1. Squeeze the ball between both your left and right feet
2. Roll the ball up your left leg
3. Release the ball when it gets about half way up your left leg
4. Stomp down with your right leg striking the ball with the outside bottom of your right foot
5. The ball will then bounce off the ground and back up along the outside of your right leg to start juggling.

Understanding Soccer Referee Signals

You’re glued to the game, and your psychological well-being hinges on your favorite team scoring the winning goal. It’s then that you realize that the fate of the game rests in the referee’s hands–literally! Since the referee is a critical part of a game of soccer, responsible for keeping order and enforcing the rules, it’s crucial for the true soccer fan to be able to decipher what he’s seen and what he wants. Here’s a crash course on “Referees.”

1. Listen for the whistle. A referee who blows his whistle has seen something, most often a foul, which requires him to immediately terminate play and deal with the situation. The whistle tone will often indicate the nature of the foul. A short, quick whistle indicates a lesser foul only punished by a free kick, and longer, harder blasts indicate serious fouls punishable by cards or penalty kicks.

2. Watch for the advantage. A referee who, without blowing his whistle, points both arms out, has seen a foul but has decided to play advantage. In advantage, the referee delays the call because he believes that the fouled team still has the advantage in the situation. Typically the referee will give around 3 seconds to determine who comes out on top. If, at the end of the 3 seconds, an advantage was gained by the fouled team, such as possession being kept or a goal being scored, the foul will be ignored by the referee. If the foul warranted a card, however, he will show the card at the next stoppage in play.

3. Watch for direct free kicks. To signal a direct free kick, or DFK, a referee will blow his whistle and point with a raised arm in the direction of the goal that the team who has been awarded the free kick is attacking. A DFK is awarded when one of the players commits one of the ten penal fouls against an opponent. A goal may be scored from a DFK.

4. Watch for indirect free kicks. If after signaling for a free kick the referee keeps his hand above his head then he is signaling for an indirect free kick, or IFK. An IFK is awarded for any foul not falling under the category of penal foul, or a foul which is not committed against opponents. A goal may not be scored from an IFK until it has touched another player. When signaling for an IFK, the referee will keep his hand up until after the ball has been kicked and touched by another player.

5. Watch for the penalty kick. A referee who points directly to the penalty spot, or the spot two-thirds of the way between the penalty area line and goal area line, is indicating that a player has committed a DFK offense within his own penalty area and a penalty kick has been issued.

6. Showing the yellow card

Watch for the yellow card. A referee who shows a player a yellow card is indicating that the player has committed one of the seven cautionable offenses. A player who is issued a yellow card is noted by the referee, and if a second yellow card is issued, the player is sent off.

7. Showing the red card

Watch for the red card. A referee who shows a player the red card is indicating that the player has committed a serious offense, one of the seven “deadly sins” send-off offenses, and must leave the vicinity of the field of play immediately (in professional matches, this most often means he heads to the changeroom).

8. Watch for other signals. A referee who points at the goal with his arm pointed straight, parallel to the ground, is signaling for a goal kick. A referee who points at the corner flag with his arm pointed upward is signaling for a corner kick.

9. Watch for goal signals. A referee who points at the center circle with his arm pointed straight, parallel to the ground (blowing the whistle is optional) is signaling a goal.

* There are seven fouls that may be punished by the referee with a direct free kick if the player is careless, reckless, or uses excessive force:

1. kicking or attempting to kick an opponent
2. tripping or attempting to trip an opponent
3. jumping at an opponent
4. charging an opponent
5. striking or attempting to strike an opponent
6. pushing an opponent
7. tackling an opponent

* The other three direct free kick fouls are:

• holding an opponent
• spitting at an opponent
• handling the ball deliberately

* The eight offenses for which the referee may award an indirect free kick are:

1. The goalkeeper takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with his hands before releasing it from his possession
2. The goalkeeper touches the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player
3. The goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate
4. The goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate
5. Playing in a dangerous manner
6. Impeding the progress of an opponent
7. Preventing the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
8. Any other offense is committed for which play is stopped to caution or send-off a player

*The referee will caution and show the yellow card to a player who:

• is guilty of unsporting behaviour
• shows dissent by word or action
• persistently infringes the Laws of the Game
• delays the restart of play
• fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick or free kick or throw-in
• enters or re-enters the field of play without the referee’s permission
• deliberately leaves the field of play without the referee’s permission

*The referee will send-off and show the red card to a player who:

• is guilty of serious foul play
• is guilty of violent conduct
• spits at an opponent or any other person
• denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
• denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
• uses offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
• receives a second caution in the same match

Warnings:

* Do not ever attempt to challenge the referee, no matter what he signals for. In a game of soccer, the referee’s calls are always right, no matter how wrong they may be. This is dissent and often results in a yellow card.

