1. Have access to a soccer ball. Duh. That is obvious. To be good at soccer, you gotta have a soccer ball, so you can practice after school, university or whatever. So, get a soccer ball. You can buy it at any sports store. It will cost anywhere around 5 to 20 dollars.
2. Have a bike pump! Eventually your soccer ball will get soggy and deflate.You will have to pump it up.
3. Have spare time because you will have to practice at least 1 hour a week.
4. Invite your friends! It's so much fun to play with your friends than play all by yourself.

The Rules of soccer

Don't touch the ball with your hands, don't grab onto other people, and that's it.

Running with the ball on the ground

To do that, have the ball in front of you, start running, and as you bring your foot up to the ball, push it forward (DON'T KICK IT!) with your foot, and then with the other, and keep on going.

Checking

Checking is one of the most important things in soccer. If you see a person running up to you from the front, put the tip of your left or right shoe on the ball, and roll it around the person into the direction of the foot you put on. 

Scoring

Good job! Now you checked your opponents and have an opportuniti to shoot into the goalie post! For best results, run up to the goalie post, and have 4-5 meters between you and the post. Now with your foot, swing it back, and swing it forth hitting the ball with the sidey-tip of your shoe. Aim at the gate of course!

The fight highlighted what most fight fans would consider an excellent pay-per-view card (many talented fighters were featured from a variety of different weight classes - e.g. Joe Stevenson, Josh Koscheck). In the end, though, the outstanding five-round fight may have caused more controversy than anything else.

The first round of the fight saw a fairly even exchange of stand-up. Forrest probably landed more punch and kick combinations, but when Rampage landed, he undoubtedly did more damage. He rocked Forrest late in the round and almost had the fight won, but Griffin was able to survive and fight another round. These rounds are probably the hardest to score in MMA. One fighter does more work, but one fighter does more damage. Where do the judges draw the line? Who actually wins the fight - the busier fighter or the more damaging one?

The second round was much more clear cut. Forrest dominated the stand-up with devastating leg kicks that obviously affected Rampage's movement. This eventually led to Forrest taking down Rampage and dominating the remainder of the round on the mat. I scored this round 10-8 because it was clearly Forrest dominating the action and doing more damage.

This is where it starts to get really fun. Rounds 3, 4, and 5 were all very close rounds. Many fight fans could have seen these rounds go either way. Personally, I had Round 3 to Rampage and 4 and 5 to Forrest. But I could completely understand if somebody disagreed with me.

The main issue is the lack of certainty in the decision - a problem that has not come up for the UFC too much, one that has forever tainted boxing. The UFC needs to somehow come up with a way to make clear and definitive winners in their big-ticket fights. This will keep them as the “fastest growing sport on the planet” and keep UFC fans everywhere happy.

We asked how many of the four runs that scored in the following inning were unearned:

Batter A singles. Batter B reaches on an error, with A stopping at second. Batter C sacrifices both runners up a base. Batter D singles, scoring A, with B stopping at third. Batter E hits a sacrifice fly, scoring B. Batter F walks, D moving to second. Batter G triples, scoring both D and F. Batter H strikes out.

The correct answer is one.

To reach our determination, we wait until the entire inning is completed, then reconstruct how the inning would have transpired had their been no errors or passed balls.

In this example, even if Batter B had been retired, Batter A would have moved up on the sacrifice by C and scored on the single by D. But Batter E's fly ball would have been the third out instead of a sacrifice fly and the inning would have ended with just one run having scored.

This hypothetical reconstruction of the inning is absolutely essential.

Another way for the scorer to look at it: Whenever possible don't think of WHICH individual run is earned or unearned, but rather HOW MANY. Of course, when more than one pitcher is involved in the inning, individual responsibility must be assigned.

There are certain guidelines that apply to these hypothetical situations. The scorer can make logical assumptions about how far baserunners would have advanced, whether a forceout would have been made, and other routine plays. But the scorer cannot reverse the manager's strategy in his reconstruction.

For example, if an intentional walk is issued during the inning, the scorer's re-creation must include a walk to that batter, even if it's likely the manager would not have ordered the walk in the altered circumstances.

There are many other fine points involved with determining earned and unearned runs. But in our last three columns, we've covered the basic rules and guidelines.

We'll close this column by answering a scoring question:

“I was watching a game on TV the other night. The batter fouled a pitch off his ankle and had to leave the game. He was replaced by a pinchhitter with an 0-2 count and he struck out. Who gets charged for the time at bat?”

Answer: Because the sub inherited the 0-2 count, the original batter is charged with the strikeout. Any other form of out would have been charged to the new batter, as would any kind of positive play, such as a hit or a walk.

