Soccer Corner Kick
(aka Corners). A corner kick in soccer is a method of restarting play. When the ball goes out of bounds over the soccer end line (aka the ‘Goal Line’) and was last touched by the defending team, the attacking team inbounds it from the nearest corner by kicking it in from the Soccer Field Corner Arc (note: this doesn’t apply if a goal was scored). Defenders must stay 6 yards back if U-8, 8 yards if U-10 & 10 yards back if U-12 or older. (If they don’t, they might get a soccer yellow card). The ball may be placed anywhere inside the Corner Arc or on the Corner Arc lines. There are 2 types of corners: a “Long Corner in soccer” and a “soccer Short Corner“. A player is not offside if he receives the ball from a Corner Kick. The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves. A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick. The kicker may not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player. (See “Short Corner” & “Soccer Long Corner“, and “Soccer Offside Rule“).
Below is what the official FIFA rules say about Corner Kicks:
A corner kick is a method of restarting play.
A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick, but only against the opposing team.
A corner kick is awarded when the entire ball, having last touched a player of the defending team, passes over the goal line, either on the ground or in the air, and a soccer goal is not scored in accordance with Law 10. Law 10 is “The Method of Scoring” and basically says that a goal is scored when the entire ball — not just part of the ball — passes over the goal line, between the goal posts and under the crossbar, provided there wasn’t a foul or a law broken in the process of scoring the goal (an example of when a goal would be disallowed is if the team scoring the goal was “offside“). Click here to see a diagram of a soccer field.
Procedure:
- The ball is placed inside the corner arc at the nearest corner flagpost.
- The corner flagpost is not moved.
- Opponents remain at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the corner arc until the ball is in play.
- The ball is kicked by a player of the attacking team.
- The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves.
- The kicker does not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player.
Soccer Aggressive Receiving
For young soccer teams and most Rec soccer teams it is very important to teach “Passing to Space” and “Aggressive Receiving“. What I mean is that you should use the Dribble Around a Cone & Pass Relay Race Soccer Practice Game to teach receivers that they MUST stay alert, on their toes, and stop the pass, no matter how bad it is…. they MUST assume that every soccer pass will be bad, get in front of it, and NOT let it get past them.
Many players seem to believe that a soccer pass is supposed to hit them in the feet, and they will just stand there flat-footed waiting for the soccer ball, and if it doesn’t come to them perfectly, they just let it go by and say ‘It’s not my fault ‘ it was a bad pass’. That is the wrong attitude. One of the most important things you can do is teach your players that a pass is NOT supposed to be perfect and that they must stay alert, on their toes, and go to the pass, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, do NOT let the pass get past them they MUST do their very best to stop the ball. Teach your players that most passes are to ‘Soccer Space‘ and that the pass is NOT supposed to be perfect.
The reason to teach this is that it is unrealistic to expect most Rec soccer players to be able to make a perfect pass when under pressure… SO, teach your receivers to NOT expect a perfect pass. In fact, teach them to expect a BAD pass and that they MUST be alert and do their very best to stop bad passes. Imagine the benefits of teaching Aggressive Soccer Receiving!
I suggest you give a special patch to encourage and reward this (pick a color or use a Star or Lightning Bolt). If you can teach this it will make a huge impact on your team’s play.
Ideally, your players should be able to both soccer pass to feet and soccer pass to space. But the reality is that young players will have a hard time making accurate soccer passes when under pressure, and so will Rec soccer players. That is a big advantage of teaching this approach and of teaching them to “Pass to Space” it makes it clear that they shouldn’t expect “soccer passes to their feet“. The Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race soccer practice game is the best way to teach Aggressive Soccer Receiving.
Soccer Dribbling
(aka Carrying) A player can dribble with any part of the foot. “Control dribbling” is usually with the inside or outside of the foot. “Speed dribbling” is often with the top of the foot (i.e., the “laces”). See “Soccer When To Dribble“, “Control Soccer Dribbling“, “Speed Soccer Dribbling” & “Soccer Pass To Yourself“. See How to Teach Soccer Dribbling.
Soccer Drag The Ball
To keep the soccer ball on one foot or very close to the foot so you are moving slowly & “dragging” the ball. This is done in conjunction with a soccer player using his body to shield the ball from a soccer defender & “soccer dragging” the ball with the foot farthest from the defender, or as part of a soccer feint where the player slows up & drags the ball & then either “pops” it past or fakes one way & flicks it the other way using the outside of his foot.
Soccer Drag Back
(aka “Pullback”). See “Soccer Pullback“.
Soccer DMF
Abbreviation for Defensive Midfielder. (See “Soccer Midfielders” & “Soccer Formations“).
Soccer Distribute
Soccer Goalkeepers “distribute” the ball by kicking, punting or throwing it. Once they pick up the soccer ball, they have six seconds to punt it or release it. They can pick it up, run with it and then punt it, throw it or drop it and dribble it or kick it. (However, they cannot touch it with their hands outside the “Soccer Penalty Box” and once they drop it they can’t touch it again with their hands until an opponent has touched it). They can also put it down on the ground and dribble it outside the Penalty Box like a “field player“. (See “Soccer Punting“, “Sidearm Soccer Throw” & “Soccer Goalkeeper“).
Soccer Direct Kick Foul
See “Soccer Fouls“.
Soccer Direct Kick
A type of soccer “free kick” given after severe fouls such as hitting or kicking. On a direct kick, a goal can be scored by kicking the ball into the soccer goal without it first touching another player. (See “Free Soccer Kick” & “Soccer Fouls“).
Soccer Direct Attack
To quickly move the ball forward toward the other soccer team’s goal by passing or dribbling; as opposed to a slow “indirect soccer attack” which uses a lot of backward or sideways (”square”) passes while searching for a weakness in the soccer defense. Unless your team has excellent passing ability, a direct attack will be more effective. (See “Soccer Counterattack“, “Soccer Attacking“, “Soccer Possession Style“, “Styles of Soccer Play“, & “Creating Soccer Space“).