How to Communicate With Soccer Teammates on the Field
One of the most important aspects about soccer is to be able to communicate well with your teammates. You need to understand the soccer lingo and what your teammates are saying to you to increase your odds of stealing the ball, passing the ball or ultimately scoring a goal. Learn the soccer terms and pass along the tips and words to your teammates.
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Instructions
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On Defense
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Defend the goal by giving these directions. "Mark up" is used when you need a teammate to cover an offender. "Contain" should be called when you want your fellow defender to prevent the ball handler from moving forward with the soccer ball until more help arrives. "Goal side" is to remind defenders to stay between the offense and the net.
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2
Yell out to your defenders if needed. "No foul" should be used when you don't want your teammate to commit a careless foul just to get the ball. Another one to use is "Switch off." This should be used if the other team's players switch sides of the field and you want to change marks. "Push up" tells your last line of defense to move up and try to get the other team offside.
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Allow the goalkeeper to communicate as well. The keeper should yell, "Keeper" if he wants the ball. He should also say, "Away" if he wants the defender to clear the ball immediately. The netminder also should say, "Mark" followed by the offender's jersey number. Since the keeper is the last line of defense, he has a better vantage point to see the field.
On Offense
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Communicate with your forwards when moving down the field. "All the way" should be used when your teammate with the ball has a clear field toward the goal. "Man on" should be yelled when the other team is charging toward the player with the ball.
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5
Work with your offensive players to move the ball around. "Give and go" is when you want the player with the ball to pass the ball to you, and then you pass the ball right back, leading the player down the field. It's almost like a wall pass. "Line" is another saying to lead you down the nearest sideline.
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Say simple commands. "Cross" is used when you want your teammate to switch the ball to the other side of the field with a long pass. "Drop" should be said when you're behind your teammate, and you want him to leave the ball for you. "Square" is for passing the ball perpendicular to you. "Time" is yelled when there's no pressure coming.
General Communication
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Direct general commands to your teammates. "Mine" is simple enough. It means you have the soccer ball. "You" means you think another player on your team has a better shot at obtaining the ball. "No" is another easy one since it means you're covered and cannot receive the ball.
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Use your teammates' names or numbers when you communicate. "Teammate's name's ball" or "(Jersey number)'s ball" is helpful to let others know that from where you're standing, that player has a better chance of getting the ball.
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Encourage your teammates. "Well done" can be said after a nice play. "Unlucky" means you're aware of the effort and it was an unfortunate play.
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Tips & Warnings
This is a general idea of what some soccer terms may be. Keep in mind that your area of country or world might refer to some of these words differently.
These commands or directions are short for a reason. While you're trying to spit out an entire sentence, the playing situation changed, leaving your help wasted. Keeping the directions to two to three words allows everyone to understand clearly what you're trying to communicate.
