Playing football?

M0T

M0T

M0T

Soldato
Joined
23 Aug 2003
Posts
4,582
Location
House
I would like to start playing football in order to get fit and have a bit of a laugh, but I have no idea where to get in to it because I haven't played in 10 years and won't be much good at the moment.

Where abouts could I go to learn some basic skills? When I was 9 I played in a boys league type thing and wasn't too bad (I scored a lot but its easy to lob a 5ft goalie :D), but when I went to secondary school I gave up because it was a Rugby school and I couldn't get to the place at the weekend to play any more. That would probably have been the last time I played football properly.

I do remember enjoying playing though, and obviously if I want to get fitter its probably better to do it doing something I enjoy rather than forcing myself to do something I hate.

Where should I start, are there any useful/helpful websites that could point me in the right direction?

Cheers for any help and sorry for the noobish questions.
 
Get a football, go in the street and practice traps and close ball control.

Doesn't matter what you want to do in football, if you can't do either of the above you can't play. Practice those.
 
Could check your local paper for amateur or pub teams starting pre-season training round about now. everyone else will be unfit and no-one bothers about trying hard or being good and it will sort out all aspects of your game - the fitness and getting a feel for the ball, some practice matches where you don't have to do too much of the hard stuff (just 2 touch or 5 a side on half pitches).

Fitness mainly is stamina which is pretty easy to get, just a few runs, up and down hill, couple of short sprints chucked in, try and keep running for 12 minutes - that's what we usually do first couple of sessions and will eventually move on to 6 mile runs but that might not be essential depending what level you want to aim for. Do a few situps, lift the knees as you're running and try and stretch as much as you can. Try and get out twice a week to keep progressing.

Ballwork, I find just practicing your keepy-uppies improves your control then start dribbling, passing and shooting with both feet, using inside and outside of your foot etc.

Um aside from that, just go down a park at weekends and get a kickabout with teenagers, find out if anyone of your mates or work colleagues play and try and put a 5 a side team or get a game organised, check local fives pitches or leisure centres with pitches for ads looking for players. Maybe your local Gumtree website? I also hear about sites where you can register as a player looking for a team like for 5 a sides or 11s but don't know the names of any or how useful they are.

For skills, the BBC Academy pages have loads of basic skills videos and articles on football that might help you.
 
NokkonWud said:
Get a football, go in the street and practice traps and close ball control.

Doesn't matter what you want to do in football, if you can't do either of the above you can't play. Practice those.
Click to expand...

You sound like you from the 80's :D We have grass in these parts to kick a ball round in!

If there are people interested in football at your work its always quite easy to organise 5-a-side between yourselves at local astro turf or the like? If you were decent enough before you should be able to recapture something anyway. Just require practice really.
 
andybtsn said:
You sound like you from the 80's :D We have grass in these parts to kick a ball round in!

If there are people interested in football at your work its always quite easy to organise 5-a-side between yourselves at local astro turf or the like? If you were decent enough before you should be able to recapture something anyway. Just require practice really.
Click to expand...

I was decent when I was 10 :p Used to play up front, then puberty struck and I got fat so they stuck me at left back because I couldn't run so fast any more and I lost enthusiasm.

Luckily I am not fat now, although I do have 2 dodgy knees.

Cheers for the advice guys.
 
There should be a local 5 or 6-aside league, check the internet and local papers. As for fitness, unless you are horrendously unfit you shouldn't struggle, most 5 and 6-aside leagues are only 40 minute matches, 20 mins each way. I play in the Championship Soccer leagues at Littledown sports club in Bournemouth and love it, great way to keep up a reasonable fitness and have some fun. If you can get a group of mates together its pretty simple to join most leagues too.

Hope this helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom