Championship Betting Review - 13 February 2006
...loughed into the 5/6 available and the Hornets did not disappoint with goals from Ashley Young, Marlon Kings, Darius Henderson and Jay DeMerit.
Derby's caretaker manager Terry Westley oversaw his second successive goalless draw at the expense of Leeds United. With just two wins in their last five matches Leeds are seeing their chances of automatic promotion fade.
Preston North End extended their unbeaten run to 24 matches with a thumping 5-1 win against floundering Luton Town. Billy Davies side were 8/11 before kick off and found themselves 2-0 up through Lewis Neal and David Nugent. An own goal from Tyrone Mears halved Prestons lead on 82 minutes but he scored at the right end two minutes later. A stoppage time goal from Claude Davis and a penalty from Chris Sedgewick completed the rout.
...moreShort Sided Round Robin Format for Basketball and Soccer
...on the floor, and win while he is on the bench.
While amateur coaches are sure to find these analyses interesting, is there any way in which theycan employ these metrics for their own use? Amateur coaches might be able to get team assistantsto gather the data needed to maintain these stats, but there is a much better way these conceptscan be applied.
Virtually all teams rely heavily on scrimmage play as part of their practice routine. By adoptingwhat I call a roster Round Robin format during scrimmage play, coaches can get a much clearerpicture of how and when individual players perform better than others. The format simply requiresthat sides be set to 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5, depending on available players. Players are issuedreversible jerseys, and score is kept for each side. Stages are set to 3 or 4 minutes, and atthe end of each stage, a team score is recorded, with each player earning points for themselves on the basis of their team result. Two players are then directed to exchange sides by flipping their reversible jersey, and a new stage is played. This pattern is continued until all possibleroster combinations have been used.
For a 3v3 contest, this would equate to 10 possible combinations, thus requiring a 30 to 40 minutegame. Each player earns a plus/minus score across all stages. As ...more
history of Soccer - An Essay
...The score is tied 1-1. Its you and the goalie with ten seconds left. You dribble left, then right, you shoot . . . GOOOAAALLL!!! "Association Football", "football" or, in this age, "soccer" is considered an international pastime. It is played in more towns, cities, and countries than any other sport in the world. Millions share the love for this sport. Comparable to baseball in the US, or hockey in Canada, soccer enjoys the same reputation in the countries of Europe and South America. The sports popularity is swiftly growing in America. So what is it about this sport that attracts more and more participants every year? What is it that invites crowds of a hundred thousand fans and sparks these crazed fans into an uncontrollable rage and a sudden state of chaos? Something that has captivated the rest of the world is beginning to gain a foothold in the US. However, soccer did not enjoy a successful beginning.
It wasnt until the late 1800s that a man by the name of William McGregor introduced the FA Cup and international matches, which saved the game from obscurity. The earliest forms of soccer were played three centuries ago and quite rapidly evolved into a game radically different from its origins and thus flowered the irresistible spectacle still recognizable so many years later.
Soccer is the name commonly given in North America to a form of football played with a spherical ball. It is the most widely played team game in the world and the most popular spectator sport, followed avidly by hundreds of millions of fans. Originally called association football (the name soccer is a corruption of the word assoc derived in turn from association), (Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia) soccer is distinguished from American or Canadian football and Rugby in that it is primarily played with the feet. It also differs from these games in that, soccer being speedier, players must improvise their tactics as play proceeds, constantly shifting their positions to receive or intercept passes. Teams of 11 players play on a field no more than 130 yd x 100 yd and not less than 100 yd x 50 yd. The basic objective of the game is for one team to force the ball, by kicking it or using the chest or head, past the goalkeeper and into the goal. The ball is a leather-covered sphere 27 to 28 in. in circumference and weighing 14 to 16 ounces. The game is played in two 45-minute halves. The team scoring the most goals wins the game.
All that is needed to play soccer is a ball, goals, and, for those who want, uniforms consisting of shorts, socks, cleats. It can even be played barefoot. This simplicity and informality is a chief reason for the worldwide popularity of the game. Because tackling is not as violent as in other forms of football and the round ball is more easily controlled than an oval one, soccer is especially suited to younger players.
Soccer has been a part of my life since I was five years old. I have been playing now for twelve years. My experiences in soccer have changed from the first games where 11 players ran in a bunch following the ball, to where now we use a complex system of passing using triangles. Some fans have told me that our system seems difficult to learn and play but when broken down, it is very simple. I have learned a lot about the sport. When I started to play higher levels of soccer I had to make a commitment. As a member of this year's varsity soccer team I spend close to 24 hours a week on the soccer field. My coach played semi-pro soccer in Scotland. Nearly every coach in Utah knows him. He trains us harder than any other coach I have ever had. When I played with him several years ago our team went 16-0-1. We were ranked #1 in the state. With commitment and hard work our team hopes to continue our coach's winning tradition.
In 12th century England the most p...more
The All Time Greatest Soccer Player
...own as Zinedine Zidane. Zidane was born in Algeria in 1972 and after struggling in school for several years he decided that soccer was his main interest. He was spotted at the age of sixteen by a soccer scout and very quickly found himself in Cannes. Shortly after that Zidane was playing for the French Division, scoring goal after goal and becoming the star of the team.
Today one of the most popular soccer players is David Beckham, who is the star of Great Brita...more
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