A Brief History of 'football.'

GCSE Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

A Brief History of ‘football.’

So many ancient cultures played a sport similar to modern football that no one can say with any certainty when or where football began. But it is known that the earlier varieties of what later became football were played almost 3000 years ago.

One of the earliest forms of football in which players kicked a ball on a small field has been traced as far back as 1004 B.C. in Japan. The Munich Ethnological Museum in Germany has a Chinese text from approximately 50 B.C. that mentions games very similar to football that were played between teams from china and Japan. The Chinese kicked a leather ball (filled) with hari) and it is known for sure that a football game was played in 611 AD, in the ancient Japanese capital Kyoto.

The ancient Romans played a game that somewhat resembled modern football. The early Olympic Games in ancient Rome featured twenty-seven men on a side who completed so vigorously that two-thirds of them had to be hospitalized after a fifty-minute game.

While ancient historians kept records of such conspicuous events as wars and religious movements, they apparently had little interest in preserving the various origins of football or other sports, so no one can say how soccer seems to have spread from Asia to Europe. But when the game finally did get to England, it had acquired a bad enough reputation among British royalty that the government sometimes passed laws against soccer.

The basic rules of football.

The basic rules of football that are needed during a game are as follows:-

To start a game a coin will be tossed to determine either which end a team defends or whether they have kick off.

2. Goal Kick. When a team misses a shot at goal, or kicks the ball beyond their opponents’ goal line, the opponent team will be allowed a goal kick. The ball will be placed on the side (left or right) of the goal where the ball went out, on the corner of the goal box and must be kicked out of the penalty area. .

3. Corner Kick. When a team kicks the ball across their own goal line, then a corner kick will result. The ball is place in the corner arc at the intersection of the touchline and the goal line and the attacking team will kick the ball. The attacking teams’ players may place themselves anywhere on the field, but the opponents must remain 10 yards from the player kicking the ball into play.

4. Throw-In. When the ball crosses-over the touchline the team that DID NOT touch the ball last receives possession of the ball. Any player can throw the ball in, but it ...

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4. Throw-In. When the ball crosses-over the touchline the team that DID NOT touch the ball last receives possession of the ball. Any player can throw the ball in, but it is generally someone responsible for that area of the field. Remember, the clock does not stop, The player throwing the ball in must use BOTH hands AND keep both feet on the ground.

Free kicks can be given for any of the following reasons:-

Handball. A handball will be called when a player intentionally touches the ball with the hand or arm to gain control of the ball.

Offside. A player is offside if, after the ball is touched by a player, the player is closer to the opponent’s goal line than 2 defensive players, including the goalie. This does not apply to goal kicks, throw-in’s or corner kicks. (The following diagram should help explain)

Contact Fouls. This includes pushing, kicking, striking, holding and charging into an opponent. If done maliciously or intentionally the player may be ‘yellow carded’ if it is their first offense. The table below indicates that there are two types of free kicks for different offences.

The general equipment for a player:-

Each Player should have:

1. A kit that consists of a jersey or T-shirt of the same color and loose fitting shorts. Usually supplied by the team/manager.

2. Rubber football boots for outdoor practice/games and ‘Astro turf trainers’ for indoor soccer.

3. A ball sized appropriately for their age. The regulation football is a size 5. 6 — 10 year old players will generally use a size 4 ball.

4. Shin-guards. These are plastic or fiberglass guards that protect the shins from contact with other players. Each player should be required to wear them to both practice and games.

5. Football socks, which are very long socks that go under and then back down over the shin-guard. Every player should wear these to practice as well as games.

Specialized equipment will be required for the goalie.

1. A brightly colored, contrasting kit so that the goalie is easily recognized.

2. Goalie gloves to protect the hands of the goalie.

And of course you will need a football, two teams and a referee (linesmen)

What physical qualities are needed to play football?

To play football the most important physical feature that you must have is good stamina or fitness. This is vital to ensure that you can last a whole game. (90 mins) If you are unfit you may let down your team and lose the game. Another good physical feature that is required to make sure that you can complete 90 minutes of intense action is good organs and a healthy body. Make sure you have a good diet (as you will find out later) and a good balance of food, drink and exercise. Also if you are in a tricky situation which requires some movement of the body good agility is be very useful. As well as being agile you need to be flexible. This again can help in certain situations. For example if you are goalkeeper and the ball is traveling at an awkward height you need to be both agile and flexible to maneuver your body to reach the ball.

My strengths in football and how I apply them.

I feel that football is my strongest sport. I believe that my strengths are good vision, good awareness, and a good attitude. I use these to my advantage as they enable me to get through a game. I also believe that one of my strengths is that I am entitled to quality coaching within an academy which means that I can easily improve on my weaknesses. Also my positive attitude towards sport helps me a lot as I can push myself to enjoy any sport which in turn helps me to improve and stay fit.

My weaknesses in football and how I can improve them.

I believe that my main weaknesses in football are that I am quite small and not the quickest. I believe I could push myself a bit harder to improve my speed and strength but feel that I will get bigger in time. I feel I could improve my speed and strength by using one of the training methods I have learnt. For example:

Weight= develop strength

Interval= develop fitness in a short time

Plyometrics= develop power

Circuit= develop fitness

Fartlek= develop fitness in our own way

Continuous=develop aerobic fitness

1 hour training program.

To start with you need to warm up. This will entitle you to move more frequently during intense work. It will also prevent any pulls or strains on muscles in the body. The warm should last between 5-10 minutes.

After this you should then do a little bit of fitness work. This should consist of different types of running. E.g. Jogging, Sprinting, Side steps etc. a reasonable time for this would be about 10-15 minutes.

After the fitness work you should then bring in some equipment (balls and cones) and do some skill work. This may include dribbling, passing and shooting. The duration of this should be 10-15 minutes.

Now put all the skills into games. Start with small sided games which if possible are relevant to the practices that have been completed during the session. Play these games for approximately 20-30 minutes.

After all the action you should then cool down. This again will prevent any muscular pains or tight muscles. This will be very useful for the day after!

Diet and nutrition in sport.

A diet is very important in sport. If you have a diet that is rich in fats or is salty then this may lead to permanent increase in blood pressure. Fatty products may block and harden the artery walls so they become less elastic and narrower. A good diet for an athlete would be heavy on carbohydrates, light on fates and have a moderate amount of protein also. Fluid is the most essential nutrient for athletes of any age, and especially for kids whose bodies are not able to regulate heat buildup as well as adults. Since thirst is not a reliable indicator of the body's fluid needs, especially during exercise, it is best to keep kids hydrated by consistently having them drink fluids. Water is a great choice, so is 100 % juice, low-fat milk, soups and juicy fruits such as watermelon and oranges. Sports drinks contain lots of sugar but little other nutritional value. Eating a good diet will not help kids who are poorly trained to become winners, but a poor diet can prevent trained kids from getting the gold.