I retired from team sports when I turned thirty which was the same year that my brother Andrew turned forty. He had promised his wife he’d quit playing football at forty, and I was mainly playing to have an excuse to hang out with him, so we both hung up our cleats at the same time. I’m glad I didn’t do another tens years of waking up early on Sundays and running full speed into other grown men, because the aches and pains from my twenties are bad enough.
But now I’m seriously considering joining an adult league soccer team. I’m much older now and my body refuses to take a lot of directives from my brain. I can’t jump anymore, but strangely I don’t think I’ve lost all that much speed. I just wonder if I can avoid muscle injuries. I haven’t played competitive soccer since I was 15, although I did lead my league in goals that year, so it’s not like I was never good at the sport. Still, a thirty-one year lay off is pretty huge.
I don’t know, I suspect I’m a little crazy, but CabinGirl is encouraging me to do it, so I guess I’ll put the cleats on one more time and see what’s left in the tank.
If she thinks you should do it — and I’m to take it she knows you the best — I say you should do it. Hell, I’ve thought of doing it many times. I even had a friend ask if I wanted to come on Mondays to play with his team (for a small fee of course). Thought about it, but when the time came I flaked out and told him no. I don’t have my cleats or gloves at my house in NoVa, either. Plus I’ll be moving in ~2 months. See? Excuses, excuses.
In other words, you should do it now before you come up with a reason of why you should not; then you’ll potentially regret it.
I played competitive softball until my 40’s, when my night vision meant I could no longer play night games. Man, I love that game, and miss it a great deal. Some summers I played 3 times a week, in different city leagues.
The main thing I noticed was you lose the ability to bounce back. Sure it’s easier to get hurt (IMO it’s NOT muscle injuries you should worry about), but instead of being a little sore when you wake up Monday, your sore all the way to Wednesday.
Now I have a different hobby, and once a year I become event chairman for a four day national level event. This years was April 1-4, and I’m still not 100%.
Expect not to bounce back from the ordinary bumps a bruises.
But go for it.
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With football, it was Wednesday until I could walk. And that was 16 years ago. Soccer is rough, but it’s a little less brutal.
Careful with your ankles and Achilles. Lists of stretching is in order.
Good call on the Achilles, that’s an injury that would really make me regret having gotten off my couch.
This is how I feel about sex.
TMI?
Well, at least you still consider it a team sport.
My athletic endeavors involve getting myself to the couch to watch the Warriors against the Rockets in an hour. I may stretch myself and hit the fridge for a beer.
Consider tennis?
No, mostly not a team sport beyond doubles (except for some “team tennis”/league formats).
But definitely something our bodies seem to be able to tolerate to a quite advanced age, while still playing at a reasonably high level (with some concessions to aging necessary, of course). I’m 62. I play occasionally with several people in their 70s, and know others still playing regularly in their 80s.
My tennis story’s similar to your Real Football(TM) story: Played on my high school team. Tried to play on my college’s team until reading the handwriting on the wall telling me I would never actually become the next Jimmy Connors (or probably ever even play a varsity match for my college team), as I’d dreamed with youthful naivete at 14 or so. Yes, I played then with a T2000, like Jimmy!
A quarter-century or so passed in which I might have hit a tennis ball on a half-dozen occasions, tops. Then ~4 years ago, I bought a modern racket on sale and started playing again. Lately playing at least 5 times a week, as many as 3 sessions in a day. Have lost some weight without otherwise trying, while also improving various other health indicators.
Maybe if you’ve never or only rarely played tennis before, starting is something that doesn’t appeal to you. Something to consider, though.
Love tennis and racquet ball.
A 78 year old gent down the street from me plays tennis all the time. Says he only plays doubles now though. He is in surprising shape for an old guy. Exercise seems to help.
I used to play tennis six hours a day in the summers. Did some tournaments, too, when I was middle-school aged. Kind of burned out on it. It comes back quickly though. Just need to get out there and find my stroke. It’s the serve that takes the longest. I can blast them, but you need a lot of repetition to get high percentages.
A couple of years ago, I bought rackets for the whole family, and I’m about ready to take Finn out on the court. Probably do it this year, now that the weather is heating up.
experience!) all of your first paragraph.
If weather’s decent and I don’t have other tennis lined up, I’ll head to one of the local courts with a big tote bag full of used balls (that still have good bounce — you don’t really want to use dead ones for this) just to practice serves. I’ll hit a dozen or so to warm up until my toss and serving motion are feeling right and at least fairly consistent. Then I’ll start serving out simulated points, games and sets, keeping score and alternating between serving from next to the center mark, as I do for singles, then from halfway between there and the doubles sideline, as I do for doubles. If I don’t double-fault, I count the point for me ( = main artificiality of the exercise: in real play, you don’t win the point just by getting the first or second serve in!). You should always “win” such a simulated set 6-0, since you have to double-fault away more points than you get either first or second serve in to lose a game. Which, sadly, I still manage on occasion, but only fairly rarely.
Heading out to play in about an hour.
Dont.
You get almost as many brain injuries in soccer as football. It doesnt require concussions, long term low level knocks can affect your brain just as much.
you’re talking to a guy who payed money to play football without a helmet against guys who played at Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech and other top programs.
I only worry about injuries because they can keep you from playing.
