How to Play Soccer: Skills, Rules, Positions, and More

• Win the game by scoring more goals than the other team.
• Use different parts of your foot to change the angle, arc, and direction of the ball as you move across the field.
• Defend by closing off space around the ball to deny the opposing team opportunities to advance the ball or score.
• Start playing in casual pickup games, then transition to a recreational league for a more competitive experience.
• Play a clean game. If playing clean means that you have to lose and not injure anyone, then let it be so. Better to lose a game than to lose a person!

Basic Skills

Kick the ball with the instep of your foot to pass it. Just like baseball or softball players play catch, get together with a friend, and pass the ball to each other to practice passing the ball. Turn your foot out slightly so you're hitting it with your instep, pointing your toes slightly upward. With repetition, this will become an automatic movement for you. Another passing technique is the "push pass," where you shove the ball with the inside of your foot. It's more accurate but less powerful—usually used for short passes across the grass to a nearby teammate.

Tap the ball from foot to foot to dribble as you run. Tap the ball forward 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) with the instep of one foot and run after it. When you catch up to the ball, kick it forward again using the same technique. Soccer players use this skill to maintain control and possession of the ball as they move down the field. In a match situation, you need to be able to quickly pull the ball in close to you if your progress is challenged by a defender so you can change directions or pass. Make sure you're always controlling the ball and the pace. Don't kick the ball harder than you can run and it won't get away from you. Over time, you'll get a sense of how hard you need to kick the ball depending on how fast you're moving. It can take a little practice to get the hang of this skill, but once you find your rhythm there will be no stopping you! EXPERT TIP Walter Merino Walter Merino Soccer Coach Walter Merino is a Youth Soccer Coach and Co-Founder of Ole Soccer Club based out of the Los Angeles, California area. He has coached youth from the age of four to the high school and college levels. Walter has played collegiate soccer for Cal Poly Pomona and Los Angeles Mission College. His accomplishments include coaching Olé Soccer Club to win the 2017 Cal South State Cup Governors Boys 2007 Division title. Walter Merino Walter Merino Soccer Coach Expert Trick: When you're practicing dribbling the ball in soccer, set up two small goals facing each other. Then, as you're kicking the ball, have someone else try to get the ball away from you. That way, you'll have practice changing directions, and you'll have to come up with solutions on how to find the open goal.

Hit the ball with the top of your foot to shoot. Keep your foot pointed down and swing your whole leg, pulling power for the kick from your core and hips. Think in terms of kicking through the ball and finish your motion by bringing your foot across your body. Practice this skill with shooting drills where you aim at a specific corner of the goal with each shot. Ramp it up by getting a buddy to play defender and try to block you.

Angle your hips in the direction of the shot to shoot a goal. Look up to spot the goalkeeper—that'll tell you where to aim. Plant your support foot slightly ahead of the ball to keep the shot low and shoot. Power through the ball to land on your kicking foot. These drills will help you build your shooting skills: Shoot at an empty goal to improve your aim. Shoot at a goal with a goalkeeper to master shot selection. Shoot with a defender and a goalkeeper to improve your timing and ability to shoot on the run.

Tap the ball to stop and control it in the air or on the ground. Use your torso, legs, or feet to interrupt the path of the ball and bring it under your control. Get under the ball to reverse the ball's rotation so it stops more quickly. For example, if the ball is coming across the grass, a quick, short drop of the instep of your foot will bring the ball to a complete stop. Practice this skill by getting a friend to throw the ball at you (not to you), or kick the ball against a wall and stop the rebound. Juggling is another good way to build your ball control skills. It also helps you get used to using different parts of your body to stop the ball.

Defend by taking up space and closing off opportunities. When the opposing team has the ball, move in front of them and get in their space. Blocking them in and keeping them from passing the ball to another teammate will frustrate them and make it easier for you to tackle and regain possession. Always keep your body between the ball and the goal. This helps eliminate scoring opportunities. Because the positions in soccer are so fluid, most players will be playing defense whenever the opposing team has the ball. This is a skill for all players, not just defenders.

