All over the world soccer players, young and old, gather in open spaces to play their favorite sport. Vacant lots, open parks, parking structures, back alleys or basketball courts. These are the places where the true form of the game is found, where love and...
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Kids streaking back and forth on a soccer field in scorching tropical heat promises to produce something more than buckets of sweat. Billed as Brazil's first player-powered soccer pitch, a field inaugurated Wednesday in a Rio de Janeiro slum harnesses the kinetic...
Many have described Barcelona's 5-0 win over Real Madrid last November as the greatest performance ever. Even Wayne Rooney admits that he stood up in his living room and started applauding. [Xavi's face lights up]. Yeah? Really? Rooney? That makes me proud. Rooney, wow! Rooney is...
IN JUNE 2008, PEP GUARDIOLA BECAME MANAGER OF FC BARCELONA. In the same month, Spain became champions of Europe when they defeated Germany by a goal to nil in Vienna. What followed was a period of domination that bordered on revolution. Spain and Barcelona weren’t just...
Positions and playing time “I play left midfield.” When I ask my patients about their soccer experiences I often hear children, some as young as 7, identify themselves as “defenders” or “strikers.” This is not good for young players, and it’s another sign that we’re doing it...
Katie Roper's daughter Ellen likes to play lots of sports--soccer, basketball, softball and swimming. But even at Ellen's tender age of nine, that's getting hard to do. Kids in her swim program are dropping other sports to specialize in competitive swimming year-round, and Ellen is having...
“THIS place,” says John Hall, looking out at the Townhead PowerLeague centre, “gave me the chance to socialise with the widest range of people.” When John first came to Kennedy Street, he wasn’t, by his own admission, great at socialising with others. That changed pretty quickly. Ask...
Part of the majesty of sport resides in its ability to explain life. There can be more truth in one good competition than an entire Sunday church service. Soccer’s function as a microcosm of life is arguably the most direct in all the sports -...
It is that time of year again! Teams now formed and parent/managers under pressure from 12 sets or more of well-meaning parents to select the ideal trainer. What used to be the case with players aged 14 and up is now the case for all...
U.S. Soccer announced a pair of major initiatives in youth development on Monday, changing the birth-year registration calendars from an August-May format to January-December and mandating new small-sided game participation and field size standards based on age groups. Both initiatives will be fully mandated by August...