soccer knowledge

Soccer by Jenny Mackay 

With any sport, you have to be safe while you play. There are always rules that will restrict some things in order for the players to be safe. In soccer there are also shin guards that you wear under your socks that is required but other than that there really isn't any more equipment that is required to keep you safe on the field. Being a safe player not only benefits you, but the players around you because you will not hurt anyone and you will not hurt yourself in the process.

Soccer is known to having a lot of head injuries, you have to head the ball a lot during the game if you want to win a ball in the air then you will have to be first to the ball while you are in the air since you will have to jump in order to get to the ball before your opponent. This will cause you to be unbalanced which can lead to landing in a bad way or you may get hit by your opponent who is also trying to get the ball. 

Players are taught to step on the field with no fear while being safe and to always put their body first. Whenever you go for the ball, in the air or ground, you should go in strong and not scared to get hurt because if you play scared then you will eventually will get hurt so its better to go in with your feet well planted. 

Here is a picture of me fighting for the ball and as you can see my feet are well planted and my body is in front of the girl so that I can defend the ball and make it hard for her to get to it.

Do you think soccer players should be required to wear more protective gear? 

Skiing: Beginner Turns

In skiing one of the most important things are the different types of turns. As a beginner it is important to know all the basic turns because different types of snow require different turns. Most of these turns are part of the International Parallel Technique I wrote about in my last blog. As a beginner all these turns should be perfected on gentle slopes before you go on more intermediate slopes. Once you feel comfortable with the turns on easy slopes then you can move on to harder slopes. Just remember a skier is not a skier without falling millions of times. If you are afraid of falling than skiing might not be a sport for you. I've been skiing for about 6 years and throughout the years i have probably fallen so many times that if you gave me a dollar for every fall I will be a millionaire, so don't be afraid to fall, it's just snow. If you expect not to fall than you are sadly mistaken. The truth is the first time you get on skies you probably will fall within the first 5 minutes.
There are many types of turns so I'll go over the most important ones that are necessary to learn while skiing.

Wide- Track Pressure Turns

1. Uphill turns- Uphill turns are usually used to stop when on a slope. How this maneuver is performed is when you want to stop you have to put pressure on on leg and you'll make a turn but keep putting pressure on that leg until you start going up the hill and you'll notice that you are stopping. usually if you give a lot of pressure you'll stop immediately.
2. Wide- track pressure turns- Usually beginners start with wide- track turns and go into short-radius turns. Wide- track turns are usually performed but putting pressure on one leg and then go across the slope and but pressure on the other foot to make another turn and you repeat that until you get down the slope.

Short- radius pressure turns

3. Short- radius pressure turns- Short- radius turns are really similar to wide- track turns but in short- radius turns once you put pressure on one leg and you make the turn you immediately put pressure on the other foot to make another turn.
4. Parallel turns- Parallel turns are similar to short- radius pressure turns but in this type of turn you also use your poles to turn. You do what you do for short-radius turns and while turning you put your pole in the snow and kinda use the pole to help you turn. It's like going through obstacles.

Parallel turns

These are the 4 most important turns to know when skiing. "These turns are like the foundation to further skiing techniques"(Heckelman, 87).

Skiing: The international Parallel Technique

I've been skiing for around 6 years and when i was learning how to ski my dad aught my sister and me from his own experiences but he never knew there were many techniques for beginners. The International Parallel Technique (TIP) teaches you how to do smooth turns on an easy intermediate slop at the end of 5 days. Each is divided into 2 sections: morning and afternoon exercises. Each day focuses on different techniques for skiing. By the end of the 5 days if you followed the instructions you should be able to ski down an easy intermediate slope (a blue slope).

"The goal of the International Parallel Technique, which is described in this section, is for you to be making an easy intermediate slope at the end of five days" (Heckelman, 19).

Day 1- morning: beginner exercise
            afternoon: traverse
Day 2- morning: sidesliding
            afternoon: skating and learning to ride ski lifts

Basic downhill turns

Day 3- morning: uphill turns
            afternoon: pressure turns
Day 4- morning and afternoon: parallel turns downhill
Day 5- morning: linked parallel turns on gentle slopes
            afternoon: linked parallel turns on intermediate slopes

As you practice these exercises to develop basic skills, you at the same time perfecting advanced skiing capacities.

Basic skills to get comfortable on the skies