The SoccerFit Blog

The Mixed Soccer Revolution has started!

2011-05-07T02:16:00.000-07:00

SoccerFit gets the fellas to pass to the girls

I have frequently heard girls saying how disappointed they are that the guys won’t pass to them more in mixed soccer competitions. I have definitely seen that myself, and I think probably most people would agree. It seems to vary from 2 extremes :-

Guys who see the female quota (there is usually is a requirement to play a minimum of 2 girls in a mixed soccer 7-a-side team, for example) as just a rule that has to be complied with and once the game is on, omit or forget to play the game in true ‘mixed’ soccer spirit.

Guys who do pass to the girls, but in a kind of patronising way which doesn’t make them feel like full and proper members of the team.

Surely there is a better way!

We think there is. At SoccerFit we apply the following ‘revolutionary’ game conditions during our Game Experience that solve this problem once and for all. These are :-

Two touch Only : When you receive the ball, you can touch it once to control it, but you only have one remaining touch to pass or shoot - if you touch it again, the refereeing trainer will award a free to the opposition

Two seconds on the ball : When you receive the ball you must pass or shoot within 2 seconds. OK that can be hard with beginners sometimes, but don’t worry, our trainers give newbies plenty of leeway.

No tackling and no contact : By doing it this way, players can just relax and concentrate on making a good pass (or shot) without worrying about being hurt in a tackle

The ball is not allowed above the knee. The ref will award a free kick for infringements of this rule.

With these rules in place, the whole approach to the game changes dramatically, and the game becomes more about which team can move the ball around quickly and efficiently. For a team to win, it makes a huge difference if you can use all your players, not just the guys.

With these key SoccerFit Rules in place, we have observed the following :-

Players with the ball will decide quickly and will pass to the person in the best position, whether they are male or female

Because the game is fast-moving overall and the ball moves over a greater area, all players, male and female remain engaged with play and get into the ‘thick of things’ more readily which gives everyone greater possession of the ball

Due to the constant action of the game, to preserve energy, players will make more passes to other team-members over all, whether male or female,

Due to this need to link up with other players, the ‘vibe’ of the game is very team-oriented leading to less individualistic play and more passing, communication and interactivity with other team-members.

OK, so we’re not solving world hunger at SoccerFit, but we feel very gratified that we have been able to develop something which is not only great for fitness and fun, but also gives a sporting experience to a wider range of people. There are not many sporting activities of a physical nature where men and women can have a well matched sporting contest, but mixed soccer is certainly one. By introducing some simple format changes we feel that we have improved what was already a great ‘product’, and made it even better.

Don’t believe us? Try for yourself at any of our exciting SoccerFit activities - Group SoccerFit, Train Our Team, Corporate Team Builder and Big Match SoccerFit.

Keep it simple for new and inexperienced SoccerFit participants (Blog Series)

2010-09-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

Part I - Focus on short passing of the ball

In this series of blog posts, we want to encourage new and developing players to not only enjoy the social fun fitness benefits of SoccerFit, but develop some basic abilities in soccer so that they can potentially derive a lifetime of benefit from it.

For new and/or inexperienced players, one of the first things we will help you with at SoccerFit is building your confidence in one of the most powerful aspects of the game - short passing.

Many would agree that passing the ball is absolutely the most important thing you can do in a game of soccer. Here are some reasons why :-

Passing saves energy - it reduces the need for running
Passing helps to keep possession - it stops the other team getting the ball
Passing aids concentration - everyone loves having the ball and are really interested when they think they might get it next
Passing is sharing - it builds the team bond and gets people to work for each other

Good passing doesn’t even have to cover a long distance. In fact, probably the most effective pass is over a short distance of 5 meters. And here’s why :-

It’s probably easier to be consistently accurate over this distance
It’s probably easier to judge how hard to hit it so a team-mate can receive it
The ball is more likely to stay low along the ground - again easier for a team-mate to receive it

And if every player on a team can, for the duration of the game, complete more short passes successfully than the other team, then their chances of winning are sure to be greatly improved.

Don’t believe me! Watch Spain in the recent World Cup - short passing in all areas of the pitch was one of the most defining characteristics of their playing style.

At SoccerFit, we practice short passing a lot, at almost every session, especially over a 5 metre distance. Even for more expert players who come to SoccerFit, they love the fact that our drills help to improve the speed, weighting, and consistency of their short passing. And don’t forget passing drills are terrific for fitness too!

We take great care to ensure both feet, and every part of the foot is used when passing.

And here’s the fun bit...just to challenge our participants and for a bit of a laugh...we try all sorts of weird and wonderful passing techniques - what about these ‘beauties’ :-

back-heel passes
‘fancy’ leg-around Brazillian-style back-heel passes
tricky ‘wrong-way’ passes
Angled ‘flick-passing’.

What a hoot! If you’re curious about these and other fantastic SoccerFit activities you’ll just have to come along and join in!

