about soccer that can improve your knowledge for the game a lot more and make you a much better player. The focus I chose for this blog to be on was passing and how to become a better passer. Passing is huge in soccer, many people would say that it is actually the most important aspect because soccer is just a passing game. Every move from the goalkeeper to the goal you are attacking on goes through passes, and not just a couple of passes, a lot of passes are made during the course of a game. For example, on December 12, 2010 F.C. Barcelona, one of the best soccer clubs in the world, broke La Liga's record of passes in a single game with 938. That clearly shows that even the richest and the best clubs in the world don't dribble all over the field because they're very talented, they stick to the basics of passing and pass so well that they smash other teams with all the possession they hold.
So, to get better at passing there is no greater way then just practicing to be more accurate and precise with all kinds of passes, and with both feet because it is very important to be a two-footed player if you want to be a good soccer player. In the book McCloud talks quite a bit about passing and in one part he informs us that we should go out with teammates or friends even though it is good to practice by yourself, it is even better to go with another person to help. Also, he says that we should practice passing in many different scenarios so when it comes time in games it comes more natural, (McCloud 20). In the videos below you will see me following these tips because I went out with friends to help and then passed in different scenarios.
In this video, I attempt to pass the ball to my teammate from about 20 yards away but it all goes wrong and I get scored on myself from one single pass. Although, there wasn't a goalkeeper in goal it still very well could've been a fast counter attack from the other team and it would put me in a lot of danger because the other team member was charging down on me. What I did wrong here was I passed the ball to the wrong foot of my teammate and that allowed the defender to step up in front of him and put the ball in the goal just from one little mistake in my pass. Also, the defender took out my teammate as well which is totally allowed in the game and with a bad pass like that from me it could've gotten him injured with the way the defender knocked him down and it would all be bad. This is why passing needs to be worked on day in, day out because the precision is what matters the most and lack of precision in passing only leads to bad things and makes you a way less talented player in soccer.
After reading the book and getting tips from Ace McCloud, this is the much improved and way better pass that I was able to come out with for my teammate. In the book on page 13, McCloud says "Passing is a critical skill that should be practiced relentlessly. The more effectively you can pass the ball without it going to the other team, the better your team will perform," (McCloud 13). So in this video, right before I was about to pass the ball I looked up, which was one of the skills McCloud talked about, I picked out where my teammates run was going towards and I passed the ball out wide so the defender would be on his back the whole time and wouldn't be able to step in front of him as he receives the ball. This clearly shows what McCloud was talking about when he was saying that it will make your team perform better if you can pass better because after I passed the ball it only took my teammate a few seconds to chase it down and he was basically down the field and just one other pass would lead to a goal scoring opportunity. This book has really shown a whole new way of looking at passing because I can see the value of good passes as a overall team performance through those videos and how much better you can play when your passing is improved. McCloud really took out the deeper meaning in passing and by gaining all that knowledge from his exceptional writing I was impacted greatly and from now on when I go to practice soccer I will always pay close attention to all the details in passing and improve my game just like I did after reading this book.
QUESTION: WHEN DO YOU THINK IT IS THE BEST TIME TO USE A CHIP PASS DURING A GAME?
McCloud, Ace. Soccer: Soccer Strategies- The Top 100 Best Ways To Improve Your Soccer Game (Soccer Strategies, Soccer Skills, Soccer Nutrition, Soccer Drills). N.p.: n.p., 2015. Print.
"As he begins to understand what you're asking him to do, slowly increase the distance he's got to roll the ball in order to get a reward" (Geller 269). I began starting her at a further distance from the goal, guiding her along the way so she would stay on the right track. She would often miss where the goal was located, so I used the treat to guide her instead. When she finally found the goal, I rewarded her with the treat immediately. But if she tried going for the treat while leaving the ball, I had to take it away immediately so she knew that only the ball getting over the line would get her a reward. Similarly to my previous post, I tried putting her in different rooms (like how I had given Marcy different targets) so she wouldn't get used to only doing the drill in one specific environment. 