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Soccer (American), Football (European)/Questions

SubjectDate AskedExpert
Making the Team..7/11/2007John Goodman
  Q: Well, I've been playing soccer ever since I was 5, but I've never been good, and now I am in my ...
  A: Okay, for a defensive drill a very good one is to have someone to throw the ball fairly high as your ...
goal keeping tips7/11/2007John Goodman
  Q:
  A: The most common warm up for a goal keeper is something like the goalkeeper sitting down and coach or ...
shin guards6/27/2007John Cummings
  Q: my name is andrew and i am a senior 4 year varsity lettermen. In the past week some middle school ...
  A: By Law 3 of the Laws of the Game, the required equipment include five things: a shirt, shorts, ...
soccer coaching qualifications6/12/2007John Cummings
  Q: I need to get my basic level 1,2 UEAFA or similar as soon as possible as I have got offered a job ...
  A: Most states offer entry level USSF referee courses at various times throughout the year. In Ohio ...
College soccer what to expect5/18/2007John Goodman
  Q: Hey my names Kat and this Fall I will be playing with Albright college as a sweeper but I keep ...
  A: hey im afraid im not sure how different the standard of football is for your college as i dont live ...
does trapping improves juggling & ballcontrol5/7/2007John Goodman
  Q: I am 15 and I want to play for Manchester United one day can I do that & become a pro footballer
  A: hey again, this does inprove your ball control but i am afraid that being able to juggle ...
Legal vs illegal body contact5/7/2007John Cummings
  Q: We had a rough game with our 5th and 6th graders without many calls. I'm not sure how body contact ...
  A: Sorry you had the negative experience in your match. Referees, like players, are learning and they ...
yellow card5/6/2007John Cummings
  Q: Should a player get a yellow card on a quick start kick when the player "sticks his leg out to kick ...
  A: Law 13 requires that all opposing players give the required distance (usually 10 yards) on a free ...
Offside5/2/2007John Cummings
  Q: If the defending team has all of its players across mid field and the team on offense has a player ...
  A: If I am understanding you correctly, you are saying that all of the defenders are in their ...
soccer rules4/30/2007John Cummings
  Q: Are their different rules for soccer in different countries? If their is, what are they?
  A: Unlike High School soccer in the USA, the rest of the world basically uses the same Laws of the Game ...
Indoor soccer -3/28/2007John Cummings
  Q: Our girls U12 team was playing indoor soccer league. Our team was up by 10 goals and the ref ...
  A: Hope your team still had fun, even though they may have been a bit frustrated. The Laws of the Game ...
Monty Python Philosopher's Match3/23/2007John Cummings
  Q: there I'd like to know if it's considered offside when a player dribbles past all opposing players ...
  A: Jim, it would seem to me that the person who headed the ball into the net was in an offside position ...
assingment3/14/2007John Goodman
  Q: what is the characterisitics of a good soccer player?
  A: depending on what posisition you are looking at playing, the charicteristics change the basic ones ...
Understanding off-side rule2/16/2007John Cummings
  Q: Could you please clarify this part of the off-side rule? "the time that Offside is determined is ...
  A: Tom, This was all too often misinterpreted by too many referees. For that player in the off-side ...
A foul or not?12/31/2006John Cummings
  Q: Aloha John and thanks for taking another question. A recent debate among parents on my team could ...
  A: Mike, you have hit upon one of my pet peeves. Law 13 says that the defending team is to be "at ...
Goalkeeper possession12/28/2006John Cummings
  Q: If a goalkeeper gains possession of a ball inside the penalty box, does she lose control -- or ...
  A: Mike, it's great that you are trying to get some clarification regarding this issue. Quite a few ...
Professional11/15/2006John Goodman
  Q: What do you do to make sure your team players get away from you when you call the ball. Some fo my ...
  A: im afraid this is up to your defender i sugest having a word with him if he seems to not want to ...
Professional11/14/2006John Goodman
  Q: I will continue to do my very best. There is one thing I would like to ask. When I jump in the air ...
  A: ok nathan. there is a couple of steps for a high catch the first is, as you jump for the ball you ...
goalkeeping11/11/2006John Goodman
  Q: I'm a 15 year old who has been playing soccer for a number of years but only recently tried playing ...
  A: the most difficult thing to grasp hold of when becoming goalkeeper is the bounce of the ball ask a ...
Professional11/11/2006John Goodman
  Q: I have heard a lot about you. I havwe on queston mainly. I have played Goalie for soccer for about 8 ...
  A: i am from england and it is a very difficult thing to become profesional here and im not sure what ...
high school soccer ref cert. and classes11/3/2006John Cummings
  Q: How can I become a centeral Ohio high school soccer ref? Is there a web site to go to? Thanks
  A: Eric, please pardon the delay in responding to your question, but I believe that I may have ...
keeping tip10/30/2006John Goodman
  Q: hi im 14 years old and am a goalkeeper i feel that i let in too many goals a game alot of people ...
