Don’t Boot
This one is another really good subject and something that most young players need to work on. It is not to blame anyone for their first reaction when a ball is rolling towards them and more than one player is charging towards them to take the ball from them is to boot the ball forward or out of bounds. Boot the ball is what we call when a player basically kicks the ball as far as they can without purpose other than kicking the ball out from the space they are in.
Most likely the outcome will be kicking the ball to the other team or kicking it out of bounds. Either way you don’t have possession of the ball anymore and what we want is to have possession of the ball. Of course there are times when we want to boot the ball out of an area onto the field but what we want to avoid is not going through the process of decision making. When a player repeatedly boots the ball forward it is a sign that they are not practicing the art of decision making and the art of confidence. We also as viewers of the game celebrate the booting of the ball too often. Maybe because it is a show of power and is fun to watch the ball fly in the air. It is an extreme action and we like to watch these types of events.
Negative Scenario
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When you boot the ball you are creating a 50/50 chance for the other team to win the ball.
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One of the bad results that can occur from booting the ball is giving the ball to the other team. This is something that happens in soccer a lot. The turnover is a natural occurrence in the game of soccer most likely because the game is played with the feet. Most people have better eye hand coronation than eye foot coordination. One example of a spot that is easier to pass the ball around would be basketball. You don’t feel the need to look at the ball when you are passing a basketball like you do when passing a soccer ball. Just this alone makes it much harder of an action than passing something using your hands. So this being said, turnovers are a natural occurrence in soccer. The problem with booting the ball is that you no thought is given to where the ball is going to end up. There is no anticipating the outcome of the play. This benefits the attacking players. When a team boots the ball forwards the other team gets an opportunity to get the ball with lots of separation from the team that gave the ball up . This is one of the principles of attacking play to create separation on and space. The space gives you more time to make decisions, find a pass, take an open shot, or dribble with no one or maybe only one player around. The defense can easily be caught out of position and will definitely need to shift to cover the space that was created from the ball traveling to a different spot on the field. If a player gets the ball taken away from their feet or a pass is intercepted in close space then the defenders can more easily respond and put pressure on the player that intercepted the ball. The amount of space is the main problem with losing the ball after it has been aimlessly booted forward.
Positive Scenario
A good rule of thumb is to never do anything everytime and to sometimes do anything on the soccer field. That is why sometimes it is a good idea to kick the ball into the stands (Crowd) of a soccer game or to kick the ball up the field as far as one can. This is called a clearance and is a purposeful decision that definitely has its place during a game. When a defensive play becomes too difficult and too critical to the point that a mistake could easily result in the other team scoring. This would be a wise time to clear the ball. The best players in the world sometimes clear the ball.
Recap
A player should not boot the ball every time it rolls to them they should always have a purpose with what they are doing. A player should practice composure and decision making so that they can help there team keep possession of the ball as much as possible. Remember the difference between clearing the ball and booting the ball.