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Zenfooty Articles

Indoor Boards or Not

Getting Serious About Soccer Shoes

Choosing the Right Club Team

How to Get the Ball More Often

How to Deal with Rough Play

Learn to Play All Positions

How Much Practice is Enough

Selecting a Summer Camp

Bend it like Beckham…and more!

Can You Turn the Ball

Scoring Goals from Corner Kicks

Too Much Time on the Bench!

The Value In Soccer Tournaments

Winning with Combination Play

The Value of Pick-Up Games

Defending in the Modern Game

Playing In Wet Weather

One-on-One: The center of it all

Playing on a Crappy Field

Mental Toughness

Getting Young Players to Spread Out

Throw Ins - A Critical Restart if Executed Properl

Driving for Creativity In Youth Players

Knowing Your True Impact As Coach

How Do We Keep Children In The Game?

The Difference Between Technique and Skill

The Value of Indoor Soccer

Raising the American Game

Stepping Up Your Personal Commitment

Trends From the National Soccer Coaches Convention

Articles by The ZenMaster

How to Deal with Rough Play - Article 7

The average rating is 4.6923.

How about those days when your team is getting physically ambushed, and the referees seem to be taking a nap? If you have been a player who has ever been hacked, or a parent who has watched your child get pummeled, you’ll know what I mean. This article explores the dynamics of physical and dirty play and how to balance this with tactics and the proper relationship with game officials.

Games get out of control physically for a number of reasons. Among them are slow play, poor game management by your captain and coach, loss of control by the referee, and lack of personal skills in warding off dirty defenders.

Let me first say that the issue of dirty and abusive play does not start with the referee or the players, it begins with coaching. The tolerance level of the coach has a direct bearing on the ethics of players. The best coaches will reprimand their own players for foul play. I have seen good coaches pull their own players even before the referee takes action.

Let’s explore what we can do as attacking players in defense of our cause. Simply put, avoid holding the ball. Play one and two touch soccer and move continuously into space. Fouls are very difficult for defenders to commit when attackers are constantly moving. Secondly, drag your defender into an uncomfortable space. If they follow you for the purpose of making contact, you will be creating space for your mates to play in behind you. If they don’t follow, you will have room to play without being fouled. Third, learn to “pass and jump.” This little hop step allows you to avoid the impact of a slide tackle by elevating just after your pass or make a dribble move.

Attackers must also learn to use the defender’s aggression against them. One technique is to check back toward the ball in the midfield as if to offer yourself, and at the last second, curl your run behind the defender to free up for a through pass behind him. Once your midfielders get the knack of playing you a through pass behind the defender, the defender will “lay off” in order to defend against this dangerous pass (giving you more room to play the ball in space in front of him).

Do not “dive” when you have not been fouled in an attempt to attract sympathy from the official. Nothing irritates fans, players and referees as much as this. If you are caught diving, not only may you receive a yellow card, but you may never be taken seriously by the referee. You must also avoid retaliation and returning any verbal comments. This will give the defender the idea that they are getting to your psyche which will reinforce and escalate their behavior.

On dead ball situations, have your captain ask the ref to check into the pattern of recurring fouls. If the issue continues, have the coach visit with the official at halftime. If this is unsuccessful, have the fouled player go down with injury to create an opportunity to speak with the referee and once again reinforce the violent play. Your captain and coach must do their jobs here. It is their duty to the team.

If a referee ever loses control of the match and play gets out of hand, remember that your goal is to live to play another day. Nothing is worth a broken leg or a broken nose in a bench clearing brawl. As a coach (or parent), simply indicate to the referee that in the interest of safety, it is best that you calmly remove your players from the field of play and accept whatever consequences come with this. Stay in a group after the game. Do NOT have players and parents walk alone to their cars.

Remember to focus on the soccer only. The rest will take care of itself. This will keep it clean!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me on ZenMaster@ZenFooty.com with any questions you might have. I love to talk soccer. Please also visit my website at www.ZenFooty.com where you can find these newsletters on-line along with dates for indoor training with me. You can also ask any question you desire about the game of soccer.

Keep kicking!!

Ed Hawkins
President and CEO, ZenFooty.com

Reader Comments

1.	by NW_Soccer on Mon 04/06/2009	Rated: 5 stars
	Great article with practical tips. I'd like to pick up on what Julie said about matches with one referee not being able to see everything. Why are leagues assigning games to only one referee??? The 3rd team on the field is the referee team. having a full compliment of referees allows better foul recognition, game control, and allows the more experienced referees a chance to mentor up and coming referees.

