News Sport Daily: Soccer: The Ultimate Guide

Soccer: The Ultimate Guide - Sports - Soccer

Search by Author, Title or Content

Article ContentAuthor NameArticle TitleHomeSubmit ArticlesAuthor GuidelinesPublisher GuidelinesContent FeedsRSS FeedsFAQContact Us Soccer: The Ultimate Guide by Soccerangelin Sports / Soccer (submitted 2012-06-11)

Soccer tricks began as urban street art, notes the book "Soccer: The Ultimate Guide," and grew to become a sport in its own right. Freestylers including John Farnworth of England and Indi Cowie of North Carolina compete in tournaments and perform at soccer game halftimes. The tricks freestylers perform include sitdowns, done as the name indicates while sitting; stalls, which require holding the ball still on a part of the body; and air tricks, which involve popping the ball into the air using fancy footwork.
Beginner
The foundational trick of freestyling, the Around the World or ATW, starts with juggling the ball, which means kicking it up repeatedly so it doesn't touch the ground, followed by circling one foot around the ball completely while it is in the air. The Crossover, writes Edward Yoon on his Masterclass Freestyle website, requires you to jump up, swing one leg around the ball, and chip the ball up with your trailing leg. The Rainbow, often seen performed in park games by African and Latin American players, entails catching the ball between your feet, rolling it up your support leg and then kicking it into the air with the heel of your support leg.
Intermediate
Several intermediate tricks build on Hop the World, abbreviated as HTW, which involves a touch with one foot while the opposite foot goes around the ball outside and inside, followed by continued juggling. The Neck HTW begins with a neck stall, from which you slide the ball off your neck down your side and go into a HTW. The Henry backheel flick starts with a brushing of the edge of the ball with your heel, which causes the ball to flick up. Swing with the same foot and strike the ball upward. The Bambini seems to be inspired by the Harlem Globetrotters, as you juggle the ball, catch it under your shirt, then hit it with your fist to make it go around your torso and fall out of the front of your shirt to continue juggling.
Advanced
Cowie specializes in the Touzani ATW, an advanced form involving a regular ATW with a slight jump in middle of the trick followed by swinging your second leg as well as your first around the ball. The Lemmens ATW is a double ATW, where you touch the ball Nike Tiempo Legend IV Elite to start an Around the World and move your foot around the ball twice -- 720 degrees -- before making contact with the ball a second time.
Master/Pro
Yoon describes a Knee Alternate Touzani ATW, done by adapting a regular Knee Touzani ATW to use the alternate knee. Cowie also does the Beck Lemmens Touzani ATW, or BLTATW, where you start a Lemmens ATW maneuver, and make a jump and throw your other leg around the ball when the second rotation around the ball is almost finished. About the Author

New Adidas Adipower Predator TRX FG for you.

Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author's information and copyright must be included.

Soccerangel

Soccerangel