(soccer, ready position, rebound, recover, recreational soccer, rec soccer, red card, redirect, soccer referee, release, relegation, restart, reverse pass, soccer rules, run of play)
| RDMF | Right Defensive Midfielder. (See "Formations"). Right is as you face the other team's goal. |
| Ready Position | The goalkeeper's basic stance (knees bent & hands up) when the ball is within shooting distance of the goal. |
| Rebound * | When your team shoots, it is important for the F's & MF's to "go to goal" & get in position near the goal for a "rebound". A rebound will occur when a shot hits the goal or when the goalkeeper blocks a shot. However, your players should not go too close or the rebound will bounce behind them. When this happens, they not only don't have a shot, but they actually are in the way of their teammates who are trying to take a shot. (i.e., They are between the ball & the goal & blocking their teammate's ability to take a shot. It's almost like giving the other team a defender). Tell your players to not run into the Goal Box until they see where the rebound is going (remind them that they can run forward a lot faster than they can run backward). Also, teach them to aggressively try to win the ball back if an opponent other than the goalkeeper gets the ball near the other team's goal (e.g., from a rebound or a turnover). This can be a great scoring opportunity if you can steal the ball back &, if you accidentally foul, the free kick is too far away from your goal to score. (See "Finish", & "Attacking"). |
| Receive | (aka "Trap"). Receiving the ball used to be called "trapping" the ball, but today most people use the term "receiving". Receiving is a very important skill that every coach should teach. A player can "receive" the ball on a pass or a loose ball. The ball is usually received with the foot (inside, outside, top or bottom), but it can also be received with the chest, head, thigh, or any part of the body except the arms (the definition of "arm" is the movable part of the arm up to where the arm joins the shoulder). See "Trap" and "Hand Ball". |
| Receive and Move | The receiver should know if a defender is close by and, if so, he should move toward the ball on a pass & receive the ball so it is shielded from the defender or block it into open space away from the defender. Receiving is a very important skill that every coach should teach. A player can "receive" the ball on a pass or a loose ball. The ball is usually received with the foot (inside, outside, top or bottom), but it can also be received with the chest, head, thigh, or any part of the body except the arms (the definition of "arm" is the movable part of the arm up to where the arm joins the shoulder). See "Trap" and "Hand Ball". |
| Recommended References |
See SoccerHelp Premium.
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| Recover | (aka "Recovering Run"). Refers to players running to get "goalside" when their team loses the ball so they can take up defensive positions. In recreational soccer, if the other team has a fast break, defenders will often kick the ball out of bounds so the defense has time to "recover". (See "Shift & Sag" and "Cover"). |
| Recreational Soccer |
(aka "Rec" soccer). There are 2 types of youth soccer, recreational and select (which is also called travel soccer). "Recreational" soccer is what most youth participate in. There are usually fall and spring seasons, the sponsoring organization lines up the coaches & recruits the players, during the season there is usually one game per week, fun & good sportsmanship are stressed & each player plays at least 50% of each game. Coaches are usually parent volunteers. Rec teams often practice only once per week. (See "Select Soccer"). |
| Red Card | |
| Redirect | To change the path of a moving ball by deflecting it (e.g., at the high school level, many goals are scored by a player using his head to redirect a chip pass). |
| Referee | Most youth games have one referee on the field, called a "Center Referee", who is the referee-in-charge and 2 Assistant Referees. (See "Assistant Referee"). |
| Relative Positions | Positions The difficulty of teaching Soccer Positions is that, except for Fullbacks at young ages, players often move around the field and don't stay in one spot. So, the positions are "relative" to each other, and generally when on Defense, the "left" side players should stay on the left side of the field, the "right" side players on the right side of the field (left and right are as you face the opposing Goalie), Fullbacks should be closer to their Goalie than their Midfielders are, and Midfielders should be closer to their Goalie than their Forwards are. These guidelines also apply when a team is on offense, but not as strictly. (Offense is more creative than defense and players may "overlap" in order to advance the attack; this is particularly true with Midfielders and Forwards, because most coaches may want their Fullbacks to be conservative and stay in a defensive position in case there is a counterattack by the opponent). See Positions Basics and Kick-Offs. |
| Release | Refers to allowing a FB or the Sweeper to come into the attack if they have the ball and can penetrate. This can be very effective and creates scoring opportunities by overloading the opponent's defense. For example, "They allow the Sweeper to release into the attack". (See "Attacking").
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| Relegation | Many professional leagues such as the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A use a system of "relegation & promotion" where the teams finishing lowest in the standings are relegated to a lower, less prestigious division and the top teams in the lower division (e.g., Division I in England) are "promoted" and move up to play in the better league. Relegation is bad; promotion is good. |
| Re-Start | Any time play is stopped and restarted, or where the ball can't be pressured, such as on a Corner Kick, Goal Kick, Throw-In, Kick-Off, Free Kick or Penalty Kick. When the Goalkeeper picks up the ball it's similar to a re-start, since the ball can't be pressured and there is an opportunity for a Set Play. See Short Corner Set-Play & Corner Kick Attacking Strategies on Premium. |
| Re-Start Play | |
| Restraining Line | The farthest an attacking player can legally "Push Up" without being "Offside". See "Offside Rule (Simplified)" for the definition. For example, Anson Dorrance plays an aggressive style of attack and has said that when his opponent has the ball, he likes to have his Forwards play on the edge of the restraining line. |
| Reverse Pass | A lateral (sideways) pass to a player who is trailing to one side. This is not a backward or back heel pass. It is often played to space in front of the teammate who is coming up from behind & may go slightly backward. (See "Back Pass"). |
| RF | |
| RFB | |
| RMF | Right Midfielder. (See "Positions" and "Midfielders"). |
| ROMF | Right Offensive Midfielder. (See "Formations"). |
| Rules | The basic soccer rules are described in these Definitions. See "Advantage Clause", "Cards", "Fouls", "Hand Ball", "Offside Rule", "Shoulder Charge", "Assistant Referee", "FIFA", "Corner Kick", "Free Kick", "Goal Kick", "Kick Off", "Lines", "Penalty Kick", "Substitutions" & "Throw-Ins". Also, see "Rules" and "Safety Rules", Basic Information & Tips for Beginning Coaches. Soccer rules are revised annually by FIFA. You can visit www.fifa.com. for the latest official rules, which are called the "Laws of The Game". |
| Run Of Play | (aka "Flow of Play") Refers to goals scored during normal play, as opposed to PK's or shootouts. (e.g., "He scored 4 goals, all in the run of play".) |
| Running With The Ball | (aka "Speed Dribbling"). See "Speed Dribbling" |
Copyright 1999-2008, David and Kay Huddleston
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