"Passing" - By Judes Augustin. Judes was a semi pro player
and currently plays soccer with us on Wednesdays.
Although soccer is a team sport, the beauty of the
game is truly displayed through the magic plays of great individualists
like Maradona, Pele, Ronaldinho, Zidane... Such players become great
either thru hard work and/or being just gifted as they can do anything
with and without the ball, which brings us to today’s themes of
dribbling, passing and shooting. These players usually exhibit all three
qualities.
As a midfielder, I always take great pleasure watching the
guys in the midfield in total control of a game, taking charge
and putting their mark on a game. More than any player on the
field, a midfielder must be at least a very good passer. He
is the one who can open wide a defense and can make it easy
on his teammates by creating space for his speedy forwards
or delivering the ball on a silver platter to his scorer. A
midfielder is a general in the field, as nearly every ball
goes thru him. Michel Platini, one of the great midfielders,
could, in one pass, break a defense down and put his forwards
in a scoring position. For a passer to be efficient, he needs
to be in sync with his teammates. Good chemistry and also understanding
where your teammates are at all times demand a lot of playing
time together as well as practice. The passer is like a quaterback,
he needs to understand the game and being able to see the whole
field as he can move the ball from one side of the field to
the opposite. Great passers can also be great shooters.
Like any other sports, some players are gifted, some work
hard to get to the next level, others will just be role players.
However, whichever category you think you are in, if you can
understand the game and your role on the field, you can always
help any team by playing your part and working hard..