Three kids later, SoccerFit was the perfect way to get active again - Alicia's story

2010-06-25T04:14:00.000-07:00

"Before SoccerFit, I actually hadn’t done any sport in 20 years. I always found the gyms a little intimidating. I felt pretty good after having my first child but having twins exhausted me physically and I just couldn’t seem to recover. It was when I needed to have a rest on the way to the clothesline that I made the decision to do something. And then I saw the ad for SoccerFit in the Far South Coast Community College brochure. Thankfully, no experience was needed because I’d never even seen a soccer game, let alone kicked a ball!

Although my fitness level was atrocious, I could take a rest whenever I needed to. I was comforted by the fact that I wasn’t the only one who had no experience and nobody seemed to mind that I had no co-ordination. The trainer, is great, really skilled, knowledgeable and always encouraging. But it was playing the simplified game at the end of the session that I knew I was hooked! I’ve been doing SoccerFit for 18 months now and I love it. The people are fantastic and the atmosphere is great. Being able to spend time outdoors is wonderful. What I had hoped to get out of SoccerFit was to improve my fitness while having fun. But I wasn’t prepared for how much more I would get out of it. I feel like I have taken ownership of my body and along the way discovered a passion for soccer."

Women's Health magazine 'expanded' tips on 'How to score a goal'

2010-05-16T06:35:00.001-07:00

Emma Anderson, deputy editor of Women's Health magazine asked SoccerFit recently to provide some pointers to their readers on how to score a goal (click here for original magazine piece entitled "How to hold your own in the park"). We put together a brief set of tips and insights which we hope her readership enjoys, or even better, finds helpful.

Here in this blog, we expand on some of the points we raised in that snippet, and try to give a little more detail on what exactly we meant, and talk about a wider range of factors to affect one's ability to score a goal in a match (as opposed to during practice, which, I think it is universally agreed, is a lot easier).

The techniques and opinions provided here are subjective. Please agree or disagree as you see fit. Our views are principally based on our experience of assisting developing footballers, and women in particular, with improving their basic game skills in a social fun fitness-oriented environment.

Technically-speaking, all players on the pitch should be able to score, but in the main, in a structured game, the forwards (also known as strikers) and the attacking midfielders are expected to provide the goals for the team.

For the purposes of the article, let's just narrow it down to 4 key things that affect one's ability to score. There are other things of course - age, experience, fitness-level, injuries, wind conditions, pitch conditions, playing at home or away, your general mood, heck even the condition and feel of your footwear - but let's just stick to 4 'big ones' for now.

These are :-

The Kick - the kicking action or strike itself which must be accurate, have sufficient power and be well timed

The overall Skill level - the skill level to create scoring opportunties is highly significant.

The Brain - the brain needs to be calm and absolutely focussed

The Position - reading play sufficiently well in the seconds (even minutes) leading up to a scoring chance being created. Generally the closer you are to the goal, the better

Doing a good job in these 4 areas will give you great scope to start scoring goals, and, better still making a consistent habit of it.

The Kick

To send the ball rolling smoothly along the ground ( to score close to goal in the penalty box area)

Generally, aim to make contact just slightly above the centre of the ball with the inside of the foot. Making contact precisely here helps to reduce/eliminate lift

Follow through with the foot, smoothly sweeping it upwards as it separates from contact with the ball - again this helps to ensure it rolls sweetly along the ground (which aids accuracy)

The inside of the boot is generally more effective and comfortable to kick with but all players should be able to kick with the outside of the foot, and on the 'laces', as well.

In all kicking styles, experiment with 'shaping the foot', as in, varying the part of the foot or the angle at which it strikes the ball (be careful with this, there is a risk of injury). This gives a greater range of options for directing the ball in a chosen direction, particularly during the moments before you shoot when defenders are crowding around and you may have to rapidly adjust the style of kick you had momentarily planned to make.

To send the ball high through the air when shooting from long range (on the edge or outside the penalty box area)

Generally, aim to make contact below the centre of the ball with the laces of the boot

Make sure to follow through with your leg, as this gives it lift and direction

During practice, experiment by varying the contact point and notice the different effects.

Some players report that visualising the trajectory of the ball in your mind moments before you strike can improve your technique over time.

Most strikers would probably advise to work on your technique to keep the ball low every time you shoot at goal. It is one of the most common errors to give the ball too much lift. It is easier to be accurate with a low shot. Also, most would say to emphasise direction over power - don't try to hit it too hard.

Probably in about 95% of goal scoring situations you will look where you want to the ball to go - this is probably a necessary step for your brain to visualise the shot to be attempted and make the all important rapid calculations about where to make contact with the ball and how much power to apply.

For penalty-taking, unless you are a professional, it is probably best to look where you want the ball to go because you probably need to do whatever you can to make the shot accurate, even if you give a hint to the goalkeeper. If it's accurate, you still have a great chance of scoring.

Always practice using both feet - dominant and non-dominant (or strong and weak as they are commonly referred to). To develop your non-dominant foot kicking, dedicate training time on your own or with a group where you only use that foot for an extended period of time.

It's a cliche, but 'practise practise practise' - every training session try to pass or shoot the ball at least 500 times. Someone at a SoccerFit session described this as developing 'muscle memory' which, although this may not be the scientific term, conveys very well the idea of your brain developing the mastery of successful kicking through repeated use.

The overall skill-level

As well as kicking technique, there are many other facets that go to complete the picture of a players overall skill level - ball control, balance, flair and creativity and complex movement to mention a few.

In particular, high levels of skill will enable you to get the ball under control quickly, perhaps adjust a little to the left or right, or even skip past a defender, to ensure there is enough space and time to take a high quality shot at goal.

Improving your ability to accomplish this, essentially, requires you to practice (there's that word again) a lot. And basically, the focus of this type of practice is to repeatedly complete as many high skill activities as you can. Types of high skill activities that we recommend include :-

Juggling - everyday, at work, out in the backyard, when walking the dog, at soccer practice. Juggle with both your feet, both your knees, inside and outside feet, with your heels (really really hard), on your head, on your shoulder. Never stop - it's just the best way of developing that 'connection' to the ball that will make such a difference to your game.

Tricks - simple ones and hard ones, dummies, twists, turns, flicks, shimmies, flip-flaps, nutmegs, spin-twists, elastics...whatever...if you can't quite pull them off it doesn't matter...keep doing them anyway, they are great for movement and teaching the brain the 'physics' of football.

Dribbling - not just a great way to burn calories, but a fantastic way to improve ball skill - don't even dribble very fast...emphasise technique over speed and work through endless variations - right outside only, right inside only, left inside only, right inside only, rolling the ball underfoot, inside to inside, inside to outside (same leg), double dribble with two balls at the same time, no-touch-in-between, mid-dribble changes, mid-dribble turns, stepovers, double stepovers, triple stepovers, quadruple stepovers. There are an infinite number of these to try.

In some cases, a player can have a lot of natural skill, and this is obviously a great advantage, but, over time, every player can enhance their skill level through lots of hard work.

The Brain

Make no mistake about it, although it looks simple, putting a ball in the back of the net under match conditions is one of the hardest things in the world...ever! (That might explain why Christian Ronaldo is worth $160 million Australian dollars). Time and time again, at all levels of football, from Grade AA7 to Champions League and the World Cup, simple 'tap-in' goals are missed by even the biggest stars. It's unbelievable when you see it happen, but if you think about it, the intensity of the moment for both brain and body, is enormous, and while everyone can score a goal at some time in their life, to do it repeatedly over a season, or several seasons, it takes a lot of work and the more experienced you are, the better.

To score a goal, the brain just has to be right...it doesn't get any more scientific than that. Certainly professional clubs invest a lot of energy and money into better understanding how to control psychological factors to ensure their players perform better, but it's hard to know how well that investment pays off. One would have to assume that it is some way successful because clubs and sports-stars continue to work with specialists who try to give top-class performers that elusive 'mental edge'.

It's such a complex thing and in some ways highly contradictory - to score a goal, you have to be really focussed, concentrating to an extremely high intensity level, but at the same time, you have to be relaxed, if your muscles are too tense your kicking action may vary from that intended, or you may unbalance just at the critical moment.

So, here is just that, some 'contradictory' suggestions about how to overcome the mental obstacles to scoring a goal :-

At the moment you are about to strike the ball, stay calm, relax

If there's time (there should be otherwise you probably shouldn't be taking a shot), have a last quick glimpse at the goal area and 'know' where the goalie is positioned.

Your brain will quickly calculate where it thinks it wants the ball to go (i.e. effectively you take aim)

Now focus on the ball and apply most of your concentration to making the cleanest contact you possibly can with it, as opposed to giving it lots of power. A cleanly-struck ball will more likely be accurate.

Try this...when presented with a scoring opporunity, learn to pause for just an extra 10th of a second before you strike the ball...even at the risk of being tackled...on most occasions this will improve your chances significantly. You can call it your 'making sure' pause.

The Position

There's a real knack to getting into the right position to find yourself with a good scoring opportunity. Assuming your team is good enough to launch a number of attacks during the game, and can deliver a final pass to you in a good position, your chances of scoring are massively improved. So in that respect, you are very dependent on your team-mates. But you should also learn to play the percentages - the majority of goals are scored from within the penalty box area...so, mathematically, if you want to score, you should be in that area as much as possible (but be careful not to get caught offside). Here are some suggestions :-

Focus on getting into the penalty box area as quickly and frequently as possible - don't get distracted or dragged into the midfield (although sometimes that's hard if your coach or captain, or other players are screaming at you to help them :-)

If you like to dribble past defenders, it may be smarter to wait until late in the game to try this when hopefully your opposing players are more tired - this of course assumes that you still have energy.

Learn to manage your energy levels, so that you have energy in store for when you need it most (hopefully that killer run into the penalty area to score) This probably means making hard decisions during the game about when to not expend energy - this may frustrate your team-mates but if your relationship with the team is good, they will usually support you.

Talk to your team-mates, tell them repeatedly how you like to receive the ball, where you intend to try to position yourself. Over time, they will get to know how you play, your strengths and weaknesses, and they can try to adjust how they involve you in the game.