2.	by Soccerama on Thu 04/09/2009	Rated: 4 stars
	Sometimes the parents are part of the problem: If the video doesn't come through here is a link: http://soccerama.ning.com/profiles/blogs/youth-soccer-parent s-whats

3.	by Tim on Tue 09/22/2009	Rated: 4 stars
	In reference to John's dad, first off, I would caution you as a parent to never yell at a referee. My reasons are several: first, there is an idea out there known as referee capital. Most referees are willing to listen to a certain amount of complaining if delivered respectfully. The more that parents and/or coaches yell, and the more disrespectful it is, the quicker the willingness to listen disappears. Secondly, yelling at a referee tends to distract him from watching the field, thus allowing more of what you're wanting to prevent. Finally, over 50% of referees quit after their first year due to just such occurrences. If you want better referees, don't yell at them. Let them learn and get experience. The only way for referees to practice is to do games. If you want the best referees protecting your kids, let them referees get to that level. As for many games being covered by single referees, this is a symptom of what I've mentioned above, most young referees quitting. Most leagues don't assign full 3-man crews to games, because there aren't enough referees to go around. At some level, I would like all parents who would rather scream than watch to go take a referee course and do a couple of games. If they stick with it, great our numbers improve. If not, at least please gain an appreciation for those of us that carry the flags and the whistle on a regular basis. Tim USSF Referee since 99, currently a grade 7 official. OHSAA high school class 1 soccer official.

4.	by Stephen Dapaa on Sun 02/24/2008	Rated: 4 stars
	Excellent article. How can we as coaches be able to control a parent who wants to go after a kid who is overly aggressive towards their child?

5.	by ZenMaster on Mon 02/25/2008	Rated: 4 stars
	Wow! Tough question but I know it has happened. I think a coach should contact the AR and ask the AR for a time out with the referee so that the coach can speak to the referee immediately about the situation. That parent should be removed from the location.

6.	by LINDA MARTINEZ on Mon 02/25/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	I must agree with Stephen, this is an excellent article. Now if only we can find a way for all soccer enthusiasts to follow these guidelines, we would be ok.

7.	by Haskins on Mon 02/25/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	Well done. Full of excellent suggestions for appropriate philosophy and for appropriate skills to avoid issues.

8.	by Eyleen on Mon 02/25/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	Unique topic with practical tips on how to handle these kinds of situations. The suggestions will be easy for the kids to implement.

9.	by Susan on Mon 02/25/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	I loved this article, and read it aloud to my son - a center-mid, who is fouled numerous times throughout each game. Talented and skilled players become the source of frustration and need to learn the skills to protect themselves from over-aggressive, frustrated players. Thanks for the information.

10.	by Julie on Tue 02/26/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	Hmmmm, what did I miss this weekend? (I think I know...) Great article. When we were in Europe during the World Cup there was a lot of talk about learning to dive. They said many coaches are now teaching, offense, defense, and diving. It can’t be done every time a player is bumped, like you said cry wolf too often… I have seen refs make calls or change their minds about calls based on falls (real or exagerated) and parents reactions on the sidelines. Especially in the games with only one referee – they can’t see everything going on. Is it right? Is it just part of how the game has evolved?

11.	by Zenmaster on Tue 02/26/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	Exactly on point Julie. Offense, Defense and Diving.

12.	by John's Dad on Fri 02/29/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	Excellent Article. We've been on the receiving end of this quite a bit so i'll add my 2 cents. As you said, one and two touch passing and movement is a must. Attack and use the open space. Pull it back and play it back when there isn't any space. The part i will add is how i handle this as a parent. 1. Never, EVER address the opposing player, parents or coaches. I certainly don't want any parent talking to my kid and so i respect that in turn and I don't talk to theirs... even if that player is a dirty %$#% 2. It's just a game. You are your child's advocate. If my child's safety is being threatened, i will not sit quietly(I'm sure many will disagree but.. ). I personally feel i have a duty to address the ref if i see this sort of play continue and get out of control. I have and will continue to call out from the sidelines.. "don't wait for a kid to get hurt before you start calling fouls". I will raise my voice as it continues. 3. Inevitably the team on the receiving end, getting no help from the ref, WILL start taking matters into their own hands. As a parent, you must stress to your child not to retaliate. Not to get drawn into fouls. Don't be the best player on the field that gets red carded because the worst player on the other team provoked you, etc... just play the game, good bad or ugly - just play.

13.	by ZenMaster on Fri 02/29/2008	Rated: 5 stars
	Completely Agree.

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