1 ,,' Soccer made simple Soccer is simple - to understand that is. Playing the game is another matter which requires hours and years of practice to perfect. For those unfamiliar with the rules of the game, the following is presented as a public service of the Petit lean and this writer. Just connect the dots, ef, I mean follow the instructions, and you should have no trouble deciphering what transpires on the turf when the referee blows his whistle to stop play, Number one, soccer is played by two ll-person teams much like football, and like football, baseball, hockey and basketball (you have heard of them, I assume) requires a coordinated team effort to produce the sought-after result - a win. But the similarities end there, unless you're watching an indoor soccer game, which resembles a hockey game sans skates where both teams take turns playing shooting gallery elt the sitting duck - the goalie. In most American-originated sports, players are allowed to use their hands, preferably legally. In soccer the goalie is the only one legally able to touch the ball with his hands and only in a specified area called the penalty box. Unless, of course, the ball goes out of bounds along one of the sidelines. Then a player on the team that did not touch the ball last gets to toss it back in. The object of the game, and now we're getting into the fun part, is to propel the ball down the field using both feet, knees and head - in fact any part of the anatomy except the hands and arms is O.K. - and into the opponents' goal. The fact that 22 players are trying to do this at the same time often leads to confusion, contusions and comic relief on the playing field. That's why the referee is so important. He's the man in black, usually seen trying desperately to catch up with the players so he can watch for fouls they might commit. Fouls are illegal in soccer and usually result in giving possession of the ball to the offended team. The major fouls are tripping, kicking, charging, punching, holding (not out of affection), jumping on and otherwise slowing down the r:==:;;::;:~;;=;;::=;;:=::::" forward progress of the opposing players, After a goal is eventually scored, sometimes after what seems like hours, players can be seen jumping on, slapping and pinching the goal scorer for which no foul is caned. Oh, yes, the field is usually at least 50 yards by 100 yards and has two goals eight feet high by 24 feet wide which are harder to stick a ball in than the broad side of a barn - just ask a forward - and the game is played in two 4S-minute halves. l)/ow that was simple, wasn't it? - fohn Kulczyckyj ~ AT ONE of the team practices. John Ku lczckyj perfects his passing. 137 Soccer
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