And don't forget, when you score...it's one of the most exciting feelings you will ever experience in your life...guaranteed!!! So make sure you celebrate wildly like they do on TV :-)

Join SoccerFit on Facebook (Become a fan or a friend) - click here.

My First Goal (Thanks for your help SoccerFit) by Ilja Noordermeer

2009-10-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ilja used SoccerFit 1-2-1 to enhance her fitness, sharpen her technique, and boost her confidence....her reward for all her hard work came when she scored a goal on the last day of the season...

At the start of the year I set myself a few life goals to achieve and prepared a plan in order to achieve those goals. To score a goal in football was one of them - something I have always desired but never thought capable of.

In football I have always been chosen to play right back because I would tire quickly in positions that required more running. I worked hard to get my fitness level up but I was still lacking the development in my ball handling skills. I couldn't wait for the season to begin.

I had done all the pre-season preparation I could on my own and now needed some good coaching to improve my ball skills. When I couldn't get what I needed from the club coach, I gave SoccerFit a call to discuss what I needed. Liam understood my passion for the game and my desire to improve and organised one on one soccer coaching with Tarek.

From day one I knew that Tarek could make all the difference. I was learning how to dodge past players and learning the mechanics of the fancy footwork I always saw the better skilled players able to do. Tarek continued to add to my skill development every week and built my confidence up.

In the last game of my season, I put all that extra training with SoccerFit into play and achieved my goal...finally. I can't wait to play again and I don't need to wait long, having been selected to play in the World Masters Games for the Sydney Stingrays (30+) in October 2009. The new skills Tarek has taught me have added an additional element of enjoyment to my game. I'm now confident that I can achieve another one of my life's goals; play in the SW2 competition in 2010. Thank you Liam, Tarek and SoccerFit!

Getting the Simple Things Right

2008-09-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

The Inside of the Foot Pass

A well weighted and accurate pass makes our work on the field simple, and it makes our receiving teammates look good. The inside of the foot pass is the most widely used pass in soccer. From the gentlest of taps to a teammate close by, to a blistering pass designed to assist the switch of play across the field, this pass is useful, accurate and powerful. While it's primarily used for short passes, goals are scored, and free kicks are made with this pass. So are you executing the inside foot pass correctly, or do your passes go off course, are incorrectly weighted or have no power? Getting the simplest thing like the inside of the foot pass right, can vastly improve your soccer game.

The Technique

Stride to the ball. The foot that will not be striking the ball - the supporting foot - is planted alongside the ball (15-20cm or a little less than the ball's width) with the toe pointing in the direction of the target. If your toe is pointing at the target, then your body and hips should be also be facing the target. The knee of this supporting foot should be bent slightly for balance, and your eyes should be on the ball. Hold your arms out away from your body also for balance.

With a short backswing, bring your kicking leg forward. Turn your kicking foot outward and lock your ankle so it's positioned at a 90 degree angle. The toes of the kicking foot should point slightly upward. Your foot remains in this square position throughout the kick. With your head down and eyes locked on the ball, strike the middle of the ball with the back half of your foot. At the moment the ball is kicked lean forward over it, and follow through with your kicking leg in the direction of the target. The follow through is very important for accuracy and power.

Troubleshooting

Supporting foot not pointed at the target - ball goes right or left of the target
Foot not turned out 90 degrees through the kick - ball goes left of the target
Foot strikes the ball too low - ball will pop up in the air
Leaning back - ball may pop up in the air. It will also lack power and accuracy
No follow through - ball lacks power and accuracy.
Striking the ball too far forward on the foot - ball lacks accuracy and power.
Ankle not locked - ball lacks power and accuracy may suffer.
Eyes not on the ball - ball lacks accuracy.

Practice

Practice all your passes against a wall. You can't get too much practice ever.

To check if your ankle is locked, hold your ankle in the position where it will be kicking the ball, and ask a teammate to try and move your foot. If they can move it, it's not locked!

Visit the SoccerFit website : www.soccerfit.com.au

DISCLAIMER NOTICE : All data and information provided on this site is for informational
purposes only. SoccerFit (the organisation) makes no representations as to
accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any
information on this site and will not be liable for any errors,
omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or
damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on
an as-is basis.

Out of Africa - My First SoccerFit Session (by Anand Sundaresan, Guest Blogger)

2008-08-19T03:55:00.000-07:00

Having grown up initially in Zambia in southern Africa my football skills were formed from street football
involving kicking a ball (made from plastic bags and rubber bands) and
learning dribbling skills from the kids in my neighbourhood. Footballs
were hard to come by and coaches in schools or otherwise were non existent.
I've somehow managed to play some level of recreational competitive football
(of very dubious quality) based on these street honed skills. So
when I heard of SoccerFit which was an opportunity to learn soccer skills
that I had never formally learned before and stay fit at the same time,
I was excited.

