Creative Mind Behind ABPL

We are just few weeks away from kicking off the first ever soccer league of Austin’s Bangladeshi Community, known as Austin BD-Soccer Premier League (ABPL) 2022. Four teams will be participating in the inaugural season and these teams are based on four different areas of Austin – Leander Bandits Soccer Club (LBSC) from Leander, Liberty Hills and northwest part of Austin, United South Austin with players from South Austin, Buda and San Marcos; Austin Arsenal from Central Austin, North Austin and Cedar Park; and finally, RRP FC from Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto neighborhood. These four teams will play against each other three times, which means there will be eighteen (18) games in total and each team will be playing nine (9) games. The season will start on May 15^th and will wrap up on July 24^th. This will give players enough time for rest and to get prepared for year end soccer tournaments.

 

 

The idea of ABPL first came into the mind of a local soccer player (who would prefer to stay as anonymous) after he played with a local soccer club called Austin Bandits in a 7v7 soccer league in 2021. Austin Bandits was the brainchild of Mehedi, another Leander based local soccer player who managed the team as they played in Northwest Soccer league. The team didn’t perform well. While the league was 30 plus players, most of the players of Austin Bandits (AB) were near or above 40. Besides they played against teams whose players are from European, African, and South American nations. Still the AB team’s players enjoyed participating in the league and each week they all came together to play or watch and enjoy the environment. That environment triggered the mind of one of the AB players, who first started thinking of having a league of our own (Bangladeshi soccer league with Bangladeshi players). The player was heavily involved in brining back the players back to the field after Covid and was involved in last year’s successful completion of Austin Bangladeshi Soccer tournament.

He went on to create a draft version of his idea and presented it to few other soccer players. While few were skeptical, most liked the idea and wanted him to proceed. Few agreed to be part of it, put their valuable time on it and cooperate to ensure a successful planning and organizing of the event. There are obviously lot of challenges associated with it. But organizers believe that if all the players give them the opportunity, then they expect to deliver something to the soccer community that would benefit all players and the regular Sunday soccer would be more fun, competitive and friendly.

 

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Overview

This is the first of a series of position by position analysis of the ABPL Teams player pool now that we have list of all the players of all four teams. We will start with our analysis of Goalkeeper. With last year’s Austin BD Soccer tournament is still fresh on mind, we have provided a review of all goalkeepers of all the four teams.

During ABPL, all goalkeepers will have twelve weeks to show their magic and impress the managers of Austin BD Tournament that is scheduled for September this year. It’s inevitable that between now and then, some new keepers will emerge, and some of them will shine or fade away and while we hope that none of them get injured. During these twelve weeks of ABPL, all goalkeepers will have a ton of opportunities to impress the selector of Austin BD national team that may play a match against Houston’s BD team sometime in July or August. Here is a high level overview of what will be going on from now until end of July: 

Munir (RRP FC)

ABPL (Austin BD-Soccer Premier League) is a friendly-competitive social soccer league for Austin’s Bangladeshi Community’s amateur soccer players. Austin has seen a major growth of Bangladeshis in recent years and there has been an increase in the number of amateur/recreational soccer players. In the past, most players played soccer once or twice a week but playing Sunday evening, known as Sunday soccer, is common for most players. During the end of 2021 seasons, some of the players thought it would be a good idea to introduce a soccer league with 4 teams. This is how the idea of soccer league first came up. So, with 4 teams (based on four different parts of Austin), the first ever Austin soccer league (known as ABPL) will kick off on May 15^th (Sunday) with all four teams playing on the same day.

Rana sr (/aka Rana bhai) will most likely will be the main keeper of Leander Bandits SC though he had not played any soccer since 2019 Austin BD Soccer Tournament when he lead his team Roaring Texas to win the championship. However, he had too many shaky moments in my opinion, but he’s also made some big saves when he’s needed to, specifically in both semifinal and final matches of the tournament. against Mexico. He will be the #2 if the other keeper Tasneem plays for the Bandits, but he will definitely get enough play time for the Bandits  

Tasneem (aka MK) is one of the finest keepers that Austin had seen in many years. He is renowned for his consistent performances throughout his career,  and for his concentration and calm composure under pressure. He has adapted his game with age and used his intelligence to become better positioned and less reliant on instinct, while keeping up with the trends of the modern day goalkeeper. 

