I don’t know a thing about you but I’ll bet that most coaches are hesitant in drawing a Soccer field diagram . This may be due to several reasons. They consider it an unproductive activity and find it convenient to train kids on these positions while performing drills. Moreover, they tend to avoid botheration of first sketching a diagram and subsequently explaining it.
Since you’re the coach, remind yourself of the fact that kids learn more by watching. There’re no doubt that kids learn more in short time period when various soccer formations are depicted in a visual diagram or through a drill. Hence, here’s a quick recap of the soccer field and all the important positions involved that kids must be trained on.
There are goals on both sides of the soccer field, is big in area, and rectangular in shape. When the ball crosses the touch line or the goal, it goes out of player’s scope. It doesn’t matter if it is in the air. Now, use the throw-in, corner kick or goal kick in order to bring the ball back into the field.
The dimensions and area of all soccer fields is similar except for slight differences in some in order to match the level of the game. So drawing a field diagram is one of the first-rate soccer tactics.
Midfield line: It’s the middle of the field and divides the playing ground into two equal parts.
Touch line: It is this line that limits the area of the ground by way of long lines. This is where the throw-in begins and it’s also called a sideline.
Goal lines: These are spotted on the soccer field diagram and are used to mark the inaccessible areas on each side of the field. As soon as the ball crosses this defined area, it is followed by a goal kick or a corner kick. It is generally dependent on the team that touches the ball last. These too are known as end lines.
Penalty area: A very important and dangerous area from the point of view of a goalie. Given that a foul here can result in a penalty kick, it’s also called a penalty box.
Goal area: This area is made use of to entertain goal kicks.
Goal: A goal or a point is scored when the ball passes through the post.
Center circle: This is the point from where the game starts. Game starts when the ball if first hit and the players wait outside it till then.
Center spot: The ball is placed on this point which lies on the center circle.
Corner kick quarter-circles: These are points indicated by flags on all 4 sides of the ground. Corner kicks are taken from these points.
It’s important in soccer to distribute players into 2 teams. Each has a goalkeeper and field players. There are 11 players in every team with a perfect blend of players skilled at playing from various positions. These are the forwards, mid-fielders, defenders, and fullbacks.
Now is the time to use all your understanding in drawing a soccer field diagram. This will help your kids understand various soccer positions better. If you would like more of such knowledge based articles, join our youth soccer coaching community that has a wealth of similar resources on youth soccer.
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Coaching.