Deji Badiru
Soccer is the beautiful game, as widely recognized around the world. January 2014 statistics show that over 50 million youth play soccer worldwide. Early training of soccer means a lifetime of love of the sport. The enjoyment of soccer transcends mere involvement as a player, coach, fan, sponsor, dad, or mom. There are subtle lessons of life to be learned from soccer as a team sport. One aspect that is often ignored is the potential to use soccer to teach basic math and science principles, which are essential for later career paths in the technical fields. It is this void that prompted me to write this book as a way to leverage soccer training to spark the interest of kids and adults in the applications of math and science. ?Youth Soccer Training Slides: A Math and Science Approach? is a sequel following my first soccer book of 2010 entitled ?Physics of Soccer: Using Math and Science to Improve Your Game.? That first book was published to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament Soccer in South Africa. This second book is written to coincide with the 2014 FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament in Brazil. Although this book targets youth soccer training, it is quite suitable and recommended for adult soccer training as well. The technical principles are general enough to apply to all levels of soccer training. The presentation slides format of the book makes it amenable for pick-and-choose applications of specific training topics. In his 2014 book, the Great Pele of Brazil emphasizes ?Why Soccer Matters.? In the opinion of this author, soccer, indeed, matters not only because of its socio-economic impacts around the world, but also because of the various other benefits it offers. Soccer matters because it is a thinking game and the ultimate team sport. The theme and premise offered by Youth Soccer Training Slides cover various math and science topics to enhance the understanding and enjoyment of the game.