Abu Sohel is a versatile sportsmen who can play any sports in any position and in soccer most teams usually relies on him for his experience as a keeper. He is an intelligent and efficient goalkeeper, who is regarded above all for his physical presence, handling, positional sense, composure and consistency, as well as his ability to communicate with his teammates, organize his defense, and inspire confidence in his back-line. Austin Arsenal (aka North Austin) did not have a first pick goal keeper in their lineup and so they had to loan him from RRP FC. 

In last year’s Austin BD Soccer Tournament, he performed really well but his team Roaring Texas got knocked out by a lone goal by Texas Thunders.

 

Noor (/Noor E Alam Sohel) may or may not play as a keeper (as his team has Munir) but there is always a possibility that he will be on that spot at least for couple of games in the league. Noor played his first soccer tournament in Austin last year and surprised everyone by performing brilliantly in that position. 

Noor is described as a goalkeeper who “boasts lightning reflexes and good decision-making” and is “a formidable opponent in one-on-one situations”. His playing style, and in particular his speed when coming off his line to anticipate opponents and clear the ball, has led him to be described as a sweeper-keeper.

Fayez (United South Austin)

Fayez (also known as Shantonu) has a big summer ahead. He has been transferred to United South Austin (USA) from his original club RRP FC as South team has star players for all positions except a keeper. Fayez had lived and played in South for quite a long time and when USA team started looking for a keeper from other teams, Fayez obviously became their first choice. Fayez played as a keeper for Texas Warriors in last year’s Austin BD Soccer Tournament. He conceded four goals in two matches as his team was on the bottom of the group point table. However, Fayez played well and saved his team from conceding more goals. Fayez is physically strong, complete and athletic goalkeeper. On his day, he can deliver a lot of excellent saves. But he is often criticized for his lack of commitment/unavailability.

Every old goalkeeper loses a step at some point, but you can gain that back through experience.

Tim HowardFormer US Keeper

I couldn't have been a great goalkeeper without power, agility and quickness.

Hope SoloFormer US WMT Keeper

As a goalkeeper you need to be good at organising the people in front of you and motivating them. You need to see what's going on and react to the threats. Just like a good manager in business.

Peter ShiltonFormer England Keeper

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DRIBBLE TO SCORE

A fast game to develop the ability of your players to dribble into the area at speed and create goal-scoring chances. This game helps to get your players dribbling past defenders and shooting at goal. It will help your players win 1v1s and get them finishing off good moves.

SET UP

Set up a playing area 40×40 yards with a smaller 30×30-yard area inside it. We’re using eight players for the session. You need balls, bibs, cones and four mini goals.

HOW TO PLAY IT

Play a 3v3 with two floating players who play for the attacking team. Play takes place inside the smaller area and players must dribble into the larger square but then attack the opposite end – play must then go back through the smaller square and be dribbled out to where players can then score.

TECHNIQUE

This is good for fast dribbling and game-like play. Very relevant in an individual development context, it should be part of every coach’s training schedule. Players need to build confidence on the ball and take that confidence into the match with them. It also helps players learn how to turn with the ball when in possession.

1. Players must dribble into the larger goal zone and then attack the other end – players can only get into the larger area by dribbling the ball in
2. A goal can be scored once play has reached the opposite end and the ball is dribbled in

3. Here the attacking team makes use of the two floating players by dribbling into the goal zone and scoring in the net
4. The defenders must try and win the ball before the attacking team can get into the larger zone so they can become the attackers

5. Progress the session by allowing one defender to go into the goal zone when the attacker is dribbling in

The post The Most Effective Training Programs appeared first on ABPL 2022.

How do you learn basic soccer technique?

While anyone can kick a ball and start playing soccer, one needs to know the technique to play and enjoy the game.

Techniques of running the ball, receiving the ball, passing the ball, kicking – all these things require constant training and practices. Of course, there is no limit to perfection, but the question arises, how to learn the basic soccer technique? Start with the simplest and gradually complicate and improve the quality of performance of a particular technical element. A lot of repetition and effort is the key to a positive result.

Remember that soccer training always starts with getting to know the ball. And almost all exercises are performed with it to improve the feel of the ball. When the ball is near you, you control it. And this means that you control the game. Soccer technique develops with constant contact with the ball.

Where to start learning?

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Someone has speed but lacks strength. Someone has a good eye, and someone can think fast. If you add these and some other specialized skills together, you will have an ideal player. But in this sport, it is not necessary to start with the improvement of weaknesses, and not even with the identification of athletic strengths. All of this will happen in the course of training.

