Soccer 4Life

Soccer is one of the most popular sports, if not the most popular sport or hobby in the world. The soccer World Cup, which is the world soccer tournament that goes occurs every four years, gets more viewers than any other sporting event in the world. Soccer is such a big deal in some countries that it has caused political tensions between nations when their teams have played against each other in the World Cup. So why is soccer such a great hobby for everyone? For one thing, it does not require much equipment to play soccer, you just need a soccer ball to kick around and a couple friends, and some sort of goal that you can use to kick the ball into. The rules are rather simple and obvious, you just kick the soccer ball around and try to kick it into the other team’s goal to score, and you can’t touch the soccer ball with your hands.

Kicking a soccer ball around is something that can be addicting and you can spend hours and hours doing it without getting bored. You can do different tricks with your like dribbling and or seeing how many times you can kick the soccer ball without letting it hit the ground. You can practice tricks like the bicycle where you jump and kick it sideways or kick it in the air while falling onto your back. You can do that one trick where you roll the ball with one foot onto the back of your other leg and then use that other leg to kick it forward, from behind, over your head; that’s one of my favorites. It makes people think I am a good soccer player when I do that one, even though I am not.

One nice thing about soccer or a soccer hobby is that it definitely keeps you in shape with all of that running you have to do, and you have to be in pretty good shape to do well at soccer. Playing soccer is not like a light jog where you can just take it easy the whole time. You are at a full, dead sprint over and over. It’s fun too, so it doesn’t feel like you are just working out, you are playing a game instead. The last soccer team I played on was an indoor soccer team. I thought I was in shape, but then I could only last for a couple minutes before I had to take a breather, each time I went in.

One of my earliest memories of playing soccer was when I was on a little league soccer team as a kid. I was playing defense and all I did was kick the ball as hard as I could to the other end of the field every time it came to me. I also remember afterwards, I ate a piece of chocolate candy with the wrapper still on it. I didn’t swallow it, but it made me sick and had to quit dribbling my soccer ball on the way home from the soccer game, while I puked because the feeling in my mouth was so disgusting. I think my body was worked up from the sprinting in the soccer game as well and my stomach was tight. It still makes me sick to think about that experience all of these years later. But I sure had fun as a kid playing on my soccer team and had a lot of good experiences. I also still have a lot of good memories from my soccer days as a kid. It was fun being the center of attention as I kicked the ball around each time it came to me. I wasn’t that good though, and I played defense, so I usually just gave the soccer ball a nice boot to the other side of the field each time it came to me.

There are a lot of drills you can do with a soccer balls, just on your own to become a better soccer player. You can just practice dribbling, as mentioned above, where you just kick the soccer ball back and forth between your legs as you run. Once you get good at dribbling the soccer ball, you can show it off when you play games, but dribbling the soccer ball and cutting past people. Or, you can practice kicking and aiming the soccer ball at a certain point on a wall or practice kicking it into the goal or passing with the side of you foot, so you can get your aim better and score more goals when you play. You can dribble the soccer ball with your feet while weaving through cones. You can practice heading the soccer ball and aiming with your head. For some reason soccer player’s favorite thing to do is hit the soccer ball with their heads.

This article was written by Peter Jay, Owner, President, and CEO of Variety Access, Your Online Hobby Store and More! For more information about Soccer and Soccer Balls, please visit Variety Access at VarietyAccess.com/soccer.php

What kind of soccer cleats should you buy?

There are so many choices. And all this marketing nonsense out there. Exactly. There is no simple answer to this question. How to buy proper soccer cleats could be very challenging but it does not have to become a nightmare. With the adequate knowledge you can easily choose the right soccer shoes for yourself or your child, if that’s the case.

So, let’s see what should you look for while buying soccer cleats?
Besides the price, you want to make sure they are comfortable.
But how would you know if they give you enough comfort, before you play in them at least few times?

You won’t.

But you can increase your chances of buying comfortable soccer cleats by considering the following factors:

1. Manufacturer.

2. True Leather or Synthetic.

3. Studs Type.

4. Size.

Let’s talk about these factors a little bit more.

Manufacturer
Adidas and Nike are the 2 most popular. For a good reason. They are probably the best on the market.