The first session required a bit of motivation in dragging my lazy ass out of bed earlier on a Saturday
morning for a 9 AM start and also meant going easy on the drinks on Friday
evening. However once I had dragged myself to the field in Randwick, I found
a very well organised session which reminded me of the training sessions
you see on T.V. when they are interviewing players. Even better was the
enthusiasm of the participants. We had a diverse group (moms, men with
kids, singles and DINKs) who all enjoyed football and the group environment. Once
I'd managed to shake off that weekend morning daze and worked out the sequence
of some of the drills, it was a great session. The pace was just right
and we gradually got warmed up and nimble before we did the more extensive
drills. Our trainer was incredibly encouraging even when we were probably
screwing up the drills completely. The two touch no contact
game at the end was great fun and you are forced to learn ball skills in
passing and moving into space as otherwise you lose the ball. You also
have to learn to communicate really well with your team mates and be there
to support them always.

At the end of it , the most exciting
part of it was I feel like I'm learning a new skill, even though I have
been playing this game for years. I have formed the conclusion that if you have not played before, or for a long time, SoccerFit makes football refreshing
and fun.

Visit the SoccerFit website : www.soccerfit.com.au

DISCLAIMER NOTICE : All data and information provided on this site is for informational
purposes only. SoccerFit (the organisation) makes no representations as to
accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any
information on this site and will not be liable for any errors,
omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or
damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on
an as-is basis.

Stretching is a big help at SoccerFit (by Cate Cahill Guest Blogger)

2008-08-17T02:10:00.000-07:00

Soccer involves a lot of powerful and unique movements. Whether jumping for a header, changing direction or sudden sprints, the body is constantly moving in a way that is potentially damaging to muscles if the body has not been properly conditioned. This is why we take the time to warm up for SoccerFit.

An important part of the warm up is stretching. This is when we loosen stiff muscles and try to expose them to movement. Recent studies have favoured dynamic stretching over static stretching as an effective preventative to injury for sports that involve powerful movements.

Dynamic stretching involves movement whereas static stretching is standing still, typically, and leaning into stretches. For soccer some of the best dynamic stretches involve skipping (for calf muscles), ankle rotations, gentle changes of direction while jogging, swinging or kicking the legs from small arcs and gradually increasing, swinging legs sideways, walking lunges (hamstrings, hip flexors), running with high knees, running with butt kicks, and not to forget the rest of the body - arm circles, body rotations, neck circles ad so on.

Static stretches still have a place especially for relaxing the muscles. They should always be done when the body is warmed up. They are useful for the end of training or after a game. Some people prefer a mix of static and dynamic stretches before exercise. If it works for you...!

The beauty of Dynamic Stretching is that it can be incorporated into the warm up phase, keeping constant movement of the body, without having to stop completely to stretch. Dynamic Stretching is the most effective "wake up" for muscles before more intensive exercise and soccer games.

(Picture SoccerFit Randwick - Ankle Circles)

Women in a league of their own

2008-08-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

Football Federation Australia (FFA) and Westfield this week announced a landmark agreement in support of the fastest growing team sport for women in the country – women’s football.

The Westfield Group’s support involves women’s football ranging from the Westfield Championship for Girls, the establishment of a new national women’s league known as the Westfield W-League, and the national women’s team to be known as the Westfield Matildas.

Westfield has also extended its partnership in respect of the Qantas Socceroos and the Hyundai A-League.

“We are delighted to announce this new and historic agreement for women’s football,” said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.

“Women’s football is a big growth sport which is enjoyed by many girls and women and watched by many mums and grandmothers each weekend, and it’s terrific to have the support of Westfield in our efforts to grow and develop the sport even further.”

Buckley said that women’s football has enjoyed an average annual growth rate of 6.3% over the past five years, especially on the back of the performance of the Matildas in the Women’s World Cup in 2007.

“The Westfield Matildas are one of the highest achieving sporting teams in Australia, having made four Women’s World Cup tournaments and several Olympic Games, and football offers a unrivalled career path for talented elite women athletes,” Buckley said.

Read the rest of this article at Football Australia’s website

(photo by Koichi Kamoshida © Getty Images)

Passing to a Player on the Run (by Cate Cahill Guest Blogger)

2008-08-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

If you are passing to an open player who is moving into an open space, it is crucial to play the ball in front of her. If you play it toward where her feet are at the moment you strike the ball, by the time the ball gets to her a second or two later it will be behind her.

So play the ball ahead of the player on the move. The faster she is moving, the further ahead she will need the ball to be. Always try to play a ball so that the player receiving it will not have to break or adjust her stride pattern to receive the pass.

Two-Touch Soccer – great for fitness and teamplay (by Cate Cahill guest blogger)

2008-06-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of a SoccerFit fitness workout session, we divide up for the SoccerFit game experience. Soccer drills are good for fitness, and learning skills, but the game experience is where there is some great fitness and team interaction to be had. Applying and practicing soccer skills in "real time" in the game experience also creates a great sense of achievement where we can put what we've learned into practice to further enjoy the flow of the soccer game.

