Why Should Kids Be Encouraged In order to Play Soccer?

In today's media we are constantly being reminded of a health time bomb that is intending to explode as children today are not active enough.

There are so many competing distractions for our children's attention, video games, endless channels to watch, these can all cause sedentary lifestyle in case they are not kept in check.

Soccer is the beautiful game, played by huge numbers of little girls and boys (aged 6 to eighteen) across many continents, whether it's on the beaches of Rio, the back alleys of a major city nearby or the local park, you are going to find someone kicking a football around.

In today's society there has been a shift to more organised soccer practice for our youth players. Gone are the days of jumpers for goal posts, as streets are littered with cars and grass verges now have houses built on them.

Developing an even more structured approach is both a great and a bad thing; on one hand young players get structured development and education through willing volunteers who show them exactly how everything from the best way to warm up properly, develop their technical ability with the ball all the way through to skill development and organised small sided games to wrap everything up together to make a complete learning experience.

Today time is limited and therefore there could possibly be just one hour or perhaps two devoted to structured soccer practice during the week, what happens when practice is over?

Getting your child to get involved in an organised soccer school or club can provide tremendous benefits to you along with your kid.

Soccer is able to help boost your child's self esteem, which feeds their self talk which ultimately drives their performance. But soccer isn't the only winner, in many cases it can be seen that academic performance can increases to!

Research has shown that getting young kids interested in soccer at a first stage promotes a real healthy attitude towards this attitude and the game continues with them into adult life.

The top reason why kids play soccer is usually to have fun; if soccer is fun and enjoyable then players will want to go on playing. This benefits their overall fitness and also reduces their health risks considerably.

Soccer is made fun by coaches around the world who willingly give up their time voluntarily to organise youth soccer practice and coach teams.

Gone are the Soccer pictures days when soccer, for the really young players, was an eleven a side game with offside rules and no touches of the ball for significant periods of the game.

Youth soccer from the age of 6 to eleven is typically about having fun, playing small sided matches like four v 4 with no goal keepers, promoting lots of touches of the ball and player interaction on the pitch.

Through playing soccer and encouraging children to take regular exercise many of the risk factors that are connected with heart disease such as diabetes and obesity may be reduced significantly. It is reported that childhood obesity has increased by at least 50 % after 1976, which happens to be a truly scary fact.

Having your kid involved in soccer doesn't just improve their health. We've talked about already the improvements at school.

Community benefits, such as mixing with others, having to work as a team, contributing through individual effort to a collective goal, experiencing the highs and lows, picking each other up, competition, striving to end up being the best, aiming to win and helping and supporting others are all by products of playing soccer.

Lots of the life skills that the players learn through soccer are beneficial in later life, exactly how to create and build relationships, developing a sense of co-operation, how to lead folks, how you can deal with adversity, what commitment means and punctuality, are all key qualities that will benefit the players in adult life.

If your kid has already been playing soccer, great. But what will you do if you wish to have your child in the middle of a local soccer team? Below are 7 must ask questions that you and your child will need to consider when trying to find a good club...

One) What level of commitment is needed in terms of practice sessions and games at the weekend?

Two) When are the training sessions? When are games played, what's the format and just how much time will you have to devote?

3) How far are you willing to travel to training as well as to matches? A number of clubs will operate travel teams where distances can be extensive, including overnight stops.

Four) What are the costs involved? Some clubs adopt a pay when you play, others a very structured approach. The most expensive clubs are not always the best, ask yourself is what your paying in the equivalent to what your kid is getting out?

Five) What do you and also your child want out of playing soccer? This should be lined up with the prospective clubs philosophy, is it about having fun or winning?

Six) How best will your child learn, develop and stay interested? Are they happy just to be involved or perhaps would they thrive in a considerably more competitive environment?

7)What is the clubs constitution and philosophy to soccer, just how long have they been in existence, the experience of the coaches, location, facilities etc.

When you've considered the above questions what are your next steps to finding the right club or even soccer organisation for your kid?

You can...

I) Get in touch with the local Soccer Association of yours by searching the web or looking in yellow pages. They ought to be in a position to give you a list of organisations and clubs in your local area.

ii) Ask other parents/guardians about local youth and junior soccer teams. You will be astonished at how many adults or their children are involved.

iii) Encourage you children to ask their school mates just where they play the soccer of theirs. Realizing some of the team is often a tremendous advantage as players integrate themselves right into a team.

iv) Ask your child's headmaster or form tutor in case they know of any clubs or even organisations. Many clubs have formed good relationships with the schools over the years.

v) Read the local papers or perhaps local news websites you will be surprised at just how much coverage youth and junior soccer gets.

These 5 practical steps should allow you to locate a club that meets yours and your child's soccer aspirations. Nevertheless, if there still is not a club near you that can satisfy a need why not look to set up the own team of yours!