Warne-Smith's tips for young players (III)
Football in the wet
Wet weather football is not so bad as some players imagine.
It is a little harder to handle, mark, and kick a greasy ball. Your feet are also apt to slip in a turn, but if you practise the following points a rainy day should not hold any terrors.
In marking, aim to gather the ball in on the chest. If you must mark overhead, turn the palms a little outward to the ball. Then, if the ball slips, it comes down in front of you and gives you a chance to catch it again or to pick it up from the ground. That is better than having the ball fall behind you into someone else's hands
For the chest mark, take the ball as high as possible—almost under the chin. Fold your hands right over the ball, with the elbows pushed together and the forearms under the ball to stop it slipping. To see the chest mark taken perfectly watch Harry Collier, the Collingwood captain.
The punt is the only safe way to send the ball along accurately. Even some League players forget this. On any wet day, you may see them hoping for the best with a dropkick which almost invariably goes along the ground.
Before taking a shot for goal, dry the ball a little. Wipe it on your knickers. They will be so dirty that a little more mud will not make washing them any harder. Also, dry the instep of your kicking foot by rubbing it against your stockings.
To pick the ball up, you adopt a scooping method. Bend down as you come to it and put one hand under the ball and lift it up. Percy Beames of Melbourne is expert at this, and he shows just how easy this really is if you try.
There is one feature of wet weather play which is troublesome—the bounce of the ball. It simply rolls or shoots along the ground. When it does bounce, it goes straight on. All you need do is to run straight at it and do that ‘scoop’. Soccer tactics must also not be forgotten in case the ball cannot be picked up quickly, but remember to control those kicks off the ground and watch where you are sending the ball.
You should treat turning gingerly and not attempt it unless absolutely forced to. When running to the ball, steady your pace a little. You need not be afraid of the other fellow passing you. If he is trying to run his hardest he will probably be slipping.
The general tactics of wet weather play are to run straight ahead, to kick straight ahead and as far as you can. Short passes, unless you are adept at them, are ruinous, and handball efforts will probably develop into a throw, as the ball is likely to slip out of your hand.
Playing fullback
Sometimes the player in goals is known as the full-back and sometimes he is known as the goalkeeper. In reality, he is the goalkeeper and that should never be forgotten. His first duties in this position are to prevent the ball from going between the goals along the ground and to mark it in the goal base or to touch it as it goes higher if that is possible.
In addition, the goalkeeper has to watch and beat the full-forward of the other side. But in doing that he must not follow further afield than his opponents kicking distance. If the full-forward roams too far, he should be guarded by one of the other back pocket players. Even in League football that is forgotten. Norm Smith, the Melbourne full-forward, always wanders to, or past, the half-forward line. When Melbourne played Collingwood and South Melbourne this year both experienced and great players followed Smith about. They forget the first principle of the goalkeeper and left the goals unguarded. It is a fatal procedure and I hope that boys who play in goals will never make the same mistake.
The goalkeeper should also study the play of all the opposing forwards and half-forwards during the match. He will then have some idea of the way each man turns and the distance of his kicking and he will be able to anticipate where the ball will go. I heard a League goalkeeper talking about an opposing centre half-forward the other day. He said every time so-and-so had the ball I knew he would try to break through to have a kick at goal so I always fell back on the goal line. He saved two or three goals by doing this and his side benefited
Kicking off
Kicking off by the goalkeeper is a matter of vital importance. It does not mean that he should simply kick as far as he can. For one thing, when a player tries to kick too hard he often miskicks the ball. For another, an opponent might mark or obtain the ball and that must be prevented at any cost. On a calm day, the goalkeeper kicks to where his team's strength is—perhaps to a good high-marking follower or to a wing half-back who is consistently beating his man. The ball may be passed—when the goalkeeper is certain that he will be accurate— to a man standing alone.
Each kick off should be given some thought and varied in its direction to keep opponents guessing. But the goalkeeper's own team must know the goalkeeper's intentions and have prearranged signals between themselves as a guide. On a day when a crosswind is blowing, that will not always be possible so a goalkeeper should then kick to the wing to which the wind is blowing. Then if the opposition obtains the ball they are forced to play right against the wind to score.
In general play the goalkeeper must observe the following points: If he cannot mark the ball he should punch it away. When he is forced to leave the goal base he must have an understanding with the back-pocket players to guard the goals in his absence. He should run straight out to meet an opponent who is running toward goal with no other player of his own team near. He should play hard and with determination with his hips and shoulders, but never claw with his hands. Free kicks should never be given by the goalkeeper.
