Scovone Star Magazine 2014-2015 | Page 54

SOCCER NICHOLAS YIU :THE AWESOME GUIDE TO THE BEAUTIFUL GAME Soccer is played with a ball which is passed around the field. Your objective is to score as many goals as possible Imagine you're running down a field with full speed with a ball at your feet. There four defenders right behind you getting closer every second. You are being watched by millions of people around the world. The goalkeeper starts closing you down and the defenders are almost on your side. Your only choice is to shoot and score and bring home the trophy. I’m sure you feel pressure. That's the life of a everyday soccer player. They have to learn how to play as a team and to play their positions and win games for their team with many people watching your every move. If you mess up you'll let down your team. Soccer players feel lots of pressure everyday especially if you play for a well known team. That is why you need to know the rules of soccer and how to play. Rules A professional soccer pitch/field is 100 - 130 yards long and can be 50 - 100 yards wide. On the pitch, there are markings to show boundaries. There is a line 49 through the middle indicating each team's halves. There is a box (rectangle) extending 6 yards to the side of each of the two goalposts, and the end of the box extends 18 yards from each goalpost. There's a penalty dot where the penalties are taken. That dot extends 10 yards from the middle of the goal or 10 yards in between the two goalposts. There is a center circle that is located in the middle the pitch. In the middle of the center circle there is a small dot where the game is kicked off. There is a line that goes around the whole field. When the ball crosses that line, it is a throw in to the team who didn't last touch it gets to throw it in. Boundary's are important to make the game fair and fun but something that makes the game even fairer is the goalkeeper's boundaries. 
 Unlike other players on the field, the goalkeeper plays one of the only positions that only includes one person and his biggest advantage is being able to  use his hands. His boundaries that he is allowed to use his SPORTS