Similar rules apply to pitching changes. If a reliever enters the game with a count of 3-0, 2-0, 3-1 or 2-1 on the batter, an ensuing walk is charged to the first pitcher.

“An unearned run is one that would not have scored in the inning had there been no errors or passed balls committed.”

And we provided two of the primary rules for the scorer to follow as he tries to make the earned/unearned determination:

First, if there were no errors or passed balls in the inning, all runs must be earned.

Second, wait until the inning is over before trying to decide.

Here's an example designed to show why the second rule is important:

In a play taken directly from the championship game of a recent ASA Men's Major National fast-pitch softball tournament, the visiting team snapped a scoreless tie in the top half of the seventh (final) inning. The leadoff batter lined a single into left-center. The left fielder misplayed the ball, falling down as it rolled to the fence and the batter circled the bases. It was scored a single and a three-base error.

Moments later, writers in the press box were surprised when the official scorer announced after the inning that the run was earned. Here's why it was:

After two outs in the same inning, there followed a single and a double before the third out was made. The scorer ruled correctly that the subsequent hits would have scored the run even without the error; thus, the run is earned.

This type of situation is very common, and it underscores the necessity of waiting until the inning is over.

Here's another basic principle of answering the earned/unearned question:

Any runs are unearned if they are scored after the third out would have been recorded had there been no errors or passed balls.

Here's an overstated example:

The first two batters of the inning are retired. The third batter reaches base on an error. The fourth batter hits a two-run homer. Not only are both the runs unearned, but even if the next five batters homered, all would be unearned because of the aforementioned “third-out principle.”

However, this rule does not apply to individual statistics when there is a pitching change made during the rally. The reliever does not get the benefit of the rule. That is to say, in the example above, if the reliever came in after the fourth batter's homer, the fifth batter's homer would be earned against the reliever's record.

Indeed, it is a little-known fact that a run can be both unearned (against the team ERA) and earned (against an individual's ERA). That would be the case in the example above.

Some innings can be very complex. See if you can figure out how many runs were earned in this example (there are no pitching changes in this one):

Batter A singles. Batter B reaches on an error, with A stopping at second. Batter C sacrifices both runners up a base. Batter D singles, scoring A, with B stopping at third. Batter E hits a sacrifice fly, scoring B. Batter F walks, D moving to second. Batter G triples, scoring both D and F. Batter H strikes out.

How many of the four runs are earned?

We'll have the answer in our next column when we continue the earned/unearned discussion.

In this, our third column about scoring in baseball, we'll begin an in-depth analysis of this confusing stat. And it will take more than one installment. First, we must discuss the area of responsibility for runs, whether earned or not. When a run scores, it is charged to the pitcher who put the runner on base (or the original batter if there was a pinchrunner), not necessarily the one pitching when it scores.

That's pretty straightforward, except for a couple of nuances: If a baserunner is retired via a forceout or fielder's chioce after a pitching change, responsibility for the new runner remains with the first pitcher, even though it's different guy.

For example:

With John Smith on the mound, batter Jim Wilson reaches first base. Joe Miller relieves Smith and entices batter Bill Jones to ground into a forceout, retiring Wilson. If Jones eventually scores, the run is charged to Smith. That scenario should be kept distinct from this: With Smith on the mound, Wilson reaches first. Miller relieves Smith and Wilson is caught stealing. Jones then reaches base on a separate play.

In this case, if Jones scores, the run is charged to Miller. Having made that distinction, let's turned to that earned/unearned thing. With even professional broadcasters frequently uncertain about the scoring in this area, it seems what is needed is a lay person's definition. Here's one we like: “An unearned run is a run that would not have scored in the inning had there been no errors or passed balls committed.” In short, the first rule for the scorer is to ask: Were there any errors or passed balls charged in the inning? If not, all runs must be earned.

The second rule is another simple one: Don't try to make a determination as to earned or unearned until after the third out has been made. Announcers who get in a hurry and modern-day computer software that is programmed incorrectly often violate that rule. Granted, there are many situations where the answer is obvious before the inning is over. But there also many where the determination can't be made until “all the facts are in.” If you're a TV or radio follower of baseball, you might be able to hear in the background when the official scorer says over the pressbox intercom: “The run is unearned.” And you will note that it is always at the end of a half-inning. Next time, we'll pick up the earned/unearned discussion with a few complex examples.

More than any other major American sport, baseball is a game of statistics.

In this age of powerful computers, stats-happy fans can have virtually immediate access to a player's up-to-the-second averages.

Wanna know what Joe Blow is hitting on the road, in the daytime, against left-handers, in inter-league play, against any given pitcher, on odd-numbered Tuesdays in September?

The answer is just a click away.

