Active Living Reflection: Soccer

I have been playing soccer since I was 12. This is not to say that I am an all-star hard-core soccer player, but I quite enjoy the smell of the fresh-cut grass (harder to come by these days with turf fields taking over), the cold rain alleviating my sweat, and showing off the occasional bruises that I accumulate after a rough game. Currently, I play in a women’s selects/premier team. My team consists of women from ages 20-43. It’s amazing, but a few of our best players are at, or pushing 40. One of the reasons I continue to play, despite time constraints or previous injuries, is the inspiration I draw from these women who are not only top notch players, but are also mothers with full-time jobs and have a house hold to run.

To me, soccer is a way to release stress, socialize with teammates, continue to challenge myself, and a motivator to keep in shape. Often, I’ve complained that games take up most of my Sundays, or that I’m too exhausted to go to an 8-10pm soccer practice during the week, but during the off-season, when I start to miss it, I am reminded of all the wealth it has provided my well-being over the years.

I have often heard friends say that they wish they had a sport or an activity to use as an outlet or to claim as a hobby. The truth is, it’s never too late. I have a friend who at the age of 28 joined our co-ed soccer league for social purposes. She loved it so much that she joined a team in the fall, registered for a few soccer clinics for adults and now tells me she has “become a soccer player,” something she never considered herself to be before.

So what are some conditions that enable me to play soccer?

• I am able-bodied


• I have a car to drive to practices and games


• I can afford the $275 annual registration fee


• My work/school shedule allows me to attend practices and games


• I had the contacts to find a team to play for

What are some conditions that may prevent some people from playing?

• health condition that does not allow one to engage in intense cardiovascular activity


• lack of transportation to games and practices


• lack of funds to pay for registration


• lack of family support


• work schedule does not coincide with practice/game times


• other aspects of life do not allow for leisure time

This being said, in spite of these obstacles, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It requires little equipment and the rules are overall, easy to follow. In rural areas of third world countries, it's common to see children playing bare-foot with an improvised ball made of tied up rags or taped up garbage. For this reason, I wasn't surprised to see El Salvador make it to the semi-finals of the world cup beach tournament in Italy this past September.

In Canada, although hockey is quite popular, soccer is the most played sport. I recall one of my teammates saying that when she was a kid, her parents signed her up for soccer because it was the only sport they could afford. She said it was "the poor kid's sport." I laughed, realizing, that this was probably the case for me as well. She also commented that nowadays, her kids are also playing on soccer teams, but prices have skyrocketed. Emphasis has been placed on not only signing your child up for a team, but also for soccer clinics and player development camps. The competitive aspect has over-shadowed the leisure dynamic of the sport. If you don't sign your kids up for the "extra stuff', you are stifling their potential.

In terms of accessibility for non-committal soccer, I once attended a drop-in adult soccer session at the Newton Recreation Centre. What I discovered was a gym full of about 50 men raging from ages 16 to about 40, mostly of indo-Canadian or hispanic background, all eager to get some time on the 'field.' Aside from myself, there was only one other girl in the gym. The men were not accomadating to new players, let alone female players. I stayed for about 1 hour, and afterwards had a chat with the people at reception. I suggested that perhaps they should have more than 1 night of drop-in soccer a week since it seemed to be so popular and perhaps they should also have a ladies only night, since I'm sure most girls would be too intimidated to ever set foot in a gym with 40 extremely competitive, burly men. They gave me a card with the management's contact info, and encouraged me to make the suggestion. Unfortunately I did not follow through and now looking at the current schedule, I still see only one soccer drop-in night...time to take action! ;)

So there it is, soccer is the root of my active living. Everything else I do to be active stems from here.