Pay attention to where all players are on the field at all times. To a large extent, this is a skill you can only gain through experience playing in matches. Practice matches with fewer players, like 4-on-4 matches, will help since you have fewer players to keep up with. Watching pro matches can also help you build this skill mentally. Pay attention to where all the players are on the field and focus on how players choose their passes and shots. Advanced players often already know who they're going to pass the ball to before the ball even comes to them—this is the level of awareness you want to strive to reach.

Run when you're not playing or practicing to build endurance. There's no question that soccer players run a lot throughout a 90-minute match. Distance runs combined with interval training ensure that you'll not only have the staying power throughout the match but also the power for a quick sprint when needed. Playing in small groups and doing soccer-specific drills, such as dribbling practice, can also help improve your cardiovascular endurance.

Basic Rules

Suit up with shin guards and cleats. Shin guards are the only protective gear all soccer players wear, typically covered by long soccer socks. Cleats (also known as "boots") give you better traction and stability on the grass pitch. Goalkeepers also wear goalie gloves to protect their hands and give them a better grip on the ball. In a competitive match, you'd also wear the team jersey and shorts (also called your "kit"). In a casual pickup game, you don't necessarily need shin guards or cleats (although you're very likely to end up with some bruises on your shins). This minimalism of equipment is part of why soccer is so popular around the world.

Start the game with 11 players on the field for each team. In a casual pickup game, you might have fewer players on each side, but 11 players (including the goalie) is standard. The rules define the minimum number of players a team can have on the field as 7 (including the goalie). In a competitive match, you can have up to 7 substitute players on the bench (usually including 1 goalkeeper), but each team is only allowed to make 5 substitutions per match, regardless of injuries except in cases of concussions. Then you are allowed to make at most 2 concussion substitutions. This is where the minimum number might come into play.

Kick off from the center of the field to start each half. The 2 teams face off around the center circle, with the ball placed in the center spot. A coin toss determines which team gets the first kick, with the other team kicking off the second half. The player chosen kicks the ball toward the opposing team's side of the field, aiming to connect with another player who can put the ball into play to start the match. During the match, you'll return to the center circle for a kickoff every time a goal is scored. The team that got scored on is the one that kicks.

Use your feet, legs, and torso to control and advance the ball. Unless you're the goalkeeper, you're never allowed to use your hands or arms to move or control the soccer ball—but you're allowed to use any other part of your body. You'll use your feet most often for passing or shooting, but touches with other parts of your body can help you get the ball under control. If you're the goalkeeper, you're allowed to use your hands—but only when you're in the penalty box in front of the goal. That's part of the field where goalkeepers typically stay anyway, but watch the lines if you're diving for a ball. This rule doesn't apply to incidental touching. If another player kicks the ball and it bounces off of your arm, you're all good—as long as you didn't move your arm in an attempt to control the direction of the ball.

Go after the ball, not the other player, to avoid fouls. Even though players don't wear pads and protective gear, soccer can still be a pretty physical game. There's nothing wrong with incidental contact, but attacking an opposing player (rather than the ball) is a rule violation that could result in the other team getting a penalty kick. For example, if you're defending, you might slide to kick the ball away from an opposing player. If they happened to trip, that wouldn't be your fault. But if you tried to trip them by kicking their leg, that would be a foul. In a competitive match, it's up to the referee to determine if contact was incidental or intentional and issue penalties accordingly. Competitive soccer referees issue yellow cards or red cards depending on the number of fouls the player has or the severity of the violation. A red card means the player must leave the field, so their team will be at least one player short for the rest of the match.

Play for a total of 90 minutes. A standard soccer match is 90 minutes, divided into two 45-minute halves with a 15-minute break in between. The match clock is never stopped in soccer—there are no "timeouts," as in other sports. Instead, the referee keeps track of the time played and adds minutes (known as "stoppage time") to the end of each half. In a casual pickup game, you can set your time however you want, but it's usually a good idea to plan it out ahead of time with a break at the half. Even in competitive matches, the total play time may vary depending on the age of the players. For example, younger kids tend to play shorter matches.

