how to
How tos for all things soccer; a collection of soccer moves, team stats, footballers' fancy footwork and more.
A How-To on Identifying Soccer Injuries
If you love to play soccer, then you know it comes with injuries. At some point, you’ve probably felt a shooting toe pain and wondered what it was. Read further to identify this nagging pain, along with many other possible injuries, as well as helpful tips on how to treat them.
By Craig Middleton5 years ago in Cleats
How Soccer Cleats Should Fit
Your soccer cleats should fit like a natural extension of your feet. With your feet being your most valuable asset on the field, you'll want to be sure they are comfortable, secure, and even safe. Wearing ill fitting cleats can harm more than just the game; it can ultimately lead to injury, as well. Complete range of motion is a must, as is flexibility. From the shape of your cleats to the placement of your laces, you have to consider several factors before you commit to a soccer shoe.
By Brad Gould6 years ago in Cleats
How Soccer Players Can Avoid Hamstring Injuries
We all know soccer players ham up injuries in an effort to sway the ref to issue a yellow card. However, injuries are also a real part of playing soccer. Injuries in soccer are very common because it is both a contact sport and a highly cardio intensive sport. The hamstring muscle is used nonstop when playing soccer, and hamstring strain is one of the top muscle injuries most soccer players deal with. While many coaches focus on hamstring stretching as a top priority, there are specific ways to avoid hamstring injuries that people may not be aware of. The Journal of Sports Medicine has done ample research on injury prevention for this muscle group and identified risk factors. The best ways to prevent hamstring injuries is to start with being prepared.
By Morgan E. Westling6 years ago in Cleats
10 Drills to Improve Your Soccer Dribbling Skills
If you want to succeed as a soccer player, you need to do drills to improve your soccer dribbling until it becomes second nature. It’s a skill that many players try to skip past, but the truth is, is that the best soccer training equipment or any of the available training products for this game will mean much of nothing if you don't hone in your skills of the basics first. Any attempt to jump ahead to the “fun stuff” will end up hurting you in a major way in the long run.
By Joshua Samuel Zook6 years ago in Cleats
How to Wear Soccer Shin Guards
It's imperative that you wear soccer shin guards every time you play, but you also have to wear them correctly. If they slip down your shins, don't fit properly, or cause discomfort, then they won't do you any good. Don't go thinking that you're safe without them, either. Your shins deserve complete protection whether you're practicing with your friends or going head-to-head with a rival team. Your legs are your most valuable assets and your most vulnerable body parts in soccer. You have to wear shin guards to stand out as a confident, competent player. Trust me, no one's going to think you're cool or tough just because you're the only soccer player with bare shins. Odds are they'll take advantage of your weakness instead.
By Nick Paroni6 years ago in Cleats
Best Soccer Footwork Drills You Can Do Without a Ball
What do you do when the soccer season ends? You can't just sit around all those months—you need to keep yourself sharp and hone your skills. There are some obvious things you can do to stay healthy, like eat smarter and play pickup games with your friends. It's not enough to tread water though: You need to constantly be working to improve your technique. Luckily, there are plenty of exercises you can do no matter what your resources are. Even if you are already doing soccer exercises to improve your speed and power, there are soccer footwork drills you can do without a ball, agility exercises you can do without a field, and speed exercises you can do without a partner.
By Joseph D. N. Kendrick6 years ago in Cleats
How to Break in Soccer Cleats and Make Them More Comfortable
From a former athlete's perspective, I relate to the struggle of breaking in new shoes. Wrestling, track, and lacrosse, as you would probably expect, all have significantly different ranges of shoe-wear, and it is prudent to recognize that—even among football, soccer, and lacrosse—the cleats are specified to their sport. Going shoe shopping in the summer and winter of every year, I walked up and down the aisles of Sport's Authority looking at the range of athletic shoes I would need for the year, and I would always find that lacrosse cleats were directly next to the soccer cleats. Every so often, I would pick one of the soccer cleats up instead, trying them on and walking around the store—shopping in its most organic form. I found that, well into practice sessions preceding the season, I would eventually hit a comfortable stride, but I would always wind up wearing them out by the end of the year. Had I known these tips to break in soccer cleats, I would have saved myself a number of ice baths and been on the field like a flash of lightning well before game time.
By Ryan Whitaker6 years ago in Cleats
Why Soccer Players Dive & How To Do It Yourself
The recently finished FIFA World Cup has resurfaced an age-old question in the beautiful game—the question of why soccer players dive. Why do the best soccer players in the world risk their global reputation by resorting to cheating when nothing stays hidden from cameras in the modern game? The answer is not so simple, and we will try to explore why soccer players dive, as well as the complex art of diving.
By Ringo Mendoza6 years ago in Cleats
Tips for Buying Soccer Cleats
Buying new soccer boots is always a tricky decision in the life of an aspiring footballer. Whether you are a young kid who has recently taken to the game or a teenager in the formative years of your amateur career, you can’t afford to take a chance with your soccer boots.
By Brad Gould6 years ago in Cleats
Best Soccer Exercises to Help Improve Your Speed & Power
Since soccer incorporates so many different aspects of fitness such as strength, speed, and agility, the best soccer exercises will be ones that improve a few of these areas at once. From weight lifting to bodyweight exercises, calisthenics to running, there are exercises for everyone to help improve their ability on the pitch. All of the best soccer forwards have probably done all of these. But no matter what position you play, these 10 best soccer exercises will give you an edge before your next season.
By Dave Schneider6 years ago in Cleats