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Admin
Last updated
01-05-09 03:58 PM
 
Sparta 96 Premier
ckolli@aol.com
10309 Granite Mesa Circle
Sandy, Utah
84092
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 Learn the Lingo |
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Learn the Lingo
Confused by what other parents are shouting from the sidelines? Learn the Lingo, what it means, what's OK to yell---and what's better left unsaid.
So...which one do you want to learn about first?
Nice Touch! Get Back! He Got Toasted!
Ref, are you blind! Let them Play! Man on!
Mark up! Get Square! Offside! All ball!
It didn't cross the line! Switch the field!
Nice Touch!
Having complete control over what the ball does when you play it. A deft reception, slick fake, perfectly placed shot, a well-placed pass all exhibit touch. You can't make a mistake applauding touch. A low-key "Nice touch, Jane" is the ultimate insider comment, and makes Jane feel great.
Get Back!
A Beatles oldie. Joke. Means recover to a defensive position so you don't get toasted (see next entry). There's no need to shout this obvious tactic, but it's often used by merciless parents and coaches to goad their wind-sucking kids into making one more run to their defensive positions.
He got toasted!
(also burned, smoked): Beaten handily. The worst kind of toast is to be nutmegged, which means a player has dribbled or passed the ball between your legs. How embarrassing is it for the ball to be a few inches from each leg and to not be able to stop it! Don't say it out loud if nutmeggee's parents are standing nearby.
Ref, are you blind?
No, considering he drove himself to the game and hasn't tripped over any players. Players don't like you to yell this; it irritates the person whose judgments will determine the outcome of the match. Thank you.
Offside!
NEVER "offsides", as in football. Nothing tips your hand as a novice as much as saying "offsides". Offside is possibly the most argued-about and misunderstood rule in soccer. Since the refs are being paid to note when a player is offside, and since most spectators are dropping their car keys or ripping open one of those little mustard packets at the moment of the infraction, it's best not to argue the call. Roughly, the offside rule requires that two defensive players--one is almost always the goalkeeper--be at least as close to the goal as the attacking player at the time the ball is played forward. The spirit of the offside rule is to prevent attackers from hanging about the goal waiting to collect cheap goals. A corollary to the rule states that there is a direct relationship between the number of times fans disagree with the ref about the offside call and the number of times the ref will call your team offside.
Man on!
A notification to a player with the ball that someone is quickly closing in from behind, intending to snatch aforesaid ball. "Man on" is one of those instinctive things that fans shout, but ought to be left to the player's teammates to deliver; as they have a better sense of what's up. And it's never, never, no matter how PC you may want to be, "girl on" or "woman on" or person on". Ever.
Get square!
To provide support to a teammate with the ball--usually by positioning oneself 10 to 15 yards away and roughly 90 degrees to the angle of attack (direction in which the attack is headed). Getting square is one of the simplest and, surprisingly, least-used tactics in youth soccer: It requires no more effort than would just running down the field, and provides for both better offense and quicker transition to defense. Maybe they do need more geometry to school these days.
Switch the field!
Changing the point of attack from one side of the field to the other, quickly. The defense, stacked on one side of the field, is then unprepared for the attack. Similar to stepping around a wall, rather than running through it. Can't argue with that.
Let them play!
Shouted by the coach, a parent, the parking lot attendant or anybody not on the field playing. Directed at the referee who calls every nudge, bump or minor contact, thus slowing the game and reducing the weight and severity of the ref's whistle when serious offenses are committed. Ironically, shouting this rarely works. The ref almost never stops, thinks about it and says, "Aw, OK, I'll let them play." Save it.
It didn't cross the line!
A great way to impress rookie soccer parents who don't realize that the ball must go entirely over the line to be called out. Also a great way to tick off the linesperson. Something else to resist saying.
All ball!
A claim, usually made by the dad of a defender; when he feels his sonr's tackle was not a foul and that he made contact with the ball before obliterating the attacker (in which case, presumably, obliterating an opponent is OK). Making this call is a problem when the defender does get all ball and the ref is past listening.
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