A02 Games Based Sport

Skills:

·         Passing:

This is one of the most basic skills in football but at first it may be tricky. You are meant to pass the ball with the inside of your foot or if you want to challenge yourself you can use the outside of your foot. Keep your other foot straight towards the way you’re passing.

·         Short Passing:

This is the easiest type of passing because you don’t need to pass it over a long distance. Using the inside of the foot is the most accurate way of passing because it keeps the ball under control. However, using the inside of your foot will not produce much power so it is easy for the opponent to work out where you are going to pass the ball.

When approaching the ball you want to lift your left back so you have room to swing your leg forward to hit the ball. Your ‘none kicking’ leg should be parallel next to the ball to make your pass accurate.  

Keeping your ankle firm you need to swing your leg forward and strike the ball in the centre. By striking the ball in the centre the ball will stay on the ground and is more likely to go where you want it to. If you don’t keep your ankle firm it will go all floppy and the ball won’t be as accurate.

The more you follow through with your foot the further the ball will go. For a short pass you don’t want too much power behind it nut for a long pass you will want more power. The more you play the better you will get at judging how much power you need behind it.

                        

·         Drive Passing:

This is an extremely hard skill to master. Even professional players struggle with it. Top players like Beckham and Gerrard are masters of this skill but with all things, practise makes perfect. To make a perfect drive pass you must use the instep and drive through the ball; this makes a low pass with enough power to get past a defender. Keeping the ball on the ground will make the ball easier for a teammate to run onto.

·         Controlling the Ball:

A good first touch is always the most important thing to do because without one you will lose the ball. To get a good fist touch you must get the ball under control so that you don’t lose it to an opponent. If you can get this skill right then it’s more likely you will have a better game. Whether you are controlling the ball with your feet, head, knees, chest or thigh the basics are always the same. Everyone makes mistakes but make sure you try your best to keep it under control. You will gradually improve this skill as you play more and more.

·         Tackling:

This is one of the most important skills. Whatever position, striker or defender, you need to have the ability to tackle. If the opposing team have the ball your team obviously want it back. To get the ball back you need to make a tackle but make sure it’s a clean tackle not a foul. There are many different types of tackle, some more complicated than others, but the block tackle is the most basic and most common.   Sliding tackles are much harder and more difficult to get right.    

·         Scoring Goals:

Scoring goals is what every football player wants to do, but it’s harder than it looks. You need to be able to judge and time your shot, know where the goal is, beat the keeper and not embarrass yourself. Most goals are scored when the player strikes the ball with their laces but some goals are scored when they use the outside or even the inside of the foot. Scoring a goal is like winning the lottery.  

Techniques:

·          Short Passing:

To get the best pass you want to be approaching the ball at an angle of about 30 degrees so that you have room to swing your kicking leg through. You non-kicking foot should be next to the ball pointing towards the way you want to kick the ball. Use your arms for balance and keep your head still and focus on the ball.

When striking the ball you want to strike the middle of the ball so the ball will stay on the ground and this helps with accuracy. You need to strike it with the inside of your foot keeping you ankle firm, not floppy. With this type of passing your aim is to keep the ball on the ground so it is easier for your teammate to control.

As well as striking the centre of the ball, the weight you put on the pass is critical. Too much the ball will go miles; too little the ball won’t reach your teammate. The more you play the better you will become. Too increase the power follow through with the kicking leg but the weight of the pass will depend on how far away your teammate is.

·         Heading:

Whatever position you play in, whether its striker or defender, you need to have the ability to head the ball. The best part of the head to use is the forehead because it’s the most accurate and the safest part. Many players find it difficult to time their headers right but like most things practise makes perfect. To perform a header you also need to be in the best position so you can get your head on the ball and not embarrass yourself.

·         Goalkeeping:

All keepers need to be ready to react to a shot at any time, especially if they haven’t done anything for a long period of time. They need to be in a ‘ready’ position at all times and must always concentrate on where the ball is. A goalkeeper must always try to hold onto the ball whenever possible so that the opposition cannot get a rebound. There are many different ways in which to catch a ball. All good goalkeepers should know they must try and catch a ball in a cross so they are put out of danger but catching a high ball can be very tricky, especially when an opponent is challenging you. In many cases the keeper may need to dive for the ball, not always. The key is getting into a good position early so you can react to the shot quicker. God footwork is essential as well as agility through the air.