SoccerFit games are devised to be as non contact as possible. One of the ways to do this is to keep the ball moving by limiting the number of "touches" allowed on the ball by any player. A 'touch' is any contact that a player makes with the ball whether a kicked pass or a contact used to control the football. SoccerFit instructors enforce a 'two touch' rule and this very effectively eliminates the need for tackles to change possession of the ball. In an interesting way, it also changes the way that more experienced players influence the game by ensuring that the ball is shared by everyone. If a player touches more than twice, then the ball is turned over with a free kick to the other team.

Two-touch and other restrictions on a game are not just a SoccerFit initiative - in fact they form they basis for training for football teams from top professionals to the amateur clubs around the world.

So why is two-touch soccer an important way to boost fitness and teamplay?

It's simple – two-touch encourages players to 'receive-pass-and-move'. That is, to receive the ball (with a controlling touch), pass the ball (a second touch) and move into space in the hope of receiving the ball again. This continuous movement approach gives all participants an excellent fitness workout as well as teaching them how to work as a team to move the ball as rapidly as possible around the playing area.

Two-touch also teaches players to have vision on the field. It forces them to be clever about where they position themselves and to be ready to respond to help other team-members. It also motivates them to be prepared to pass the ball at the earliest time and teaches them the crucial importance of the first, or controlling, touch. Other key aspects of two-touch include:

· The ability to control the ball at first touch, and its placement subsequent to that touch dictates how the ball will be played.

· Off the ball the supporting players know they need to move quickly into a position of support.

· Decision making that players learn should include whether to pass to the feet of a player or pass into space beyond a running team mate.

It's the flow of the game around the field that creates the beauty of soccer - players linking together as a team to move a spherical object creatively and ingeniously to achieve the ultimate - scoring a goal. Two-touch soccer training promotes and teaches this flow.

My First SoccerFit Session (by Elaine Chang, Guest Blogger)

2008-05-25T02:16:00.000-07:00

Joggers, socks, shorts, t-shirt et voila. Mr. SoccerFit says that’s all I’ll be needing today. I could have also brought along my brother’s old but trusty size 5 Paul’s Warehouse-soccer ball, but I wasn’t sure it would be good enough as it has recently grown a tiny nose – Mr. SoccerFit later tells me that it would have been fine. I might brave the fight for space on public transport next time and bring my nose-ball.

The green spread of the playing area greets my office-sore eyes. While the sky has been a little weepy, the ground isn’t sodden and Mr. SoccerFit has thoughtfully sent round a confirmation SMS to let everyone know that SoccerFit is still on that afternoon. In any case I’m not going to let a little damp grass get in the way of my introduction to the world of soccer, or fitness, or at least my attempt to get there.

As I approach I spot our trainer bouncing a ball up and down on his knees while talking to a girl with a blond ponytail – who is dressed in much groovier soccer regalia than my own (obviously someone who has played for a club before). I get closer and see that she is pulling her socks up over shin pads. Wow, she looks tough. I’ve only got anklets.

“Hello! Is this SoccerFit?”

“Yes, you’ve come to the right place.” the trainer smiles at me. “This is Mira. ” He stopped juggling for a moment to introduce the pretty girl, decked out in black gear, who looks like she means business, soccer business. He continued, “This will be the first lesson for everyone in this group, so you’ll all be in the same boat here. I’ll be coaching you this afternoon.”

After some preliminary chit-chat about the weather, and exchanging stories of how we heard about SoccerFit (me, through a friend who plays in Coogee; Mira via a friend who’s played in the city) and if we’ve ever played soccer before (me, no, unless you count a couple of PE games at my all-girls high-school where five girls kicked a ball around a field while another 15 class-members feigned moving around in shady patches). More SoccerFit people soon arrived and we got started on warming-up and stretching. We then went straight into the technique drills that take up the first half of the session.

I say technique drills, but they were sweat-inducing jogs up and down the field that required us to reach down to touch the grass, skip sideways in a line, change directions, change directions again then jump up to pretend to head a ball… etc. We dribbled balls around cones with different parts of our feet, passed balls to a partner, attempted to dribble our balls past our partner, and finally tried some group-passing exercises. With all the passing drills, the trainer made us yell the name of the person to whom we were sending the ball; this turned out to be handy preparation for ball-passes in the second half of the class: a noisy game of basic-rules soccer.

The basic-rules for our SoccerFit game included:

- no balls above waist height (a protective measure for beginners like me),

- only two consecutive touches of the ball permitted per player (to prevent ball-hogging, or rather to encourage ball-sharing),

- no scoring from beyond the half-way line (not sure why?), and

- no contact (thank god, that Mira girl was nice but still tough).

Apart from some anxious moments of not being entirely sure in which direction I was supposed to be scoring (we’d just changed direction and I was adrenalin-charged), I managed to score one goal and I was left feeling more delightfully exhausted and sweaty than I’d been for possibly a year! I was a little winded but mostly amazed. This was going to be brilliant exercise.

After our warm-down, we packed up shop, someone kindly handing me a WetOne and a stick of gum, and another person offering a few of us a lift to the train station. What a nice group of people. I would certainly be coming back for more.