Throw the ball in if the other team kicks it out of bounds on the sidelines. Retrieve the ball and stand on the sidelines at roughly the spot where the ball went out. Holding the ball with both hands, raise it over and behind your head. Lean back and use your core muscles to heave the ball in the direction of a teammate and put it back in. Make sure you stay behind the line and don't lift your feet as that would result in the other team getting the ball. Time doesn't stop when the ball goes out of bounds, so players quickly decide who should throw it in. Usually, it gets thrown in by whoever happens to be closest.

Set up a corner kick or a goal kick if the ball goes over the goal line. If the attacking team kicks the ball over the goal line (but not in the goal), a member of the defending team kicks the ball from anywhere in the goal box. If the defending team kicks the ball out of bounds over the goal line, the attacking team gets a kick in from the corner on the side where the ball went out. Corner kicks are infamous "set pieces." Teams have plays already set up that are designed to score a goal. If you're making a corner kick in a competitive match, you'll put one of these plays into motion. While any player can make a goal kick, it's usually the goalkeeper who does it—and they're usually going to kick the ball way over to the other side of the field.

Score more goals than your opponent to win the match. The object of the game of soccer is deceptively simple. In reality, there are usually very few goals scored per match. It's not uncommon to see matches with evenly-matched, highly-skilled teams end in only 1 or 2 goals scored. If the match ends in a tie, that's often how it ends. In tournament play where there has to be a winner to move on to the next round, a tied match is resolved with penalty kicks, an overtime period, or both. The specific rules depend on the tournament.

Positions and Specialized Skills

Choose a position that best suits your strengths and abilities. Positions in soccer are fairly flexible, which allows you to capitalize on what you're good at. With a little practice, you'll probably find that you naturally gravitate toward a specific role. In case you're unsure, here are profiles for each general position: Goalkeeper: You would do anything to keep that ball from going in your goal. You're focused and alert and have a sixth sense of where the ball is going to go. Defender (back): You're strong, stubborn, and maybe a little aggressive. You're good at passing as well as clearing the ball away from the goal and out of danger. You prefer a supporting role to the spotlight. Midfielder: You're fast and have good cardiovascular fitness. You have a mind for strategy and know how to see the whole field and make plays. You have a decent shot and a better pass. Forward (striker): You're the star of the show, the one responsible for shooting goals. You have a strong, accurate shot and stay mentally focused. You're also comfortable in a leadership position.

Practice passing and shooting with your non-dominant foot. Ideally, you'll be just as good at passing and shooting with both feet—but for most people, it takes a lot of practice to get to that level. Kick a ball against a wall so you can stop the rebound and kick back with your non-dominant foot. Juggling also helps you gain more control of that weaker foot. If you're not sure which foot is your dominant foot, try this little trick: have a friend stand behind you and lightly shove you forward. Whichever foot you step forward on is your dominant foot. Typically, you'll be playing on the side of the field that matches your dominant foot—but not always. For example, if you have a more powerful left foot, you might end up as a left-wing (midfielder) or left forward.

Kick with the outside of your foot to put a backward spin on the ball. To get this technique down, start by standing next to the ball and run the outside of your foot past it so that the edge of your foot is just touching the ball. You can see how this creates spin. Gradually increase your speed and force to send the ball further. This technique comes in handy in passing situations and can help you move the ball to a teammate the opposing team left open.

Use your heel to pass the ball to a teammate. Swing your leg forward to get some momentum going, then hit the ball squarely with your heel to send it straight back. This technique can take some practice to master, but it comes in really handy if you need to get rid of the ball quickly and are getting crushed in front. There are other variations of this kick, such as crossing your kicking leg over your standing leg or kicking the ball up in the air with your heel, that require a lot more training and flexibility. If you're good at juggling, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to master kicking with your heel.

