Contributed by David Kerr
WE are never afraid to tackle the big guns at the Range Croquet Club!
On this occasion it’s the World Cup being played from one corner of America to another.
Sure, there might be several billion followers of the “Beautiful Game”, but there’s no mention of croquet, the “Nasty Game played by Nice People!
In the interest of fair play this week’s article presents just a few of the things that soccer and croquet have in common.
According to Google they actually “share several surprising conceptual and physical overlaps, as well as a direct intersection in modern variations”.
The most famous overlap is in soccer terminology. A highly effective soccer dribbling manoeuvre used to bypass a lunging (or diving?) defender is called “La Croqueta” (most notably played by FC Barcelona’s Andrés Iniesta). It involves rapidly shifting the ball from one foot to the other to evade a tackle.
Next both disciplines require precision and spatial awareness.
Success in croquet requires mapping out your line of shots in advance, much like a soccer player calculating the geometry of a through-ball or a precise strike on the goal.
Then there is turn-based versus flowing control.
Strategic croquet relies heavily on controlling the “break” and maintaining sustained ball possession.
Similarly, controlling the tempo and maintaining time of possession are fundamental tactical pillars in soccer.
And of course, there are the physical and environmental similarities, with both sports being played on natural grass turfs where conditions directly affect the roll or movement of the ball.
And if you play croquet, you know that like soccer both sports are routinely played through rain.
If you would like to try a game that is both similar and different to soccer then please give our club a call on 0417640704.
