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Ideas: A. Encourage Upright Defense
What's the biggest misconception in soccer? That a player will only
leave his feet for a dive in or a slide tackle as a "last resort." The
reality is that far too many players will use such 'horizonal' tactics
as the preferred weapon of attacking defense. Consider the large
number of times when forwards or midfielders dive in horizonally
at a time when most of their defenders are still behind them. I estimate
that only about 15% of dive ins and slide tackles are executed at a
moment which truly is the player's last resort.
No, the truth is that players use the dive in and slide tackle whenever
it affords them the best chance of taking the ball from the player who
is controlling the ball. This is the mindset of attacking defense, and this
mindset must be changed before we'll see higher scoring soccer. The
only way that I can invision changing this mindset is to convince the
defensive player that they stay on their feet and should truly use the dive
in and slide tackle as weapons of last resort.
Those who have played basketball know that a basketball player
can kick the ball at any time to interrupt the offense, but the
defensive player uses this weapon sparingly because the rules of
basketball do not permit the defense to "win possession" of the ball
by kicking the ball. True, the defense has stopped the play, but the
ball is simply awarded back to the offensive team as a throw-in.
In soccer, we could discourage defensive "smothering" with a rule
that does not allow the defense to 'win possession' with any move
where the defensive player's hand touches the ground. Slide tackling
is still allowed, only the defense cannot 'win possession' with a slide tackle.
I'm not talking about a card violation, only that the ball is simply awarded
back to the offense in some way (throw in, etc.). And the continuity of
game isn't greatly affected, because the ref only blows the whistle when
the "hand down" move causes a change in possession. If the slide tackle
deflects the ball to another offensive player, then no whistle is needed as
possession hasn't changed. Instantly, the game is improved. With the
defense encouraged to keep their feet and truely use the slide tackle as
a weapon of last resort, the offense would have a lot more room to make
things happen. The end result: more goals, fewer dives, easier to officiate
games, safer games, and the near extinction of the "enforcer" marking
back, whose primary weapon is the "closeup" one or two step slide tackle
which is almost impossible to avoid. Thought must be given as to whether
this rule should apply to goalkeepers, as the most athletic keeper saves
usually result in the keeper's hand touching the ground. Maybe I'm a
little too close to the position (both my kids are keepers), but I think this
rule should not be applied to keepers. INCREASE: 3 goals per game!
B. Upright Defense with Greater Continuity
Much of the feedback I've received regarding 'upright defense' bemoans the
fact that the game's continuity will likely suffer. For those who don't want
the ref to blow his whistle any more than he is currently, we must remove
our focus from penalizing the team via the possession change. Luckily, the
"horizontal tackle" is impossible to overlook (anyone can see it from any angle
except maybe from the Goodyear Blimp), and as it is impossible for a player
to NOT be aware that his or her hand or buttocks touched the ground, why
not penalize the player who executes with horizontal tackle (hands or buttocks
touching the ground while attempting the tackle) by requiring them to immediately
proceed to the FAR end line and touch a corner flag prior to returning to play.
And since there is no doubt in anyone's mind as to whether the player's hand or
buttocks have made contact with the ground, it could be left up to the offending
player to pick himself or herself up from the ground and head immediately for a
far flag. Failure to do so would be a yellow card violaton, unless the player chose
to stay on the ground until the next time that the ref stopped play, at which time
the player could immediately return to the action.
Midfield play would clean up immediately for obvious reasons, but you would
still see plenty of horizonal tackles along the side lines, due to the fact that play
would be stopped if the defender succeeds in kicking the ball out of bounds, and
this stoppage of play would allow the player to immediately return to the action.
Make no mistake, this is my personal favorite proposal. No whistle 95% of the
time, and the horizonal tackle still becomes the weapon of last resort as the team
is inconvienenced and the player is forced to do a "wind sprint." The hidden benefits
are worth mentioning here. First, you will never again see a forward do a slide
tackle ever. Today, most forwards won't even sprint 20 yards to put themselves
back on sides, so the 150 to 200 yard "wind sprint" will keep them upright in all
defensive situations. Also, players will likely get a double earful from their coaches
while running to AND from the corner flag. Talk about an attitude adjustment! Next,
I personnally like the fact that the players are forced to be truthful with themselves
or face a yellow card. Over time, I think that this may slightly improve the ethical
makeup of those playing the game, counteracting the negative effect of the "gamesmanship"
which we parents have been encouraging in our children from their early years in sports.
C. Clear Out the 6-Yard Box During Corner Kicks
During corner kicks, only the goalkeeper is allowed in the 6-yard goal box
until the ball touches a player other than the player who takes the corner
kick. Idea is to get the other defenders out of the corners of the goal.
INCREASE: 1 goal per game
E. Put the Keeper in the "Sand Box"
For those purists who refuse to consider any concept which makes the
American game so different that it might put American players at a
disadvantage in International competitions, we are pretty much limited
to focusing on reducing the effectiveness of the goalkeeper. This can
be done by turning the six yard box into the "sand box." Simply dig
up the sod down to about six inches and replace it with coarse sand.
While the sand will obviously slow down the goalkeeper's ability to move
and will destroy his ability to quickly change directions, the irregular
surface of the sand will make the ball jump unpredictably on low shots.
This will compensate for the fact that the sand will slow down balls rolling
along the surface of the sand. Over time the keepers will prefer the sand
because it will extend their careers by reducing the body's wear and tear.
F. Keep the Keeper in the 18-yard Box
Restrict the keeper to the 18-yard penalty box when in defensive mode,
but not when the keeper has control of the ball. The keepers will
resist it at first, but will welcome the restriction when the number of
shots on goal (brought on by the above changes) increases by 30 to 40%.
This move will have an unintended effect of lowering the overall scores of
many blowouts, since many of the later goals are made possible by the keeper
pushing up to play "keeper/sweeper" while the rest of the team pushes
forward in an effort to create offense. If the keeper was forced to return to
the 18 yard box prior to being able to touch the ball defensively, he wouldn't
leave the nest unguarded in the first place.
G. Track Who Scores "First Goals"
If we stick to the "World" rules, let's at least add a statistic called
"FIRST GOALS". Why not, when in Pro soccer, if you score 1st
there's roughly a 50% chance that the opposing team will never
even score a goal, and since the team which scores first in soccer has
about an 85% chance of winning or at least getting a draw in regulation,
why not recognize the "early starters" in the game. The league is
already tracking "winning goal" stats. I feel that the "first goal" is an
even more important measure of a player's production under today's low
scoring reality. Check my page entitled "Numbers don't lie, but..." for
further justification.
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