While Adidas has manufactured soccer shoes “forever”, Nike has made great strides over the last few years. Both companies make equally good quality soccer shoes.

I personally never played in Nike’s shoes, so I can’t tell you about this brand from my experience. My sons played soccer using both brands. After trying them for a while, the younger son sticks to Nike while Pat (older) uses Adidas shoes only. They both are very happy with their selections.
Do you know why?

Their feet are build differently. Pat has a much wider foot than his brother. Adidas makes its cleats bigger in width than Nike.

Basically if you have:

· Wide foot – look for a pair of Adidas Soccer Cleats.

· Skinny foot – look for a pair of Nike Soccer Cleats.

It wouldn’t be fair not to mention 2 other brands, almost as good as the above two:
Diadora and Puma.
Other brands like: Umbro, Kelme, Mitre, Lotto – only if you really can’t afford the brands mentioned above or if you just simply like these brands.

True Leather or Synthetic

Upper portion of every soccer shoe is made out of either true leather or synthetic material.

What is better?

True leather…in my opinion. And I recommend it to everybody who is serious about playing soccer.

True leather gives you an uncompromising feel of the ball. It molds to your feet producing great comfort. It also lasts longer than synthetic materials. And it is healthier for your feet.
Synthetic materials don’t let the feet “breathe” building up of sweat, potential blisters and feet problem in the near future.

But…(of course there is a “but”)
…True leather cleats cost more.
There are few different types of leather used to manufacture soccer cleats.
The least expensive is full grain. Sometimes full grain leather soccer shoes could cost only slightly more than “artificial”. Spending $10-20 more on much better shoes would be really worth it.
The best leather out on the market is K-Leather (Kangaroo). Though more expensive but it is softer, lighter and still durable.
If your feet are not growing like the speed of sound and your budget is not too tight, definitely consider buying soccer cleats made from K-Leather.

There is another “but” or an exception to my “non-synthetic soccer shoes” rule: soccer cleats made of high quality synthetic material.
These soccer shoes are manufactured with special microfiber technology that upgrades synthetic material, usually a PU (polyurethane). It makes the PU very soft, and strong, giving it similar feel to a natural material. Top Super-Microfiber material can be just as expensive as some leather!

Nowadays almost all-leading sport’s footwear manufacturers use microfiber materials. For example, Nike makes their top quality cleats from super lightweight synthetic material called KNG-100 (Air Zoom Total 90) and Nike-Skin (Mercurial Vapor). Even Adidas, for the first time, used microfiber for its newest creation Adidas Predator Absolute (there is a Kangaroo leather model as well).
So, my “non-synthetic cleats rule” applies only to a regular (cheap) synthetic material like PU or PVC (polyvinylchloride).

Studs Type

Soccer Cleats – More Tips and Recommendations

About the Author:

Adrian Gumowski has been involved in soccer for thirty years. As a former player and now as a parent of two youth soccer players Adrian shares his knowledge on Youth Soccer Equipment and other soccer related topics at my-youth-soccer-guide.com.

While it is undisputed that the origins of modern soccer, or football, originated in Britain, there is a great deal of evidence that points to this beloved game as having an older history.

Where did the game of soccer really begin, and how old is it? To understand how many different varieties of “soccer” there are, you need to understand a bit about the older versions of the game and how they have evolved.

Below, you will find a list of the predominant cultures that had a variety of soccer, and learn how each one differs from what we play today. And no, they never used anything like Lotto shinguards back then either!

• Chinese Soccer History
• Japanese Soccer History
• Egyptian Soccer History
• Greek/Roman Soccer History
• British Soccer History

Chinese Soccer History

To many, this is the oldest version of soccer to exist. However, there is quite a lot of controversy of whether or not this is the oldest, or Japan’s version is the elder. The Chinese version of the game, originally named “Tsu Chu”, involved players on a field that had to hit a leather ball stuffed with fur into a small hole. Like Soccer, no hands were permitted during the play of the game, and it was considered an honor to be a member of a team.