The first basic task of the novice soccer player is to make friends with the ball! You need to find a comfortable open area, buy the right soccer ball and play with it. Kick it, drive it, juggle it. And you can do it with all parts of your body. It makes no difference! You need to feel the ball, understand its capabilities, be able to “cooperate” with it, do not be afraid of the ball. Training begins with getting acquainted with the ball. Any good coach will tell you this. So free play with the ball, preferably in the open air – that’s where you need to start.

How to master basic soccer techniques

It’s great to play soccer with speed, understanding of the game, and strength. But it’s even better when you’re also skilled at the game! Learning a player includes the development of technical skills. You have to start with the basics. Before you learn to play soccer well, you have to do a lot of routine training on practicing passing (receiving, passing), dribbling the ball, and striking. Some may think it’s not that exciting and even boring, but without a solid base, you can’t go any further.

To learn a basic technique, you must regularly practice simple basic skills. There is a list of simple, but very effective exercises that will help put a solid technical base in place for the novice player. No one will tell you how to properly play soccer without technical skills. So start by practicing these exercises.

SIX Fundamental skills required to play soccer

Below we have summarized 6 basic skill that are vital to know if you want to play soccer.

1. Passing

This has to be the most important soccer skill you need to know. The simple truth here is that if you don’t know how to pass the ball, then you really don’t know how to play soccer.

There’s no other way to say it. You may only need a few minutes to learn how to pass a ball, but to really become great you need hours of practice!

2. Receiving a Ball

This is probably the second most important thing in soccer, after passing a ball. If you don’t know how to receive a ball, you don’t know how to play soccer.

Every time you receive a pass from a teammate you need to know what to do with the ball. If it takes you 5 minutes to get control on it then you can be pretty sure that your teammates will not either pass the ball so often to you.

3. Trapping

This is the third important skill you need to know as soccer player. However, trapping a ball is not the same as receiving it.

When receiving a ball you will generally be in movement and when trapping a ball you will often stand still.

4. dribbling

Dribbling the ball is an important skill for soccer players to develop. It is necessary to find a spacious area and practice dribbling with and without obstacles. The ball needs to be pushed forward in small pushes. It must go away from the foot not more than 30-60 cm forward. At first, drive the ball in a straight line. Then gradually try to change the trajectory.

It can take time to adjust and learn to be confident dribbling without looking at the ball all the time – but it’s worth it. Kind of dribble the ball blindly, looking at the field.

5. Shooting

If you want to score goals then you will also need to know how to shoot. If don’t, then scoring a goal will be pretty hard.

However, shooting is not just about hitting the ball with enormous power. You have to be able to hit the goal properly – precision has to be in the equation, which is the 6th skill you need to master.

6. Precision

We mentioned earlier, passing the ball is the most important skill you need to know. But what about precision?

I mean, if your passes never find the right address then what is the point of passing the ball when you really think about it?

 

The necessary skills to play soccer well

How can you learn to play soccer without developing basic skills? You can’t! To play soccer, you need to have several of certain qualities. Of course, all of them can’t be equally well developed in one person.

A future soccer player needs these skills:

• Speed
• Coordination
• Reaction speed
• Physical strength
• The ability to see the field
• Fast decision making

Soccer is a smart sports game. It involves more than just your feet, as many people mistakenly believe. It is not enough to know the rules of soccer and know how to kick a ball. During the game, you should be able to read your opponent, make quick decisions, take control of the ball, pass it to another player from your team or complete the moment on your own. And all of this is done at full speed, within the allotted minutes. Of course, all of this is very difficult. But, with a lot of desire and with at least a couple of basic skills, it’s not impossible!

The post How to Play Football(Soccer): Tips for Beginners appeared first on ABPL 2022.

The established European heavyweights of Germany and defending champions France will be expected to go all the way, but can Spain or England make good on their potential? Will Brazil or Argentina be strong enough to end South America’s 20-year wait for a world champion? And will Africa’s strongest teams break new ground by reaching the semifinals or beyond?

Here is an early look at how some of the top teams are shaping up ahead of Qatar 2022.

Germany :

Hansi Flick’s team were the first to secure their place at Qatar 2022 [Qatar qualified automatically as hosts] when they confirmed qualification on Oct. 11, bouncing back emphatically from their early exit at Euro 2020 following a round-of-16 defeat against England. And Germany go into Tuesday’s friendly against Netherlands on a run of eight successive wins since Flick replaced Joachim Low as coach, in which they have scored 33 goals and conceded just two.

