Week 5: Free Choice - My Favorite Sport: Soccer

Soccer is one of my favorite sports of all time. I have been playing it since kindergarten and I still like it today. I usually played soccer during break/lunch time when I was 7. When I was 8, I joined the soccer after school activity. I lost interest in soccer when I was 9, but I got interested in it again at age 10. The reason why it’s my favorite sport is because it’s very fun and requires strategy.
 
One of my best soccer experiences was when I played soccer with adults when I was 10. I did a penalty kick and made a score for my team! Playing with adults was a little bit dangerous since they kick the soccer ball really hard and it’s easy to get hurt. The ball was hard, too.
 
There are rules in soccer, exactly 17 of them. But I will just tell you the basic rules of it.
 
The soccer field must be a rectangle, must have 2 goals, penalty lines, center circle, corner, sidelines, midline, and end lines. The field size depends on how many players are playing. The ball size depends on age, for ages 3-5, size 4 and 3 are used. For ages 6-12, size 4 is used. For ages 12-adult, size 5 is used. The number of players in each team must be the same, e.g. 7v7 (1 goalie and 6 players). If the number of players is not equal, the game won’t be fair. The maximum number of players is 11 (1 goalie and 10 players).
 
You are only allowed 3 subs per game, but the subs can be different for a modified game. Substitution is when one of your team mate changes with the other team mate, usually for strategies or the person is injured. Substitutions cannot be done when the ball is in play.

To start the game, the ball is placed in the center, and the team who kicks off must pass the ball to his team mate, after that, the game starts. When in game, the referee will blow his whistle to tell if there’s an infraction or offside. To score a point a team must goal the ball into the opposing team, this applies even when the ball is in the air.
 
The games are usually 90 minutes long. The time can be different, depending on age. Players cannot use their hands, only the goalie can. When the ball goes out of the field, the team that didn’t touch the ball last time will get a throw in.
 
The rules makes the game even more fun, and I hope now you know how to play soccer!

Information Credit: 
http://www.kids-play-soccer.com/basic-soccer-rules.html
Picture credit:
http://www.wpclipart.com/recreation/sports/soccer/soccer_field.jpg

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