* For defenders and goalkeepers, do not raise your hand to appeal for offside, or show the hand signal to appeal for hand-ball. It’s worse to concede a goal when a foul, offside or stoppages never happen than having a goal canceled after playing everything possible to stop the goal.

This is the World Cup 2010 television schedule. These times are in Eastern Standard time.

I am pushing that the USA can give it a good run for the money… if they win that would be a huge surprise as they are considered one of the underdogs in the tournament.

Who is your pick to win the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010? Post below.

• 420 Million
- The total prize money in US dollars available during the World Cup tournament.

• $10 Million
- The number of man hours it took to construct Soccer City stadium, the centerpiece of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg

• 42,000
- The capacity of the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, the smallest of the 10 World
Cup stadiums

• 41,000
- The number of police officers who will be deployed specifically for the World Cup

• 204
- The number of teams who attempted to qualify for one of the 31 places available for the final stages. 32 teams will take part in the finals in South Africa, the host nation having qualified automatically

• $2.85 Billion
- The amount that the World Cup is expected to generate for the South African economy

• 91
- Nelson Mandela’s age during the 2010 World Cup

• 330,000
- Number of visitors expected to travel to South Africa to attend the World Cup

• 18
- The number of World Cups that have taken place before South Africa 2010

• 14
- The number of votes that South Africa secured to win the right to host the 2010 tournament

• 10
- The number of stadiums, which will host matches during the tournament.

• 11
- Perhaps the most significant figure of them all. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 11. The official match ball is the 11th to be made for a World Cup tournament by Adidas and features 11 colors, one for each player in a team. And there are also 11 official languages of South Africa.

Do you consider yourself a die hard soccer fanatic? If so who’s your pick to win the world cup? Answer below

*Statistics gathered from World Soccer Magazine

There are some important steps to follow for soccer success, let’s look at some now.

1. Fitness- Make sure you stay in shape. Play year round if possible to keep your endurance up and skills sharp. Playing year round helps you avoid having to do grueling endurance training to get your endurance up before the new soccer season.

2. Training- First, be consistent with your soccer training. If your team doesn’t practice every day, practice on your own in the backyard or get involved with small pickup games outside of you main team practices. Also, lift weights and doing extra fitness exercises. This will help put you above the rest.

3. Diet- Eat a high protein diet. Soccer is a contact sport. In order to avoid being knocked around like a ping-pong ball, eat foods that will build muscle and give you energy. Consume meals high in lean protein like; chicken breast, scallops, salmon, asparagus, eggs, corn, oats, beans, spinach, lentils. Drink lots of water. Water is the best source of hydration. Most sport beverages are just loaded with sugar. During a game stay away from drinks like Gatorade, All Sport, Juice packs, and Red Bull.

4. Mindset- Visualize yourself scoring a goal, blocking a shot, and making a perfect cross. It will truly improve your chances of making it happen. I have used this strategy many times, especially when taking free kicks. I picture the ball taking the exact path I want it to take into the goal. This may sound somewhat crazy to you, but I urge you to try it. It really does work!

5. Teamwork- Playing in sync as a team can be tough to achieve. The longer you play together, the more in sync a team will be. This leads to my first recommendation: Try to stay with one team. And connecting on the field isn’t the only variable; you must be connected off the field as well. That is what creates great teamwork.

Some examples would be:

- Plan a team Fun Day
- Pizza as a team after a game
- Team chicken dinner the night before a game.
- Pool party

Connect with Pro Players

Follow players/clubs/organizations through twitter and see what they are up to in real time!

- Freddy Adu

- Jozy Altidore

- Maurice Edu

- MLS Insider

- FIFA World Cup

- UEFA

Interview topics include:

• How Vogel Soccer Mastery came about
• Background of Eric Vogel
• The forth coming additions to the website
• Who Vogel Soccer Mastery is reaching out to
• What type of content Vogel Soccer Mastery provides

Interview by Kevin Walker of OwnGoalNetwork.