anyone partake?
I'm thinking of giving it a crack and I'm just wondering what the fitness levels and pace is like? I assume/hope its shite, because thats all I can manage
any other advice on how to prepare for this? I probably need to drop about 10 kilos, which obviously is never happening so serious suggestions only please
I started again at about 37 and loved it. Nothing gives the buzz like playing football at any level, so just don't be hard on yourself and expect too much, and don't wait for the never-never time when you're at peak fitness - it'll never come.
It's impossible to say what the standard will be but you almost certainly won't be the worst or most unfit. The older you get the wider the chasm from best to worst is on the pitch. If you start 5 a side, no doubt you'll have a few beasts who still spank it in and haven't learned basic rules of possession. They'll tell you they had trials for United when they were young and whether or not that's true they'll still be miles better than you. Then you'll have a few who are out of puff within 5 minutes and won't run at all after that. Even though they have a shocking touch and no idea what they're doing, they'll still end up with 7 goals because they won't move from within 5 yards of the oppo goal and they'll be given 100 sympathy chances by the up and down midfielders (the fittest lads) who who would rather assist like De Bruyne than do anything as distasteful as having a shot.
In the UK there's a group called Man Vs Fat Football. It's a bit of a novelty thing where you get weighed before each game and if you've lost you add a goal to the scoreline or something - I can never quite work out the calculations. I find the weight loss part annoying frankly but I found it was the best way to start playing again cause you can go on your own and be put on a team without needing 4 mates who are as equally keen on turning out in the Derbyshire rain every Monday night. There might be something similar near you.
I played in Derby and Notts for a couple of seasons and loved it, but injures took their toll. I'm looking to start again though, although I might see if I can find a team in Notts outside of the MvF games cause they're on a Friday.
There's also a great group in Chesterfield called Football for Foodbanks that raises money for foodbanks in that town. Again, the quality is hugely varied and because of the nature of the charity it's less competative than MvF can get.
This might all be over your head if you're in Australia but worth seeing if there's anything similar local to you.
Just do it - It'll be one of the best decisions you'll ever make, but just be sure to take your stretching seriously cause injuries come far, far easier than they used to and they're much harder to recover from.
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