"Understanding that most of the game has nothing to do with kicking a ball, is one step closer to understanding the game"            - From an Umbro ad.  

BAD GIRL ! ! !

Points

- make sure that elbows are tucked in

- VERY important to be sure to jog/run alongside for a few steps, so that yourspeed is matched with opponent

- wait to start the contact until they are standing on their near foot (the foot closest to you),

- that shoulder charges are permitted only when the ball is in playing distance

The shoulder charge is one of the most useful skills which a defender can have in their arsenal - and all players should be able to learn this without difficulty. All that there is to a shoulder charge is to place your shoulder squarely against the shoulder of the opponent, and push against them. Make sure your elbows are tucked in. Keep your weight down and use your far leg to give additional power.

Close down on your opponent until you are running side-by-side. When coming onto another player to do a shoulder charge, it is VERY important to be sure to jog/run alongside for a few steps, so that your speed is matched with theirs. If you don't match speeds, it's easy to come in too hard and send the opponent flying which is a foul (and also not a good idea). Once you have made sure that your speed is matched, move over to make shoulder contact and start trying to push the other player away. To avoid sending the opponent flying, it is better to wait to start the contact until he is standing on his near foot (the foot closest to you), so that a push causes them to catch themselve with their far foot. If started when they are on their far foot, it is much easier to knock them over and makes it more likely that the Ref will call a foul.

One of the main uses of shoulder charges is to legally push the opponent into touch. Be aware that shoulder charges are permitted only when the ball is in playing distance. For example, you cannot just push an opponent into touch just to slow them down so that they won't be able to run towards the goal to help their on-ball teammate. Shoulder charges can also be used in the middle of the field to steer an opponent towards one touch-line or simply tie them up so that it is harder for them to get off a pass. As the players get older, they can learn how to spin off a shoulder charge in midfield, so it tends to become less useful over time when the opponent has space to spring away. Therefore, the primary focus should be on the players to use the shoulder charge when near a touch-line.

Once the you have mastered the shoulder charge and can do properly, you are ready to learn how to do a standing side tackle. There are two ways to do this.

One is with the outside of the foot that is nearest to the ball. This tackle works best if you can slightly ahead of the dribbler (so that your inside hip/leg will be free), then come in and nudge them slightly in front of their shoulder as you step in to knock the ball away with the outside of the foot. Time your run so that you push them just before they put their weight on their outside (far) foot. This will force them to come down on their far foot too quickly as they try to keep their balance which will make their dribble foot come down too wide and too far behind the ball for them to keep control.

The other is with the inside of the foot that is farthest away from the dribbler. As you come in for the shoulder charge, time your run so that you can step into the dribbler just as they have put their weight on their near foot. This will keep their leg out of the way as you swing your leg across your body to knock the ball out. Note that there is a slight difference in the timing of this tackle.

Essentially, as a defender you need to time your charge to take advantage of natural weight shifts which occur in running as the weight is transferred from one leg to the other, and helping to push the dribbler a bit off-balance so that they can get to the ball more easily. Because the dribbler is going to be somewhat off-balance naturally,it does not take much force to send them flying - so tacklers must be careful - and to go for a light bump only.

Make sure you try to actually win the ball instead of just knocking it out. Players need to learn to judge the size/strength of their opponents and gain some experience in lowering their centers of gravity.