If you are one of the many people who are considering soccer as a hobby or maybe as a career, but still not determined because you think soccer is hard, then this article is for you.
Soccer is much easier than you think. Obviously, you should not expect to become a soccer expert in no time. However, what you can expect is to be able to join a soccer team and enjoy the game in no time.
Don’t believe me? Here are a few reasons why soccer is not hard to learn at all.
1- The basic soccer rules are not complicated
Usually, when you’re trying to practice a new sport, the first intimidating thing that you encounter is the set of endless rules that you’ll have to follow before you even begin your first steps.
While soccer is one of those sports that have a lot of rules to abide by, the rules can be over simplified to only include the following 2 main rules
- Do not touch the ball with your hands
- Score a goal by kicking the ball towards your opponent’s net.
That’s it. If you know these 2 rules (you now know them),then you’ll be able to join your first soccer match.
In other words, if you’re playing your first soccer match among your friends, then just don’t touch the ball with your hands, and kick the ball towards your opponent’s goal whenever you get the chance.
These 2 rules can get you started when you’re playing a soccer match just for fun. But what about the rest of the rules? Well… you’ll pick up the rest of the rules from your friends while you play. This brings me to the next point.
2- Soccer is beginner friendly
Since soccer is a sports group, it means that the soccer game does not revolve around you. Instead, the game depends on the group as a whole.
This trait makes soccer a beginner friendly game. To understand this better, think about tennis for example. If you’re new to tennis, then you’ll struggle when trying to join a good tennis match because if you don’t know how to play, then the whole game will be ruined.
You’ll need a lot of training before you join a Tennis match and have fun while playing.
Soccer is the complete opposite. Even if you have not played soccer before, you can immediately join a soccer match since you’ll be a part of a team.
You will definitely weaken the team’s performance, but you won’t ruin the game, and you’ll enjoy playing too.
This makes soccer a beginner friendly game. As mentioned in the previous section, you only need to learn the main 2 rules to get started, and you’ll learn the others while you play your first few matches.
For example, if your team kicks the ball beyond the sidelines of the soccer field, then you’ll notice that the other team is taking a throw-in and you’ll learn that a throw-in is given to the opponent team if your team kicks the ball outside the sidelines of the field.
The same thing applies for the other rules. You’ll learn the rest of the rules by simply playing soccer yourself or by watching professional soccer players play.
3- Soccer can be practiced everywhere
It’s true that professional soccer matches are held on huge soccer fields, that doesn’t mean that you’ll need a big field to play or practice soccer.
You can practice soccer literally anywhere. You can even do that at your home. Here’s a guide of how to do that in case you’re interested
The point is, you can play and practice wherever you want whenever you want. This accessibility option makes soccer easier to learn and reduces the barriers towards becoming a good soccer player.
Whenever you have time, just grab your soccer ball and start learning some new tricks or practice the ones you already know.
4- Soccer is fun
You might immediately say, what does fun have to do with all this? Hear me out.
When you enjoy what you do, naturally it’ll become easier for you to do it.
If you are enjoying your soccer practice, then the practice time won’t feel a burden on your shoulders anymore.
While this does not make soccer easier to learn, it gives you a motive to keep moving forward until you master the game.
According to this source , fun improves learning. When you’re having fun while learning something, you’ll learn it faster.
Meaning that if you’re enjoying soccer, then learning it will be much easier, and soccer is a fun game to play and watch.
This brings me to the end of this article. Still not convinced that soccer isn’t hard to learn? If that’s the case, then just grab a ball and try it for yourself. Here are some beginner soccer skills that can get you started. Enjoy the game.