Day 9 of the SoccerCoachTV summer tour in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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As a soccer goalie reaction or “quickness” drills should be a regular part of your training regimen. For the goalkeeper, there are two time related elements involved in making a save. The first is the time it takes to visually find the ball in the air. The second involves the time it takes for the mind to compute the direction of the shot and for the body to react in whatever matter it has been trained.

The purpose of this article is to give you seven ways to evaluate your teams’ fitness levels. All these test may done either on an outdoor or indoor soccer field. These tests let you know their fitness levels and which area of conditioning they need to focus on in the preseason.

Many times soccer goalies, particularly in the youth soccer ranks, but sometimes even later, don’t have access to dedicated goalkeeper coaches. All they can do is watch other keepers and hope that player has good skills.

Thierry Henry could have been on the sideline as a punishment of his hand ball against Ireland. FIFA has decided they have no reason to punish him. Should he have been punished?

George Best was no doubt one of the greatest footballers ever. He had his best years in Manchester United and he’s known for his pace, balance and understanding of the game.

Both parents and players need to be prepared to survive soccer. Here are some of the essential tips for making it through the season.

Going on forever, a conclusive answer as to who the best player in the history of the game is remains elusive, regardless of the exhaustive statistical comparisons conducted by soccer analysts. Though many have advanced arguments for one over the other, there is indeed no doubt that both have dazzled us with their abundant talent and stand as Soccer Gods, head and shoulders above numerous highly-talented predecessors and successors.

Having a good goalkeeper can turn a mediocre team into a great team. Standing on or in the goal on free kicks, being properly positioned between the goal posts, and taking a forward hop-step before a shot on goal are simply yet effective ways to make a goalkeeper better.

Let’s face it. When it comes to coach youth soccer, every coach runs short of ideas on how to make practice drills interesting and enjoyable for the kids. The biggest challenge in teaching soccer is being creative enough to come up with great ideas so that the interest of the kids is sustained in the game.

There is a lot of equipment available for soccer players who want to improve their game but cannot afford to spend a lot of money. One item any soccer player should have, and can afford, is a set of practice cones. They are very versatile in terms of how they are set up, and can be used to help improve skills in a variety of ways. Websites online offer many different suggestions for cone exercises. Weighted soccer balls are also pretty cost-efficient. There are a number of exercises you can do to improve your strength and your finesse with a soccer ball.

In 1992 and 1993 the national team participated in the World Cup elimination round for Africa, but it lost to Nigeria. Subsequently, SA made its World Cup debut at the XVI FIFA World Cup in Paris in the late 1990s. It all started when in August 1997, South Africa beat Congo, 1-0, and advanced to the 1998 World Cup. In the first round, it finished third in its group, behind France (host country) and Denmark.

Teaching kids with special needs can be a challenge within a youth football team. However there are ways to help them fit in.