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty, when the game was developed, was an avid player and fan, and spread the popularity of this game all over China during his reign. This roughly dates back to 300 B.C., although there is controversy on the subject of dating, which could result in the origins of the game being as far back as 5000 B.C. Regardless, this version of Soccer is extremely old. Despite that, there is still a version of Tsu Chu played today. While the two games are similar, Tsu Chu has had no effect on the modern version of the game, as it was originally developed and created for play in Great Britain.

Japanese Soccer History

Kemari, the Japanese version of “Soccer”, is perhaps one of the most different forms of the sport, in comparison to modern soccer. Kemari was a game of “Keep it up”, much like modern hacky sacks, although used with a larger ball that was stuffed with saw dust. This version involves a “pitch”, or the field, designated by the selection of four trees, the cherry, maple, pine and willow. Many great houses in Japan would grow trees to have a permanent pitch, or field, established.

Kemari was normally played with two to twelve players. Established in roughly 1004 B.C., it vies for position of the oldest game with China’s Tsu Chu. In fact, China’s Tsu Chu players and Japan’s Kemari players were the first to have an “International” game of their versions of Soccer, which is dated to have occurred in roughly 50 B.C., although a definite date of 611 A.D. is known. Regardless, this game stands with China as a sister sport to Soccer, while it never affected the modern version of the game.

Egyptian Soccer History

While not much is known about Egyptian Soccer, or other ball games, it is thought there was a version of a type of ball game played by young women during the age of Baqet III. On his tomb, images of this sport were depicted, although no one is certain how the game was played or whether or not it truly affected the outcome of modern soccer. Recordings of this game date as far back as 2500 B.C., although not much more is known asides the fact that it was played with a ball. The lack of information on the sport and how it was played has eliminated it from runnings as the first evidence of a game similar to soccer.

Greek/Roman Soccer History

Perhaps the closest relative to modern soccer are the games that were formed by the Greeks during the prime of their culture. They had numerous varieties of football style games, some of which required hands, some of which forbade hands. In the end, after the Roman conquering of Greece, the game Harpastum is what modern soccer would be based from. This game, probably a modified version of the Greek’s “Harpaston”, which translates roughly to handball. While grossly misnamed, this game is what is considered to be one of the precursors to modern soccer.

British Soccer History

In Britain during the 8th century, soccer was created, not as a recreational sport, but as a war game. One of the stories of the original roots of the sport comes from when a Danish Prince was beheaded, and his head was used as a ball and was kicked around. Ever since this ‘legendary’ tale, villages and other communities would play a game where they would have to kick a ball to a specific goal. It was a violent game, where injury and death were not uncommon, but it was popular nevertheless. In fact, it was so violent, that in 1331, King Edward the III passed laws to try to stop the playing of the game. It did not work, however, and the sport continued on.

There are even stories of soccer games that involved hundreds upon hundreds of players. In these games, there were many deaths, some resulting in the hundreds. It wasn’t until 1815 when Eton College set up a series of rules for the game that it became less violent and more of a true sport. At this time, other colleges and universities took up the banner and began to play under similar rules. Later, the rules were evaluated and judged, and the Cambridge rules were created as a result in 1848. In the Cambridge rules, shin-kicking, carrying the ball and tripping were all forbidden. Rugby rules allowed these aspects, and the two varieties of soccer, or football, split to form their own followings.

On October 26, 1863, London schools and sports club sent representatives to the Freemason’s Tavern, where the Football Association was formed. Rugby supporters left this association to form the Rugby Association. This is where the birth of modern soccer began. In 1969, the Football Association finalized the modern game of soccer by forbidding the use of hands in the game.

The term “Soccer” was coined when someone was asked if he was a Rugger, which is a Rugby player. The -er signified that the person participated in a a particular sport. The individual, Charles Wreford Brown, replied with “Soccer!”, taking the phrase from Association, SOC, and adding the -er. The term stuck. While British individuals still call the game Football, Americans and other countries call it Soccer, especially if they have heavy support in American Football present. Ever since the foundation of the Association, “Football” has risen in popularity, becoming one of the best love games in the history of Earth. Now, hundreds of thousands play the sport, although it lacks the initial violence present at its creation.

About The Author

Rebecca Blain is a professional and hobbyist writer who enjoys taking care of her fish and educating people about soccer equipment such as goals which you can read about here:

http://www.everything-soccer.com/8-24-soccer-goals.html