  A: this is quite simple, as the striker becomes in a close position 9 times out of ten they will take a ...
Deliberate or protective hand play10/18/2006John Cummings
  Q: John, thanks for your detailed answer! You asked some clarifying questions: 1.Distance was about 6 ...
  A: Let me answer each question separately: 6 feet is fairly close, so I would think that in most ...
Deliberate or protective hand play10/17/2006John Cummings
  Q: John, in a recent game the opponent team shot at the goal. Our defender, only a very short distance ...
  A: This issue probably is the second most misunderstood Law of the Game for referees also (Offside is ...
My first year10/17/2006John Murnan
  Q: I am a first year player and wont to know what position to play. I am in 8th grade, I am 5'6", ...
  A: Trevor, he wants you to either play forward or defender. As a defender you would be matched up ...
quitting soccer for football10/16/2006John Murnan
  Q: I probably just nned to grieve, but here goes. My almost 14 y.o. 8th grade son looks like he'll ...
  A: This is not an end of life decision by any stretch. People try new things all the time. Sometimes ...
Throw In10/13/2006John Cummings
  Q: Can the keeper pick the ball up off the throw in?
  A: The keeper CAN pick up the ball from a throw in only if it was thrown-in by an opponent. If one of ...
Soccer Offside Rule8/31/2006John Cummings
  Q: An attacking player is clearly in an offisde position, closer to the opponent's goal line than ...
  A: I'm afraid you are absolutely right. There in no Offside here. As you noted, the time that Offside ...
Coaching8/14/2006John Cummings
  Q: I was wondering how I would go about getting a coaching licence. I really want to be a soccer coach ...
  A: This is a bit out of my area, but I did go through the F and E coaching licenses from USSF. You can ...
U10 Field positions8/7/2006John Murnan
  Q: John: I am new to U10. What are the field positions in this bracket and do you have any ...
  A: Lisa, I don't know how many players are on the field in your league. The USSF recommends that U10 ...
preschool tryouts8/1/2006John Murnan
  Q: I just called to see when my small town's youth soccer sign ups are and was told there will be ...
  A: Robin, under no circumstances should there be a tryout for a U6 team. However, many programs try to ...
Training/Soccer in general7/26/2006John Murnan
  Q: Im a 13 boy who recently got interested in playing soccer. I was wodering what kind of training I ...
  A: Warren, I didn't start playing soccer until I was 16. I made my HS varsity team (it was newly ...
Follow up on Should I ask the coach:7/25/2006John Murnan
  Q: regarding my daughter not playing as a starter any longer. Since I last spoke with you there has ...
  A: Robert, there is no easy way to address this problem, so let me give you some thoughts and you can ...
cap7/24/2006John Cummings
  Q: when watching the world i heard the announcers say how many "caps" each player had. what is a cap?
  A: It is my understanding that in the early 20th Century, members of an international team were awarded ...
center mid7/21/2006John Murnan
  Q: john, I just changed to a new team not too long ago. After a couple weeks of practice the coach ...
  A: Glacier, I feel your pain (and confusion). I can tell where I will play on a team based on its ...
soccer coach7/17/2006John Murnan
  Q: this is a simple question,how can I be a profesional soccer coach.what steps I need to follow.
  A: Alfonso, You don't say how old you are, but I will assume that you are in High School or are older ...
deliberate hand ball7/10/2006John Cummings
  Q: in a game i recently played, a team mate kicked the ball towards the opponents net as i ran towards ...
  A: Justin, While the referee may not have been right, he was not absolutely wrong. I would agree with ...
Youth Soccer....7/3/2006John Murnan
  Q: John, What should you focus on with u9 up to u14 boys/girls? Is the the pressure to win at these ...
  A: Brian, I can give you a really long, philosophical answer to this question, but the bottom line is ...
Cleats?6/29/2006John Murnan
  Q: I was just wondering if you knew the difference between FG and SG cleats. One design I was looking ...
  A: Brittany, according to Adidas.com, FG stands for firm ground and SG stands for soft ground. there ...
Soccer worldwide6/25/2006John Murnan
  Q: About how many games of soccer are played around the world everyday.
  A: Jean-Christophe, I don't have a fixed answer for you because I don't know if you are referring to ...

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Soccer (American), Football (European)

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John Cummings

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Expertise

Do you have a call made by the referee in last week`s match puzzling you? Are you a referee who may not be certain that what was done was the right thing to do? I shall be glad to entertain any questions about officiating soccer. The more the players, coaches and supporters understand the referee and his/her decisions, the more fun we can have on the pitch.

Experience

After coaching my son's travel team, I have been USSF State Referee, State Assessor, Assignor and State Instructor in addition to having been a college NISOA referee,a NISOA clinician, a NISOA assessor and a high school referee.

Organizations
USSF, OSYSA, CASOA, NISOA

Publications
Soccer Ohio

Education/Credentials
J.D.

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