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here

SoccerFit Solo - a real calorie-burner

2008-02-05T01:42:00.001-08:00

So you're going to one of our regular SoccerFit group sessions, or benefitting from the dedicated services of our specialist SoccerFit 1-2-1 Personal Trainers, what else can you do? Well, lots really, in fact, try SoccerFit Solo - getting out there on your own, just you and your football, and working hard, on your juggling, your tricks, dribbling, weaving, heading and just having some great fun. Even half an hour of SoccerFit Solo a day work will really zap those calories and help with weight control efforts. And the other amazing thing...it's absolutely free, it doesn't cost a cent.

This I think is one of the great undiscovered benefits of soccer, possibly moreso than any other sport. Because so much emphasis in soccer is on close in control of the ball with the legs (and other body parts), there is an enormous range of moves and body actions that one can apply to maintain ball control. The greater the range of actions, and the expertise with which you can implement them, the better your in-game performance can get (if indeed you wish to play competitively, or even socially). Many ball control actions place a high energy demand on your body and generally, the more complex the movement, the more energy your body must output - this is where some serious calorie burning can kick in.

A small experiment I often run at our SoccerFit sessions demonstrates this principle in a very simple way. Firstly we run with speed over a short distance (30 metres or so) turn and run back to the original starting point. We then effectively repeat the exercise, but this time dribbling a ball and maintaining close control over it. Although this is at a slower pace than the first activity, when it is completed I ask the participants which felt more challenging. The majority typically say that the latter activity using the ball was significantly more intensive.

I am not suggesting that all fitness activities need to be intensive - generally a balanced mix of light and heavier activities make for a great workout - but if time is short, and you want to achieve a raised level of intensity, a 20 or 30 minute SoccerFit Solo session is a great option.

Not to mention that well-executed control skills are the most beautiful facet of the game. We all gasp in admiration when Portugal's Christian Ronaldo dodges effortlessly past a handful of big-name professional defenders and slides the ball with pin-point accuracy past an equally world-famous goalkeeper. Though very few people can ever expect to approximate the skills of Christian Ronaldo, at a more basic level, we can all work on our skills as a way to enrich our love and appreciation of the game.

There is an endless amount of things to try during SoccerFit Solo, and if you are ever short of inspiration, please feel free to ask our SoccerFit trainers for a new drill or a new juggling style to try.

Please observe suitable health and safety precautions when undertaking any form of exercise or physical acitivity. Click here to access the SoccerFit Health Safety and Risk Awareness Guidelines.

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here

Things to consider when buying a football...

2008-02-05T00:54:00.000-08:00

Beginners should consider a size 5 ball (the biggest standard sizing) as these may be easier to control. Experienced players may wish to consider a size 3 or 4 or even a mini-ball as these, being more challenging to control, can stimulate skill development. Futsal (a popular indoor version of socccer) balls are heavy and do not bounce very well - these are best purchased only if you wish to focus on the indoor game.
Although it's a personal preference, and quite subtle, if the skin of the ball is 'grippy' rather than 'shiny', it can be a little bit easier to control. This may not be immediately obvious, but if you juggle (or kick to hand) the ball a few times, you may notice the difference.
The colour or design of the ball probably makes no difference to it's flight characteristics or how it feels, but at the same time, to 'enhance the karma in your personal universe', pick a colour or design that you like. Though colour seems irrelevant, many experienced players voice the opinion that they don't feel comfortable playing matches with anything other than a white ball.
Official FIFA regulations say that a ball should be pumped to between 9 and 11 pounds of pressure per square inch. This can feel heavy to play with (especially if you've got small feet), and can sometimes hurt your toe if you miskick, so for training purposes, consider letting some air out. This may have the added benefit that the softer ball 'sits' better on the foot/boot when juggling or dribbling. Heading overpumped balls is not only uncomfortable, it's downright dangerous.
For practice purposes, a training ball, not a match ball, may be advised. Training balls are significantly cheaper and may be easier to use.
Consider the conditions you'll be using the ball in. If you intend doing plenty of wall work (i.e. practising striking the ball against a concrete wall using a wide variety of techniques) then the ball is going to suffer much wear and tear. Some balls suffer this better than others. There is no rule of thumb here but good advice may be to experiment with less expensive balls.
Buy a pump as well. A highly recommended model that is currently sold in high street shops allows you to store the valve in the head of the pump when you're not using it. This can be handy if you are in the habit of forgetting where you last left your valve (regrettably this can happen an awful lot).
World Cup Replica balls are typically great looking and very attractively packaged, but they may not possess any of the desirable properties of their high-tech counterparts.

Please feel free to put forward any additional suggestions you would like as a blog comment, or email info@soccerfit.com.au

Regards,

Liam O'Duibhir, Director, SoccerFit

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here

Matildas' Joy, Foster's Angst

2007-09-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well Done Matildas (Australian Womens' World Cup Team '07)

Australian soccer storms on to the global stage yet again. What an excellent high-quality game of football that was between Norway and Australia's Matildas yesterday.

Norway looked so solid in the first half after a well-worked goal gave them the lead just five minutes into the game. Australia battled but didn't look to have the 'something extra' that would get them on the score-sheet.

But that all changed in the second half. There had been much pre-match talk of the 'impact players' that the manager had at his disposal on the bench - Lisa De Vanna and Sarah Walsh. Their inclusion in the second half transformed the Australians from likely valiant losers to real contenders, but the agonising wait for an equaliser took until 9 minutes from full-time. A superb mid-range effort from Lisa De Vanna left the keeper with no chance after dazzling the Norwegian defence with her blistering pace and neat footwork. It was no mean achievement as the Norwegians had up to that point defended in numbers and closed down space very efficiently within the 18-yard area.

Others to impress were Garriock and McCallum - two skillful players with a tremendous work rate and play-making instincts. The team as a whole have a ring of confidence that suggests they will not be intimidated by some of the bigger names in the tournament. One more point from the group and they are through to the knockout stages. Here's hoping...

Ouch!!! Foster dishes it to Arnold

With all the euphoria surrounding the Matildas, spare a thought for ex-Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, who yesterday copped a savage appraisal of his abilities as an international coach from SBS pundit Craig Foster (Sydney Morning Herald Sun 16th Sept - http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/arnold-not-worthy-of-the-socceroos/2007/09/15/1189277042479.html ). Despite the poor performance of the Socceroos in the recent Asian Cup, the general consensus appeared to be that Arnold had contended well with all of the peculiar difficulties associated with being the Aussie manager keeping the seat warm for whatever big gun from Europe would eventually swoop in to save the day (as Guus Hiddink did last year).

Not so, according to Foster. Amongst his many ills, Foster appears to suggest that Arnold was generally out of his depth, was off-side with the players and didn't have the technical or tactical nous to react to unfamiliar situations.

Fair enough, Foster is wholly entitled to that view, but, I find it a curious thing to see such a high-profile soccer spokesperson going so publicly on record to dismiss Arnold's managerial credentials. One can admire Foster telling it like he sees it, but what is his objective with such vehement criticism, especially now that Arnold is officially no longer in the job?

Are we on the cusp of yet another ding-dong SBS/Socceroo coach spat a la Andrew Orsatti and Frank Farina?

It certainly makes for lively reading? Australian soccer is in an interesting and dynamic place right now!

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here

Community Aligned Non-Elite Sport

2007-09-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to the SoccerFit Blog,

I hope this blog provides an interesting narrative on all things related to SoccerFit. I will definitely try to stay ‘on message’ but please bear with me if I go off on a tangent every so often.

The programme continues to expand into new locations and this is particularly pleasing to myself and others involved in SoccerFit.

Fitness Skill And Teamplay

Our aim from day one has been to give as many people as possible the opportunity to experience the fitness, skill and teamplay aspects of soccer. In emphasizing fitness, skill and teamplay, SoccerFit distinguishes itself from competitive soccer. We leave it to local, regional and national representative soccer bodies to facilitate those seeking a competitive outlet.

However, regular players of the game (socially or competitively) can and do derive enormous benefits from SoccerFit - it's a great way to maintain fitness, stay mentally sharp, and work on some key elements of game performance.

It's also worth noting that many SoccerFit participants do make the transition from SoccerFit to suitable levels of competitive soccer, so clearly, as well as being a great fitness workout, the programme complements very well the popular competitive leagues running throughout Australia.

Introducing CANES - Community Aligned Non-Elite Sport (CANES)

SoccerFit does not have a minimum fitness or skill requirement in order to participate. Everyone and anyone can join in. It is a non-elite sports and fitness format that is accessible to the whole community. We call this concept Community Aligned Non-Elite Sports, or CANES for short.

When people think of ‘elite’ sports, they generally have televised professional sports in mind. The athletes that participate at these levels are a rare breed – think Juninho, Adam Goodes, Jonathon Thurston, Lauren Jackson – we love to watch and admire these high performers. At best, I expect only 0.01% of the entire human population can realistically aspire to ever perform at this level.

But what about those competing at state, regional or even the lower divisions of local club competitions that don’t typically make it on to our television screens? What percentage of the population can hope to participate at these levels? Again it’s a relatively small number, probably less than 1% of the total population.

Where does this leave the other 99% of the population in regard to participation in sports-oriented activities? Of course not everyone in this group is interested in sports, or even in getting fit, but in line with the CANES approach, it is primarily to this large non-elite group that programmes like SoccerFit try to appeal. It seems almost bizarre to say it, but this group is a forgotten majority. Sport by it’s very nature is elitist (that’s why we love it), but its positive benefits, in particular fitness, skill and teamplay, should be available to all.

The CANES approach to increasing participation in sport and encouraging a more active lifestyle, with the benefits that this can have in tackling health issues such as the much-talked about obesity epidemic, is worthy of consideration at government level.

I welcome your comments.

Regards,

Liam O'Duibhir, Director, SoccerFit

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here