Some baseball statistics, however, are more significant than others.

Most important of all is the run batted in, the RBI, the ribby. It forms, along with batting average and home runs, the Big Three of offensive stats.

High-average singles hitters are fine, but getting on base doesn't help win games unless a teammate drives them in. Equally ineffectual are long-ball sluggers who seem to hit home runs only with the bases empty and the team either eight runs ahead or eight runs behind.

The guy who delivers the two-out, run-scoring single to tie the game in late innings is the guy for me. A timely sacrifice fly, a two-run double off the wall, a simple groundout with a man at third, no outs and the infield playing back, those are what winning teams are made of.

And so, in the second in our series of columns about scoring in baseball and softball, let's talk about the RBI.

All fans know that an RBI is credited when a batter's hit plates a run, including himself if it's a homer. But there are lots of other situations in which crediting a ribby is less clear-cut.

Contrary to popular opinion, you CAN credit an RBI on an error. For example:

With one out and a runner on third, the batter hits a fly ball to the outfield. The runner tags up, preparing to dash for home as soon as the catch is made.

But the outfielder drops the ball and the runner scores easily.

The scorer must decide if the fly ball was deep enough so that the runner would have scored even had the ball been caught. If so, credit the RBI (it's a sacrifice fly, too, by the way).

The same would apply to an infield error in the same situation. If the infield is playing back and the runner is off with the crack of the bat, it's an RBI even on a boot. Even with the defense playing in, the scorer has the option of giving the RBI is he feels the runner would have been safe anyway.

Other areas of confusion regarding whether or not to award the RBI include:

• Walk with the bases loaded; yes.
• Hit by pitch with the bases load; yes.
• Runner scores on wild pitch; no.
• Runner scores on passed ball; no.
• Runner scores on balk; no.
• Runner scores on front end of double or triple steal; no.
• Runner scores while batter is being thrown out at first after a dropped third strike; no.
• Catcher's interference with the bases loaded; no.

A good rule of thumb: If the plate appearance is still continuing, that batter cannot yet have earned an RBI. In our next column, things will start to get a bit stickier: We'll begin a discussion of earned and unearned runs. And that treatise could take more than one installment.

And yet precious few fans are even remotely familiar with the intricacies of scoring a game correctly.

The role of the official scorer is misunderstood and grossly under appreciated.

In this column, and in a few more to follow, we'll explore some of the rules and guidelines of scoring baseball and softball games.

We'll skip the basics. We assume you know that 6-3 means a ground out to shortstop and that you probably have your own private and personal method of logging the game in your favorite kind of score book.

The subject for our first column is the most common, and the most controversial, decision a scorer must make:

Hit or error?

Most fans believe that scorers are too lenient. "He should've had that ball!" is the frequent refrain, especially after an "H" flashes up on the scoreboard. What many don't realize is that scorers, at least those in Organized Baseball (the major and minor leagues), are bound by guidelines, which are necessary in order to maintain uniformity and thereby make statistics meaningful.

The telltale phrase is "routine effort." If the scorer decides that a defensive play should have been made with "routine effort," he can charge the fielder with an error. An important point to remember is that the scorer looks at a play differently than the manager, coach or fan. While the manager can rightfully expect that more than routine effort be given, the scorer cannot.

Of course, there is still a lot of room for individual interpretation in scoring. But the degree of subjectivity involved is much lower than generally believed.

Some amateur scorers are too quick to charge errors. One of the four things must happen to warrant an error:

1. The batter must reach base safely when he would not have without the misplay.
2. A runner or runners must advance one base or more, an errant throw toward a base can't be an error unless someone moves up a base, and would not have done so without the misplay.
3. An out is not made that clearly would have been made without the misplay. The scorer can assume an out in only the most obvious of instances. For an out to be assumed on a tag play, for example, the fielder usually must have the ball in plenty of time and then drop it.
4. The plate appearance is extended. A dropped pop foul, for example.

Item No. 2 on the list is the most frequently violated guideline. Consider this scenario:

With a runner on first base, the batter grounds a single to right field. The runner heads for third base and the right fielder throws to third. As the batter rounds first base, he sees that the throw is going toward third and heads to second. The throw sails well over the third baseman's head and is caught by the pitcher backing up the play. When the smoke has cleared, no outs have been recorded and there are runners standing at second and third.

Should there be an error charged on the play? Surprisingly, the answer is probably no. In all but the rarest of cases, the scorer cannot assume that the lead runner would have been out at third. And the batter took second on the throw itself, not the overthrow. Neither runner advanced a base that he clearly would not have reached anyway.

By the way, the least common type of error, catcher's interference, is included above under Item No. 1.

Next time we'll take about runs batted in.