Benefits of Beach Soccer
Agility, stamina, finesse, high speed, and excitement – these attributes very fittingly describe the dynamic sport of beach soccer. Played on the beach or in the sand, the game encourages a high level of fitness that comes from running continuously on a surface that is less stable than turf. It also brings about better conditioning in the players' legs and glutes than would be experienced on a traditional pitch. Given the softer, more forgiving nature of clean sand, many players are more inclined to attempt the "glory shots" rarely seen in the grass game. These include scissor kicks, flying headers, and bicycle kicks for example.
The game is immensely fast-paced and is played on a more compact pitch measuring only 90 x 120 feet (a normal soccer game is played on a pitch 246 x 360 feet). This allows players to shoot from virtually anywhere keeping the goalie on his/her toes at all times. A shot attempt is made once every 30 seconds with a goal scored on average of once every 3-4 minutes – an average game has 11 goals scored. The movement and passing of the ball is vastly different from regular soccer as well. The sand can be unpredictable for level passing so most players choose to set and pass the ball in the air. Expect to see lots of chest traps, shoulder pops, headers, and quick flick passes in a game of beach soccer.
Each team consists of four players and a goalkeeper with no off-sides. Unlimited substitutions allow for fresh legs at all times and keeps the game moving fluidly throughout all three 12-minute periods. A beach soccer game always has a winning team. In the event of a tie an overtime period is played, followed by penalty kicks if the tie remains. Beach soccer is indeed quite different in play and strategy than traditional soccer and offers the opportunity to develop unique skills away from the grass game. It is no wonder that top-flight professional teams the world over have begun to utilize sand pitches at their facilities for this very reason: playing beach soccer makes a better soccer player.