Run to create attacking opportunities when you don't have the ball. Soccer players do a lot of running throughout a 90-minute match—a lot of it when they don't have the ball. As you continue to play, you'll learn to anticipate the moves of players on the opposing team and figure out where you can go to create more space and more opportunities. Look for an open space on the field and bolt in that direction—it spreads everyone out and gives your team more options to work with. A well-timed sprint across the pitch can also serve as a distraction that might take your opponents' eyes off the ball for a brief second—which is sometimes all the time you need to make something happen.

Head the ball by hitting it with your forehead. As you see the ball coming toward you in the air, angle your head so that you'll hit it with your forehead, which is the most protected part of your skull. Meet the ball with force straight-on and actively hit it—don't just wait for the ball to hit you. Heading is a particularly good skill to use as a defender to clear the ball away from the goal after a corner kick. You might also head the ball as an offensive player to pass it to a teammate. Many people are anxious about heading the ball because of the concussion risk—but as long as you use the correct technique, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. At the same time, if you don't feel comfortable with this skill, just don't do it. This is an advanced skill typically not taught to younger players. Many leagues ban heading for players under 11 years old.

Develop your style based on your skills as a player. Start by watching and emulating players who are the best at the game—maybe you want to dribble like Lionel Messi or bend it like Beckham. When you find tricks you like, make up your drills to practice them until you can perform them confidently in match situations. Over time, you'll get a strong sense of your strengths and weaknesses. Work on tricks and unexpected moves to get the most out of your strengths. Juggling and playing around with the ball can help you come up with creative ways to move and kick. Anything unexpected will give you a leg up (no pun intended!) in match play.

Finding a Team

Get friends and family together to play a pickup game. Get a couple of goals and a ball, then find an open field where you can play—that's all you need! Since the rules of soccer are relatively simple, people don't necessarily need a lot of experience to play. Anybody interested in getting out and being active can play in a casual pickup game, which will help you gain experience. You do want an even number of players per side, but you can play casual pickup games with anywhere from 2 to 11 players on each team. The more people you have playing, the larger the space you'll need to play.

Set up a regular pickup game in your neighborhood. If you have some friends who are just as into soccer as you are, why not make it a regular thing? Pick a park or a large backyard where you can play and schedule a regular time. Playing on a set schedule makes soccer a regular part of your life and helps you continuously build on your skills and improve. If you don't know enough people, you might post flyers on a community bulletin board or post about the game you want to start on social media to try to find players.

Start competitive play on a local recreational team. Most towns and cities have soccer recreational leagues that take all players—so you don't have to worry about not making the team if you don't have a lot of experience. In a rec league, you'll get to play actual competitive matches with a referee so you can learn more about the rules and the flow of the game. Rec league teams often don't have coaches and might not even have standard practices—it just depends on how well-organized the team is. Players on rec leagues come from all skill levels. Chances are, you'll have at least a player or two on your team who plays or used to play for their school—you can learn a lot from them.

Try out for your school's team if you're still in school. Your chances of making the team with little to no experience depend on how competitive your school is. But even if you think you don't have a shot, it's still worth trying out just to get that experience. Even if you don't make the team, you'll pick up some skills during tryouts that you can practice in the hopes of making the team next year. Show enthusiasm for the sport and a willingness to learn—that's an attitude that will impress the coach, regardless of your skill level.

Sign up for a summer camp to hone your skills. If you're still in school, talk to your parents about going to a soccer camp. Some are day camps, while others are fully immersive sleep-away camps where you live soccer for a week or two. With the right camp, you can advance your skills in a short period. Most soccer camps have scholarships available for players who might not otherwise be able to afford the camp fees. Professional soccer teams often run skills camps as well. Some of these are by invitation only, while others are open to anyone who pays the program fee or qualifies for a scholarship.

Look at traveling teams once you're playing at an advanced level. Traveling teams are competitive youth teams of highly skilled players. Typically, kids on traveling teams are looking to play at the college if not the professional level. You're not going to get to this level overnight—but with persistence, the sky's the limit! Starting relatively young is usually the best way to ensure you have the skills to play at an advanced level. But even if you're already in your teens, it's not too late! With focus and dedication to the sport, you'll notice consistent improvement.