Posted by ericsaints on July 19th, 2007 in Feature articles, Varsity activities

A forward dribbling the ball rushes toward a defender, pauses for a fraction of a sec, fakes a pass, then in a nifty move, pushes the ball right between the defender’s legs, and sprints around the flummoxed fullback, easily regaining the ball.

Did you know that there’s a word to describe what just happened? It’s -

Nutmeg
When a ballhandler intentionally passes the ball through a defender’s legs, then the defender has been “nutmegged”. (www.soccerhelp.com)

Some of you might be puzzled by headlines like: “Kaka’s hat-trick carries AC Milan” and “Robinho hat-trick revives Brazil.” Don’t fret; here’s what that odd phrase means:

Hat trick:
3 or more goals scored in a game by a single player. (www.firstbasesports.com)

And do you remember that Teachers v. Dads game two or three Family Days ago? With his back to the net, Coach Ruffy wowed us all with a splendid kick that sent the ball ripping over his head and into the Dads’ goal, causing the stands to erupt and chant “Coach Ruffy, Coach Ruffy, Coach Ruffy!” Liverpool’s Peter Crouch made the same spectacular shot against Galatasaray in last season’s UEFA Champions League, one the best goals of that tournament (click here for a YouTube video clip of Crouch’s zinger and here for a virtuoso version by Ronaldhino). Do you know what it’s called? Yup, it’s a -

Bicycle kick:
when a player kicks the ball in mid-air backwards and over his/her own head, usually making contact above waist level; an acrobatic shot. (Soccer Dictionary by Coach Cameron)

As you can see, football has its own glossary of terms to describe moves, tactics, rules and other information. For a soccer-mad school like ours, understanding the jargon helps us to appreciate the sport even better. After all, Coach Juaqui has gotten our players to adopt an intelligent approach to learning the rudiments and finer points of the beautiful game.

So, to help you brush up on the lexicon of ManU, Chelsea, Galaxy, Redwoods (ehem) or whatever your favorite team might be, check out the following links:

Soccer Tips Dictionary Terms by Soccerhelp.com
Soccer Glossary by Firstbasesports.com
Soccer Dictionary by Coach Cameron

We’re pretty sure you’ll get a kick out of expanding your soccer vocabulary.

P.S. What spectacular soccer move does the official emblem of 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa feature? Click on the link to find out!