Posts Tagged ‘ball’

by The Library of Congress

[Smoky Joe Wood, Boston AL (baseball)] (LOC)


Image by The Library of Congress
Bain News Service,, publisher.

[Smoky Joe Wood, Boston AL (baseball)]

[1912]

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Notes:
Original data provided by the Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards: Wood, Bosox.
Corrected title and date based on research by the Pictorial History Committee, Society for American Baseball Research, 2006.
Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

Subjects:
Baseball

Format: Glass negatives.

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.10314

Call Number: LC-B2- 2387-13

Sports are fantastic hobbies to pursue and involvement in sports can be beneficial for the overall mental and physical health. Baseball is the most iconic American game that never fails to attract more and more players into it. For enjoying the baseball game one needs to have the proper baseball gear so that the highest level of enjoyment and expertise can be achieved.  There are several types of baseball equipment available in the market and therefore, choosing the right kind of equipment can be a daunting task.

Baseball gear is must to have for a great game and a high score. So whether you are a player or a coach, you definitely need to get the right turf shoes, the right baseball bats and the right baseball gloves. The materials from which these baseball accessories and equipments are made have changed dramatically over the years. One company, Akadema, has been making baseball equipment for years, and over the years has retained the same quality by using quality leather for its baseball gloves and only the best wood for the quality Akadema line of baseball bats that baseball players have grown to know and love.

The players no longer use the plain old baseball bat but it has been replaced by precision crafted baseball bats. The baseball products of today are specifically made to provide the player with the best of comfort and ease of use. But choosing the branded baseball gear is always better though it can be a bit heavy on your pockets, unlike Akadema brand baseball gear. Spending a few more bucks on branded equipment and accessories can get you many advantages, but with brands like Akadema, from www.MyOnlineSportsDepot.com you can have the same quality equipment at a much lower cost. Akadema brand will last longer, and take a beating, while giving you a firmer grip on the baseball or that extra drive behind the ball when batting to help you to play with much more dexterity and power. It will also have the best of breathable and lightweight materials that can enable you to play without getting exhausted.

If you are looking forward to buying yourself some good baseball equipment then the internet is the place to find the best deals. There are plenty of websites that cater to the need of providing you with the most common baseball accessories at an affordable price, like www.MyOnlineSportsDepot.com. Not only that but there are online deals and stock clearance sales or other discounts offered on the internet.

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It is widely considered the most popular game on earth. Played by millions of people from nearly every walk of life, and in nearly every nation, soccer – football or futbol as it is commonly known beyond the borders of the United States – is a sport that can be played by nearly anyone. Aside from the skills needed to maneuver the ball using your body, but not your hands – except for the goal keeper – soccer owes much of its international appeal to the fact that all you need to play is an open space and a single ball.

The mountains of equipment needed to play other sports – like tennis, golf, baseball, American football, and so many others – are an anathema to the soccer player. It is the ball, and only the ball, that one needs to play the game. But the soccer ball is not a generic item; there are many kinds of soccer balls on the market, and each has its own characteristics that differentiate it from the other balls.

At first glance it is hard to tell one soccer ball from another. Usually constructed in the same distinctive style, the trademark pentagonal and hexagonal panels make a soccer ball instantly recognizable. However, when you are trying to tell the difference between one ball and another, the first place to start is the cover.

In the past, full grain leather was used to make a top quality soccer ball, but real leather tends to absorb water easily, and a wet ball is a heavy ball that plays much differently than it was intended to play. Today, the first quality soccer balls are constructed from synthetic leather. Although there are many variations of synthetic leather, they are generally all a derivative of polyurethane or poly vinyl chloride. The best balls – those used in competition and by professionals – are almost always made of the polyurethane construction, while inexpensive practice balls are more likely to be poly vinyl chloride.

The way the panels of the soccer ball are stitched together is another indication of the quality of the ball. A high quality ball is going to be hand stitched with polyester cord or Kevlar reinforced polyester. Hand stitching allows the panels to be sewn tighter, which makes for a stronger and longer lasting soccer ball. Second-tier soccer balls are usually stitched as well, but the stitching is done by machine so it lacks the uncompromising quality that a hand stitched ball will possess. Inexpensive balls are usually not stitched at all, and instead are held together by gluing the panels onto the lining of the ball.

Soccer balls come in different sizes as well: Size 3, Size 4, and Size 5. Size 3 balls are the smallest balls and are typically used by players under the age of eight. Size 4 balls are the next size up, and players between the ages of eight and twelve use this size of ball. Size 5 balls are the standard size for adult play and are the standard size balls for all international play.

When shopping for a soccer ball it is important to have an eye for its size and construction. If you are unsure that the ball you are considering is of good quality, look to see if the ball is approved by either FIFA or NFHS. FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and NFHS, the National Federation of State High School Association, both approve balls that meet the strict specifications that are outlined by each organization. If you purchase a ball that is approved by either governing body then you are almost assured of a ball that is of high quality in both construction and performance.

Ready, aim…score.

