So, you’ve finally done it. You’ve decided to purchase your own boat for hobbyist sailing. Yet of course, owning a boat is not enough to make a sailor. Certainly, we can imagine that kind of retort coming from a bearded man with a peg leg, seven ales deep in our local bar, the moment we tell our friends about the purchase.

That said, such a stereotypical sea dog would be correct in principle. Sailing is a hard practice to get hold of, and requires your utmost attention. However, it’s quite alright, you have time to learn, the space to develop, and an easier goal to focus on than sailing the high seas for plunder and treasure.

So, perhaps the advice worth listening to can remain a little more humble than you may have expected. That sounds fine to us. In this post, then, we’ll discuss how to get started with some beginner nautical advice, advice relating to owning and operating a boat, how to find a community to help you grow, and some safety measures to keep in mind.

This way, you may be able to take your boat out for more intensive travel experiences, like sailing down the coast in the best possible manner. With that in mind, please consider the following advice:

Appropriate Boat Storage Is Essential

Boats are not always in operation year-round, and when working on them, when having professional repairs made, and when transitioning them from one coast to the other, it’s essential to store them correctly. This is why any hobbyist sailor should place their boat, no matter how humble, in StorageArea.com boat storage. That will also give you time to plan out where you’ll rent access to certain docks, and learn the overall anatomy of your boat outside of the water.

Join A Sailing Club

Local sailing clubs can help you nestle within a community of sailors of all levels, from hobbyists to full time fishermen. They’ll be able to tell you how to manage your sails or engine, what maintenance errors to look for, and recommend marine surveyors to ensure your tin can is seaworthy. A sailing club will also provide you the room to make mistakes, which is valuable enough in itself. Beginner tips, like learning how to launch and land a boat can help you retain safety standards throughout. As you become more experienced, you’ll become primed for independent travel.

Learn To Use A Radio

On the water, your radio is your lifeline to every single coastal service. Learning emergency channels in your area and how to contact them is essential. It’s also important to learn how to report given issues and the right terminology to use to better describe where you’re located. Furthermore, equipping yourself with a reliable radio is essential. VHF is your best bet. One with excellent circular coverage, is weatherproof, can light up in darkness, and is able to be hand-cranked or at least easily charged/offers robust battery replacement shielding is key. This way, even if you make a mistake on the water, help is on the way.

With this advice, we hope you can get started as a hobbyist sailor with safety and care.

Football or ‘soccer’ is undoubtedly one of the most popular physical sports in the world. It’s a sport that both children and adults alike can enjoy and one that is often in the media spotlight due to its immense popularity.

Some of the other great things about football are that it’s a great way to have fun, keep fit, and improve your balancing and running skills. As you can imagine, millions of people globally follow professional and local-league football teams.

Those football fans will follow their teams’ progress with great interest, watch their teams play in live TV matches, and even attend matches where possible. Some teams, such as Aston Villa, even have a global cult following.

Whether you’re new to the world of football or are a lifelong enthusiast of the sport, have you ever wondered what the anatomy of a successful football team is? The following will give you some fantastic insight into this exciting subject:

What Makes a Football Team Successful?

As you can appreciate, there are many elements to a successful football team. Just to be clear, the definition of a successful football team is one that:

• Wins most home and away games;
• Has an excellent mix of players and skills;
• Is seldom in the media due to player or management controversy.

With that in mind, let’s go a bit more in-depth to look at the various factors that make some football teams in the world the best in the sport:

The Defence

It makes sense to have a strong defence In any football team. The job of any players who are defenders is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. Many football fans and experts will agree that a strong defence is crucial to a team being successful.

That’s because most of the ‘attacks’ from the opposition will get directed at the defenders. For example, central defenders with a proven track record will offer a virtually unbeatable wall of defence using strategies such as last-minute blocks and tackles.

Other defenders, such as full-backs and wing-backs, will also provide the core defence needed by a successful football team. In short, without a strong defence group in any football team, the chances are high that it won’t be successful long-term.

The Goalkeeper

What happens if the opposing team somehow manage to slip past the defenders, much like a theoretical trojan horse attack? In those circumstances, there is one final level of defence that a successful football team can use: the goalkeeper.

In a nutshell, the goalkeeper is arguably the most crucial player in a defence group because their actions must be calculated and concise. Above all, they must not make any mistakes that could cause the ball kicked from the opposing team to glide past them in the goal.

Good goalkeepers are people who study the game in its entirety. They must know when to anticipate the ball heading in their direction and block it without delay.

The Midfielders

A strong group of defenders isn’t the only crucial element of any successful football team. You also need some reliable midfielders; these are players who possess excellent all-round skills. Their job is to both defend and attack, and they must also keep possession of the ball.

That all sounds like a tall order to some people. But, midfielders have specific training to help them react and respond to different, fast-moving challenges in each game. Midfielders must work in harmony with defenders, strikers, forwards, and their goalkeeper at all times.

Midfielders need to be physically and mentally on top of their game at all times to succeed. Their role requires a great deal of stamina, composure, and leadership.

The Strikers and Forwards

Who are the team players that score the most goals in any football game? The answer is simple: the strikers and forwards. Their primary role in all football games is to put pressure on the opposing side’s defence players.

The other roles that strikers and forwards play include executing tactics that help their team have the highest percentage of ball possession in each game. Those tactics incorporate holding up play and, of course, accurate ball-passing with almost military precision.

