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| Ball sitting in a sprinkler-head hole |
2. Strive to provide players with a flat playing surface For the same reason as encouraging players to play with
a properly inflated soccer ball, playing on a non-sloped, flat surface, free of divits, and sunken-in sprinkler
heads, produces consistent results for players as they run and touch the soccer ball. Playing on a flat surface
allows players to focus their attention on playing soccer rather than on the playing surface. Playing on a flat
surface also minimizes the frustration of getting inconsistent touches on balls that bounce in unpredictable directions
as they roll over divits and across sunken-in sprinkler heads. And finally, playing on flat surfaces lowers a player's
risk of injury. Soccer itself is a high-risk sport already. There is no need to add more risk of injury
to this equation. 3. Mark fields with straight,
visible lines
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| Two center circles on one field |
Having
straight, visible field markings allows players to make good spacial judgements of where they are on a field, where
the ball is, and where their opponents are. Here again, having straight, visible field markings allows players
to focus their attention on playing soccer rather than on trying to figure out where field boundaries are. Having
straight, visible field markings also allows referees to focus their attention on reffing, rather than on trying to
guess if a ball is in-bounds, out-of-bounds, in the goal box, outside of the goal-box, etc. Golfers
in America understand the importance of proper equipment and playing surfaces, soccer is no different.
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Rights Reserved
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1. Encourage players to play with properly inflated soccer balls.