Value of good kicking
After a football match, we always seem to remember the full backs poor kick-off and the forward missed shot for goal, but the disposal of the ball by other members of the team in general play is seldom much thought. In fact, we usually judge a good player on the number of kicks he has in a match and not on their value. We are wrong in this.
A player should be given credit only for what happens after he has kicked the ball. Should it go to an opponent or not be sent in the right way to one of the team then the player is just as much as fault as the goalkeepers and towards when they kick badly. A team can never be systematic nor is a player a sound footballer unless there is method and direction behind nearly every kick.
Naturally there are occasions when a hurried kick is the only way to rid oneself of the ball, but as a rule there is time to send it on correctly. If you make it to gain that little extra time for your kick is easy enough if you have learnt those turns and twists out of trouble of which I have told you in a previous article. Another help is never run that extra yard or two with the ball. We all have this inclination when nobody is in front of us but there is not a player who can run as fast as the ball travels after a kick.
After a mark is taken or a free kick is received players are often noticed to turn their backs on the field before they have their kick. If you do it you are sure to miss an opportunity of passing on to advantage or to make up for lost time you kick hurriedly and inaccurately. So always run backward facing the field after a mark or free.
Lastly, lift up your head and look around you as soon as the ball is picked up. This is one of the essential habits to have in football—you are able to see what is going on around you. You can pick out one of your own men in position immediately, and further you will avoid injuries. Any player who runs into a pack and out of it with his head down is not a good footballer and is only looking for trouble.
With these principles to guide you difficulties in passing the ball on should disappear, especially if you remember to steady a little in your run just as you make the kick so as to retain your balance.
Before telling you the best direction in which the kick from each position, there are two important details to know. The first is in passing to a player who is leading out. In this case your kick should be judged so that a player can just reach it running at his top speed. If you do not allow for this he will have to stop to take the ball. An opponent running from behind is able to catch up with him and probably able to beat him for possession.
Having explained to you the simpler principles of football, Mr Warne-Smith is now teaching you the more scientific aspects of the game, which he learned during his long and brilliant career as a League footballer. This week he advises the back men how to ward off any attacks by the opposing forwards.
How to play Half-back
The half-backs, like the full-backs, play to watch and outwit their own opponents. If you are a halfback always think about the best way to do this when you go out on to the field. You know that a forward's back is generally turned on the goals when he obtains the ball and that he must turn toward them before playing on. A right-foot kick will naturally make a left turn to bring him round on to his kicking leg. A left-footer does the opposite. So if when you take your position alongside him you stand on the opposite side to his kicking leg, you will have begun already to cramp his style of play.
You must keep in mind that a good forward is all the time thinking of some plan by which he can escape from your minding of him. He wants to be able to break away into an open space somewhere so that one of his own men will kick to him. He may, if he is a half-forward wing stand out near the fence, hoping to lead in toward the centre as the ball comes down or he may stand near the centre half-forward leaving an opening between him and the fence.
In the first case you should keep between the forward and the centre and in the second between him and the fence. He may try other ways to get away from you but whatever he does always try to keep between him and the play. It is a question of all your wits being pitted against his. You as a half-back, like every other player in the field, cannot afford to take your mind off the game for one second. Study the movements of the opponents in front of you all the time so that you have some idea of which way and how far they will kick.
Should the ball be kicked right over your head to the fullback defenders you still have to keep one eye on your man in case he runs down to help his other forwards. But do not forget that one of your fullback men may obtain the ball and that you then must make position away from your forward to give the back men someone to whom they can kick. When the half-backs obtain the ball they are sometimes not sure where they will send their kick. If you are in doubt about this at any time, kick the ball straight ahead as far as you can. You may pass the ball as a centre halfback to the centreman, and as a half-back wingman to the centre wingman in front of you. Nevertheless, you must be sure that your pass will be delivered safely otherwise the ball may come back over your heads to make it easy for the other side to score.
On very rare occasions an opening may be seen to which you can kick across the ground, namely, the centre-half-back kicks out toward the wing, or the half-back wings kick toward the centre. But I would never advise you to do this, because the ball has not travelled far in a straight line and distance has been wasted.
Lastly, work together with your other back men. Be ready to back up near them if they are in trouble. It will also pay to have an understanding with the centre halfback to knock the ball out toward you when he is not sure that he can take a mark.
Footnotes
Title: Champion's hints for young players
Author: Ivor Warne-Smith
Publisher: The Argus (Melbourne, Vic: 1848-1957)
Series: Every Friday in the Junior Argus supplement, pp.7/8.
Dates: Friday, 14 May 1937 to 27 August 1937.
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11112387
http:// nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11115681
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