The four-time world champions can still count on the experience of Manuel Neuer, Antonio Rudiger, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan, but emerging stars such as Jamal Musiala, Lukas Nmecha and David Raum are now bolstering the younger element of the squad which already contains Leroy Sane, Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz, depending on the 18-year-old’s recovery from a recent cruciate ligament injury.

Brazil:

Since losing a friendly against Peru in September 2019, Brazil have lost just twice in 27 games and both of those came against old rivals Argentina. So how strong are the five-time world champions?

Brazil are second in the FIFA World Ranking and their squad has obvious quality in every department. Coach Tite has two world-class goalkeepers in Alisson and Ederson; defenders like Marquinhos and Eder Militao; a midfield including Fabinho and Casemiro; and attacking talents including Neymar, Vinicius Jr., Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Martinelli.

But Brazil’s World Cup hopes at the last four tournaments have ended with defeat against Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and France respectively, so they will have to find a way to beat Europe’s best to win in Qatar.

France:

On paper, Didier Deschamps’ reigning world champions are the best squad going into the World Cup, but that was also the case at Euro 2020 and they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland in a penalty shootout. France are unbeaten since that early exit, however, and they returned to form by winning the Nations League against Spain last November.

Goalkeeper Mike Maignan, defenders Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez, and forward Christopher Nkunku have all made their debuts since the World Cup win, bolstering a squad that already boasted world-class players like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante. With such quality around, France are likely to be favourites to take home the trophy again.

Belgium:

while Belgium are an ageing force, they are a team of undoubted quality and a favourable draw would give them a shot. And while striker Romelu Lukaku continues to struggle at Chelsea, his formidable record of 68 goals in 101 games for Belgium proves that Martinez has a goal scorer he can rely on.

England:

Under Gareth Southgate, England have become a team that performs at major tournaments after failing to live up to the hype (often self-generated) in so many previous World Cups and European Championships. Reaching the World Cup semifinals in 2018 was followed by runners-up spot, after a penalty shootout defeat against Italy, at Euro 2020. England are on an upwards trajectory and developing into a team which could go all the way this year.

Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden are world-class attacking players, while Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice are proven midfielders at international level, but the age-old issues continue to haunt England.

Argentina:

Much like rivals Brazil, Argentina are a traditional South American powerhouse carrying the burden of huge expectation at home, but have struggled to beat the best teams in Europe when the heat is on. They at least go to Qatar having ended a 28-year wait to win the Copa America in 2021 and that success has eased the intense pressure on 34-year-old Lionel Messi to deliver for his country.

Coach Lionel Scaloni has a huge challenge ahead, though, if he is to guide Argentina to a first World Cup title since 1986. Argentina are on a 30-game unbeaten run, dating back to a Copa America defeat against Brazil in July 2019, but the Finalissima [winners of European Champions vs. Copa America] clash against Italy at Wembley in June may give a clearer sense of how strong they really are.

Portugal:

The 2016 European champions must overcome North Macedonia, who have beaten both Germany and Italy away from home in the last 12 months, to qualify for the World Cup via the playoffs this week. But if Fernando Santos’ team confirm their place in Qatar, they will automatically find themselves among the favourites.

Perhaps for the first time since the 2006 World Cup, Portugal’s fate will not be solely reliant on the performances of star man Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal now have real depth in all areas, including defenders Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo, midfielders Ruben Neves and Renato Sanches, and an array of attacking quality including Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota and Pedro Neto.

But they have to get there first, and it could be the 37-year-old Ronaldo’s final chance to win the World Cup.

The post What to Expect from the Upcoming World Cup? appeared first on ABPL 2022.

ABPL or Austin BD-Soccer Premier League is nothing but a new initiative take by Austin’s Bangladeshi Community’s soccer loving amateur/recreational soccer players of Austin. It is a friendly-competitive social soccer league for Austin’s Bangladeshi community players.

Recently, Austin has seen a major growth of Bangladeshis and the soccer playing community has seen an increase in the number of amateur/recreational soccer players. In the past, most players played soccer once or twice a week in different parts of the city but most popular is the Sunday soccer at Williamson County soccer field. Last year, during summer, every Sunday too many players showed up to play Sunday soccer and as a result, most players found it difficult to play a regular soccer game. During the end of 2021 seasons, some of the players thought it would be a good idea to introduce a soccer league with 4 teams. This is how the idea of soccer league first came up. For more details, check out the video (ABPL Explained) shared above.

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