According to the rules of football – the game we Americans refer to as soccer – a scissors or bicycle kick is permissible provided that, in the referee’s opinion, it is not dangerous to an opponent.
I recently set out to learn about football in anticipation of relocating to South Africa. The prospect of learning a team sport that might be fun to play and provide opportunities to meet people appeals to me.
For an introduction, I turned to a friend, the Wave, a lifelong footballer and Man U fan who played goalie at New Jersey’s Lawrence High School in the early 1980s.
Together on a recent visit to Edina, Minn., we headed to a pitch at a local high school. There under a blue sky on an 85-degree afternoon, the Wave introduced me to some of the game’s basics.
We reviewed kicking with the inside the outside of the foot and trapping the ball with the chest, thighs and shins. “Let the ball settle in front of you,” the Wave instructed. “Use your body to absorb the shock of the ball.”
We passed the ball back and forth as I alternated kicking with my right and left legs. “Boobs over the ball, don’t lean back,” the Wave barked. We sat on the ground and used our arms to pass the ball to each other as if simulating tennis strokes – an analogy the Wave said would show me how to lock my ankle for kicks.
He also showed me how to locate the ball’s center of gravity by reference to the alternating five- and six-sided panels that join to form a football, which produces a satisfying “pop” when struck correctly.
We gathered in front of the goal, where the Wave showed me some of the basics of shooting. “When settling in front of the goal, keep the ball moving toward the goal, within two feet of you at all times,” he said.
From the corner of the pitch, the Wave passed me the ball repeatedly so I could get the feel of trapping the ball either briefly or, alternatively, shooting without stopping, a concept known as “no-touch.”
“Don’t chase the ball, let it come to you,” the Wave counseled.
We reviewed the rule against being offside, which means being nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the next-to-last defender (besides the goalie). “When passing downfield, lead your teammate,” the Wave said. “Especially when you go to the corners.”
We worked on my throw-in, which refers to a way of restarting play after the ball has crossed a sideline.
We took turns dribbling the ball while playing a two-person version of keep-away. The Wave showed me how to watch my opponent’s belly button – it reveals one’s center of gravity – as a way to avoid getting faked-out by one’s opponent.
After a few shots on goal we discovered that my left leg happens to be my dominant leg. I am left-handed but had thought my right leg was the stronger appendage. “You have a natural striker’s kick,” the Wave noted. I loved the feeling of striking the ball and watching it arc slightly as it left the ground and sailed toward the net.
I felt as if I could do that all day.