It is said that thousands of years ago, South American Indians already kicked an elasticized ball for fun. They used things such as heads, skulls, stitched up cloth and pig or cow bladders. The Chinese played “tsu chu” where animal skin balls were dribbled through gaps in a net stretched between two poles. The actual soccer ball only came after a few thousand years. Ancient Egyptian rites are said to have similarities with soccer, and both the ancient Greeks and Romans also played a game that entailed carrying and kicking a ball.

The more irregular the bladders used as balls were, the more unpredictable was its behavior. After Charles Goodyear patented vulcanized rubber, he designed the first rubber soccer ball (football). It was only in the twentieth century that rubber bladders were began to be used in most balls. In 1862 Lindon developed one of the first rubber bladders for balls, probably inspired because of the ill effects of blowing animal bladders, after his wife died of lung disease.

The soccer ball is an air filled sphere with a circumference of 68-70 cm, weight 210-250 g, covered in leather or other suitable material. Most of the modern balls are stitched with 32 panels of water proof leather or plastic and the colors are usually black and white. Over the years balls have become lighter. Older Balls were usually stitched with 18 oblong leather panels. The problem is that these balls were very heavy. Though in the last world cup in 2006 the ball is stitched with 14 panels and the colour isn’t the usual black and white. By reducing the amount of panels used the more accurate a shot with that ball will be, because with the fewer the amount of panels the more perfect the circumference becomes.

The black and white colors on the soccer ball were defined so that it could be seen better on monochrome televisions, but in cases like playing in the snow the soccer balls have different colours such as yellow or orange. The soccer ball used in the World Cup 2006 final is golden with white and black details. Some soccer ball brands are developing new technologies such as using foam as part of the composition of the ball or even having rings so that goalkeepers can determine the spin of the ball.

Nowadays there are many brands that make soccer balls, amongst which are the famous ones such as Adidas, Nike, Mitre, etc. About 80% of the association soccer balls are made in Pakistan, and 75% of these are made in the city of Sialkot.

As soccer is the most popular sport in the world you can find a soccer ball almost in every place on the planet. It doesn’t matter if it’s called football, soccer, fussball, futebol or fútbol, one will always find some soccer ball being kicked around, even in countries were the sport isn’t as popular as in Brazil, Argentina, England, or Germany. Soccer balls are even used in peace campaigns, with special games as on with team with players from Palestine and Israel, playing side by side in a same team united by the same soccer ball.

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Coach Vance Carlisle of 6 Weeks To Soccer Magic demonstrates an effective drill for learning how to strike the soccer ball with the laces on top of your foot so you can shoot on goal with more power and drive during play on the soccer field.

Chipping a soccer ball is passing the ball over a defender’s head without hitting it. Chip a soccer ball with tips from a youth soccer coach in this free video on soccer. Expert: Guillermo Gomez Bio: Guillermo Gomez is a soccer coach and lifelong soccer player that played collegiately in Oxford, England, at Linacre College-Oxford University. Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA

Soccer drills can be the key to success in playing the beautiful game. The worlds best players spend many hours each and every week performing the same basic soccer drills that are taught to children who have just taken up the sport.

Great moves and goals are not born on the field they are created from Soccer training drills that enhance skills and performance. We have taken some soccer coaching drill ideas and listed them below for you to consider if you or your child wants to play for L.A. Galaxy and become the next David Beckham.

This particular soccer drill requires at least three players; the aim of this exercise is to improve passing skills. If there are, 4 players divide into 2 sets of 2 then stand facing each other about 15 feet apart. To get started, the first player from set 1 passes the ball to the first player in set 2, that player then immediately runs and stands behind his teammate.

The group 2 receiving player kicks it back to the number 2 player of the first group, then runs behind his number 2 player and so on. This is one of the best soccer training drills for one touch passing and ball control practice. As you improve, you should strive to speed up the passing, getting faster and faster, without loosing any ball control, this also means it gradually becomes more demanding.

Another great ball control soccer drill is learning to juggle the ball, it is not very practical for real game use but it greatly enhances ball control. This is a fun and helpful soccer drill. One of the great things about juggling is that you can use any part of the body excluding your hands of course. It can also enhance your ability to stop and trap balls buy making you accustomed to moving the ball with for example your shoulder or upper body. A few minutes practice a day will produce ball control confidence and also provides the opportunity to use the non preferred kicking foot.

The last tip is the one on one dribbling soccer coaching drill, this prepares a player for passing effectively too and from a teammate. It is best performed with someone who does not play in a complimentary position, so a defender should practice with an offensive player.

One player attacks the other defends and they then swap places and repeat, keeping score adds to the fun, every successful forward play of defense scores a point. Very simple but effective soccer training drills are an essential part of playing soccer; no great player learned his skills on the field, all learned through repetitive soccer drills.

Juggling a soccer ball helps improve timing and foot coordination in soccer. Juggle a soccer ball with tips from a youth soccer coach in this free video on soccer. Expert: Guillermo Gomez Bio: Guillermo Gomez is a soccer coach and lifelong soccer player that played collegiately in Oxford, England, at Linacre College-Oxford University. Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA