You are only as young as you feel…. that’s the old cliché anyway.
With health, fitness and wellness being more popular than ever before, the excuse to blame the amount of years you have been alive as a reason to not do certain activities is becoming pretty weak.
We now have people in their twilight years regularly completing marathons, people in their 50’s on shows like Ninja Warrior and professional athletes playing for years longer than they were a decade ago.
A person in their 20’s with a banged up body who can’t run the length of themselves, 10kg overweight and aches and pains all over their body
OR
A person in their 50’s with a healthy body fat percentage, with no joint pains who regularly lifts weights, runs, swims and cycles.
Age isn’t going to be a restriction on you staying active, personal choices of looking after your body and individual psychology of what is capable is!
Now that the excuses are out the way let’s get to the point!
As you probably have already guessed I believe you are never too old to be playing football in some capacity!
Sure, your professional days are limited however there are a wide range of options for people looking to continue playing.
Check out the list below for some ideas:
Play with a group of mates regularly. Change teams, keep same teams, make up forfeits or play against other people you know. There are many ways to keep it competitive.
If you fancy it, you can even try the league set ups and play in a division suitable to your own ability.
KIKOFF has leagues with three divisions with varied levels and weekly casual hire. We regularly get players from youth right up to guys in their sixties!
There are lots of leagues set up around Australia to cater for players who ‘used to play for….’.
There are some players in these leagues who clearly had bags of talent but fortunately everything goes a fair bit slower and there quality is widely varied throughout the teams.
It makes for the most unpredictable games, very efficient warm ups and of course quality banter.
There are divisions ranging from 1 to 10. There are all age teams and over 35’s. Regardless, everyone is welcome and everyone is in the same boat. The competitiveness and vision is still there, the speed and first touch might not be but there is some good quality leagues out there and some at a lower level.
Just find the one that’s right for you and Saturday football is back in your life!
This is actually a really popular activity. More so for those over the age of 50 but there is also an option for people who may be restricted to walking due to injury.
Whilst it may seem strange, anyone who has played the game will have played walking football at one stage. In fact, some coaches use it to give players a better idea of their teams playing shape in different scenarios.
The slower pace of the game allows you to have awareness of where you and the rest of the team are tactically.
Like all sports, it’s a competitive environment as it’s a level playing field, score is kept and you can play with mates for fun or enter a league!
Final answer...
Are you too old for football? Absolutely not.
There are levels for every player of every age: 5-a-side, Sunday League, Over 35’s and Walking Football are all viable options for anyone who loves the game!