As they overcome the opposing team’s lines of defence, they must then kick the ball into the goal to score. Of course, they must also ensure they don’t score an ‘own goal’ for obvious reasons!

The Captain

Like with any sports team, there must be someone who directs all the players and instils confidence. That job rests on the shoulders of the team captain. The captain should be a motivational figurehead in any football team that the players turn to for help and support.

The captain of any football team may not necessarily be the best striker, forward, midfielder, or goalkeeper. What they are good at doing is fostering a culture of cooperation and determination, and keeping morale within the team high.

Football team captains are also there to settle any disputes between players, maintain composure within the group, and lead the team with successful strategies and tactics. Captains are also excellent communicators, both on and off the pitch.

The Manager

In any football team, the manager is so-called because they are the boss of the group. The captain might be in charge of supervising and motivating players on the pitch, but it’s the manager’s job to make team-wide decisions that will help their side be victorious often.

What sort of things does a football team manager do, you might ask yourself? They are ultimately responsible for the hiring and firing of players, coming up with workable game strategies, and making tough judgement calls about the team’s players.

The manager is perhaps under the most pressure in any football team, especially one in the Premier League. If they can’t provide the support needed and help steer the team to victory, they will get sacked by their team.

Other Influential Factors

Of course, it’s not just who plays in a football team or their role in it that makes a football team successful. Here’s what else influences the success of any team:

Team Attitude

It’s no secret that it’s the captain and the manager’s job to ensure good harmony within the team. The trouble is, football captains and managers don’t dominate how each player leads their lives – both off and on the pitch.

The sad truth about football, especially teams that are often in the media spotlight, is how some players let their success and fame get to their heads. When that happens, there can be some animosity towards those players, both from their teammates and their supporters.

A football team must have the right attitude to succeed. After all: football teams will get judged on their performance, and if their attitude inhibits that performance, they won’t be at the top of their sport.

Team Investment

What else can affect the success of any football team wishing to make great strides in the sport? Team investment is another influential factor to consider. As you can appreciate, football teams need financial investment for various reasons:

• Player and management salaries;
• Home stadium and training ground;
• Transport and accommodation for away games.

Those are just some of the expenses that football teams have to bear. As a team rises through the ranks and reaches a global standing, its costs will undoubtedly increase. With that in mind, a football team must get the most investment it can muster.

In some ways, you can compare a football team to running a business. You must invest money in a company for it to grow and succeed; the same rules apply to running a football team.

The Supporters

Finally, a football team’s supporters will positively influence the outcome of each match played. All football teams, irrespective of their size, will have a following of fans that support them. Some of those fans will even be life-long ones.

Supporters will help boost a football team’s morale because the players and management know there are people out there that want them to succeed. Those supporters are also paramount to the team’s financial investment for several reasons:

• Supporters will pay for tickets to watch their team play at home or away;
• They’ll purchase merchandise, gifts, and other items;
• Most of that money will fund the team’s development and growth, such as with the ‘purchase’ of players from other teams.

Without supporters, a football team may find it pointless even playing because they’ll know that no-one wants to support them!

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, the above details will give you a lot of insight and information into what makes any football team become successful. There are no ‘secrets’ to creating a successful football team from scratch, as long as the concepts discussed above get taken into consideration.

What’s more, you’ve undoubtedly learnt that successful footballing requires a lot of dedication, teamwork, and also support. Plus, the right team attitude will ensure that morale and motivation levels remain high.

Super Bowl LV saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, bringing the 2020 NFL season to a close. What can we expect next from American football? Below are just some of the questions fans are already asking.

Will the pandemic affect NFL in 2021?

While the games still went ahead in 2020, the NFL lost out on millions of dollars in revenue last season as a result of stadium attendance being drastically reduced. The league have had to make huge cuts that are certain to affect next season. But in what ways will things be different?

Firstly, the salary cap has been lowered to $185 million per club. This is a lot more than initial forecasts of $175 million per club, which means that any changes to the game shouldn’t be too severe. Teams are expected to release more players than usual and make salary cuts (some players have already opted out of the 2021 season). Some teams will be able to roll over funds from last season, while others are expected to struggle a little more.

What can we expect from the NFL draft? 

The 2021 NFL draft will begin on Thursday 29th April, in which franchises will be able to select newly eligible players. The mock drafts are already pouring in and there are some good predictions as to which players will land in which teams. All that is certain now is that there will be lots of new quarterbacks being picked – the Patriots, the Colts, the Bears, the Jaguars and the New York Jets are all in need of a new QB. A few new wide receivers are also likely to be selected.

Which teams will rebrand next?

Many teams have recently been going through huge rebrands as a result of their team names and logos no longer being politically correct. Until recently, the likes of Stephen Troese Jr were ‘Redskins’ fans – now the team has changed its name to Washington Football Team to avoid further offence to Native Americans. The Cleveland Indians announced in December that they too would be changing their name.

Will any other teams follow suit? The Kansas City Chiefs have already started to receive pressure, so they may too change their name to something more culturally sensitive, as well as getting rid of their signature ‘Arrowhead Chop’ war chant. 

Many teams have meanwhile been considering updating their uniform and logo such as the Dolphins and the Giants simply as they are in need of modernizing

Will Tom Brady keep going?

Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl on Sunday at age 43. He’s already announced that he’ll be back for another season. In fact, despite being one of the oldest current players in the NFL, he shows no signs of wanting to retire any time soon. 

Could Brady win an eighth Super Bowl? Does he plan to put a Super Bowl ring on every finger? Given his incredible track record so far, it could well happen.