Soccer is a demanding sport, requiring individuals to improve their fitness and skill levels while working within a team structure. It challenges athletes to progress personally, accept direction from coaches and team leaders, and aim to achieve collective success with teammates. Through individual and group effort, soccer players build discipline that can carry over into other aspects of their lives.
Fitness Discipline
Soccer players run, run and run some more. Even recreational soccer is somewhat demanding, given the size of the field and the need to cover a lot of ground. As players progress competitively, they will develop personal discipline through distance running and perhaps strength and agility training as well.
Team Structure
Athletes participating in team sports must adhere to group guidelines. Teams, coaches and competitive levels vary greatly, but individuals must remain responsible to the group. They must follow the guidelines set for the team. They must attend practice, take instruction and give full effort in drills. They must accept their assigned role on the team and compete to the best of their ability. They must adhere to the rules of their sport as administered by the officials.
Tactical Discipline
Soccer places a premium on structure and teamwork. Positioning is critical. Very young players may chase the ball in packs at the introductory level, but they will begin to balance the field as their understanding of the game grows. At higher levels, teams build structure by practicing with game scenarios. Players who "freelance" without regard to their team responsibilities leave their teams vulnerable to defensive breakdowns.
Emotional Discipline
As players climb the competitive ladder, emotions run higher in games. Soccer is essentially a noncontact sport, but collisions become inevitable as teams play faster and harder. Soccer has high standards for sportsmanship and strict rules regarding player conduct. Athletes unable to control their emotions are subject to ejection. Perhaps one of the most glaring examples came during the Italy-France World Cup title match in 2006. French star Zinedine Zidane delivered a head butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi during the closing minutes of overtime. With Zidane sidelined, France lost the Cup in penalty kicks.
