Practice Games: World Cup and Knockout

Like most sports, practice is essential to becoming a better player. Playing soccer in scrimmages is my favorite way to practice because it shows what the player would be like during a regular game. There are many practice games that have a set focus that are very enjoyable to play, and most of these games do not require two full teams in order to play them. The first game can be played with a few players but the more the better. I know this game as knockout but others have different names for it. Each player in the game has a ball that they dribble around. There is a set grid that the players run around in to stay in play. Once the game start, the object is to keep your soccer ball within the grid for as long as you can while trying to kick the opponent’s balls out of the grid. Once there is one player remaining, the game is over and that solo player is the victor. This practice game focuses on ball control and defensive techniques. Another game that I play is called the World Cup. This version of soccer has many different rules but most are the same. There are teams, usually two per team, against a goalie with all the teams trying to score a goal. The game begins with a throw-in from the goalie, sometimes multiple balls are used. Then you and your partner try to score on the goalie before the other teams score and advance to the next round. The rounds end when there is a team left who gets knocked out. This continues until the last round with two teams against each other. Variations might require a set number of passes before being able to shoot; others require that the team shout out the name of the country they represent before shooting the ball.