·         Volleying:

This can be a very hard technique to master but once you can do it you’ll never forget it. It’s also a technique that looks very effective if you can do it but very embarrassing if you can’t. To perform a volley you must strike the ball while it is still in the air, this can make accuracy even harder. This technique is all about timing, too early and the ball will be too high, too early and the ball will be too low.

Tactics:

·         Attacking:

By attacking you are putting pressure on your opponents and main objective of attacking football is to score goals. There are many different types of attacking football; some can be more complex than others. Counter attacking football is one of the most obvious ways to attack. 

As you can see in the image above the blue team have left their defence wide open which means when the red team got the ball within two passes they had a clear chance on goal. This is what we call counterattacking football. Scoring a goal against 11 players is very tricky but the beauty of counterattacking football is that you use the other team’s desperation to score a goal to your advantage. The key is to leave a man up front so that if the defence get the ball they can quickly get up field to the isolated striker so they can make a run on goal.

Many teams choose to use the ‘long-ball’ tactic. Instead of the defence spending time on the ball finding the perfect pass they will kick the ball up front so that the attackers can have a chance on goal. In the image below you can see the red team’s defender has booted the ball up front to create a chance on goal. However, this tactic doesn’t always work because by just booting the ball up field you aren’t keeping the ball under control, therefore, any player can receive it.    

  

By getting the ball out wide you are getting the ball out to open space. The middle of the pitch is the most crowded area so if you get the ball out wide to a winger the winger can dribble the ball all the way to the box and cross it in or even shoot. Many teams choose this tactic and this tactic is very effective.

In the image above you can see that the red winger has run all the way from the halfway line to almost the edge of the box and has crossed it in to a red striker. Look at how many opponents are on the wing and compare that to how many there are in the centre of the pitch. There’s just one defender on the wing so the red winger can easily get passed and put the blue team under pressure.

Many teams like exploiting set-plays to create chances. This includes: free kicks, throw-ins and corner kicks. If these teams get a corner they will pack the box with players so it’s more likely they will score but if they don’t they will leave the defence wide open.  

As you can see in the image above the red team have only left a couple of men back and have packed the box with players for the corner. If the ball is crossed in correctly they should score easily but if the blue team get it they can easily make counterattack. 

·         Defending:

Many teams use a ‘zonal defence’ tactic which is where every defender and midfielder is given a particular zone on the pitch to cover when the opposition has the ball. This technique is usually used when players lack in pace. This is a particularly important technique when it comes to set-pieces but relies heavily on players fulfilling their duties and staying focused at all times.   

As you can see in the image above the defenders are in a row of four and the midfielders are in another row of four. They cover every part of the pitch but if one of the defenders or midfielders lacks concentration attackers can easily get past. The defending line is the most important as it is the last row of defence and if each player is not synchronized the attackers will easy get through on goal.

Many teams like using a man to man marking tactic. This is where each defender picks a certain player they will mark throughout the match; this is a good tactic when it comes to through balls. Not every player marks an opponent, as you can see in the image above, only a few do but these few players must stick to this opponent and not lose concentration.

Strategies:

·         Formations:

In modern football 4-4-2 is the most common and adaptable formation. However, the bad thing about this formation is the big gap in-between the central defenders. This means the central defenders must help at the back which means they will get extremely tired after doing a lot of work.   

In recent times the 4-5-1 formation has grown in popularity, however, this formation is more for defensive play but can be tweaked to cause an offensive threat. The 4-5-1 formation has a great positive to it because there are three central midfielders for better passing and a lone striker, typically a target man. Having five midfielders’ helps in counterattacking football but it does rely heavily on the wingers supporting the striker. 

The 4-3-3 formation generally emphasizes attack more than defence. This formation may be a bit like the 4-5-1 formation but instead of the wingers supporting the central midfielders they are acting as forwards.

The 4-3-1-2 formation, commonly known as the ‘Diamond formation’, refers to the midfield, with an attacking midfielder employed and flanked by two wingers, who move infield slightly to shore up the gaps in the centre. The full backs become wingbacks and start slightly higher up on the pitch to cover for the lack of width in the side. 

Another defensive formation is the 5-3-2 line up. The wing play is the sole responsibility of the full- backs. The three central defenders provide extra defence to stop any attackers getting through and in the image below you will see that the three midfielders are all located around the centre circle. There is also a notable gap between the midfield and attack.