Hey, Martin, have fun! Hope you avoid injury; your experience in the sport may help you there.
I last played football without equipment in a pickup game when I was 22. Jammed the hell out of my neck when some huge dude tackled me head-on with a big head of steam. My neck range of motion deteriorated and painful episodes increased in frequency and exquisiteness until I started my chiropractic treatments at 40. Much better now.
Played co-ed slow pitch softball ’til I was 50; was still playing center field in my last season, and could still go get it out there. (Good thing; I was unplayable in the infield because of my scatter arm, so if I wasn’t making the plays out in the grass, I would have lost my roster spot.) My ability to make a quicker and more direct path to the ball made up for my loss of speed as I got older; I felt pride in taking hits away out there all the way to the end.
And now everyone knows the root of my blog name here.
then you said “just as much”.
There’s certainly research suggesting that Real Football(TM) players can suffer brain injuries (primarily from repeatedly heading).
But “You get almost as many brain injuries in soccer as football . . . long term low level knocks can affect your brain just as much“?
Sorry, gonna take some empirical data to convince me of that. Google ‘junior seau brain suicide’. Not aware of even a single such case from Real Football(TM), even at the international pro level. Meanwhile, they are, shall we say, “over-abundant” among NFL players/veterans. Claiming the risks of the two sports are equivalent, or even nearly so, seems unfounded.
OTOH, as one who knew once put it, “Every business has a particle of risk.” (from Little Big Man)
Both soccer and American football involve way to much risk of serious injury to play except for big bucks. Try biking or softball or basketball if you need exercise (don’t we all?).
whatever happened to ‘no pain, no gain’?
That’s exercise not bouncing a soccer ball off your head. I have more respect for my brain. I have more respect for your brain. Let Cruz play soccer, maybe with W, no one could tell the difference anyway.
Hung my soccer cleats on the hook when I was 25 and did play baseball for some extra years. Played NCAA soccer in the sixties with several talented players who earned a berth on the US Olympic team.
When you do return to active competitive sports, make sure to get a medical check-up.
I started a career in active refereeing when my daughter played field hockey, a top-rated sport in Holland. At my age I’m still active after 30 years and some 1300 matches. I get invited to referee all ages from 12 years of age (I mostly do youth 16-18 yrs old) and on Sunday the seniors up to and including veterans from 45 upwards.
Still have it in me to be competitive and referee the toughest matches. A few weeks ago a friendly of a US field hockey team (under 21) on tour in Holland. Still enjoy every match …
No team sports for me but I am at the gym 7 days a week. At 58 I’m running on the treadmill daily, something I could not do as younger man. You can no diubt do soccer, BooMan.
Good for you boran! I’ve been running for decades but when I turned 59 the wheels fell off. Times went up by 20%, and I can’t seem to stop injuring myself because I keep trying to push the way I used to, and my body can’t take it. Hard to get used to it. I used to feel sorry for those old geezers shuffling along the running route, and now I’m one of them.
As a certified personal trainer for the past 16 years, I say go for it! AFTER spending 8-12 weeks doing basic conditioning, both to ramp up your cardiovascular fitness and, more importantly, prepare your ligaments and tendons for stop-and-start, fast direction changes activity like soccer. Focus on body weight squats, standing lunges, hamstring and quadriceps excercises, core work like planks and side planks, and then gradually adding plyometric exercises. This is all to avoid blowing out your ACL/MCLs, ankle sprains, etc which are the real enders of activity. Cartilage damage is much slower to heal then muscle injuries especially once we get past our teens and 20s. I’m happy to give you some printouts of good exercises if youd lik. Just private message me.
Never played organized basketball, but the sports that I did play are too hard to organize (volleyball) or I’m physically unable to do anymore (gymnastics). Thinking of taking basketball up, now that I live a block from a court, and I’d like to teach my son the game.
Just buy a two-seat convertible and enjoy it.
Like this?
http://youtu.be/1g5i2LQEYvU
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Yeah, just like that! You have some fun. I actually meant one like to your left at the end. With a muffler.
: )
Oh, it has a muffler. We have strict sound requirements…max 93 db at 50 feet. That’s quieter than the street restrictions in CA. I drove it for 15 months, and never topped 90.
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Looks very cool and you’re a good driver. What car is it?
That car is a 1969 fiat spider. Stripped and turn into a race car. Good car. On race tires. This year I bought a 91 Honda Civic si. Street tires, but not street tires anyone would put on their daily driver.
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Remember as we get older our body needs to be limbered up via stretching prior and after playing.
I remember that my 13 yr old son a real go geter for sports. Took a winter off exercising and sports, decided to join track. No exercising before hand. His results at 13 first practice came home in agony blew out his thigh muscle, off track for two weeks. When he competes he goes all out his problem was he did not listen about needing to exercise if taking off sports.
I don’t know what your exercise regimen looks like, but before you go gung ho at soccer, I strongly suggest that you start with strength training for as long as possible beforehand.
Strength training will build your muscles and provide support for your tendons and ligaments, as those are what you’re most likely going to blow out playing soccer. Additionally, strength training will increase your tolerance for high intensity sports, and will decrease your recovery time afterwards.
I’d also strongly recommend throwing in endurance exercise – cardio. But, instead of just running for 45 minutes to an hour, which I consider tedious, try out HIIT, which is high intensity interval training. HIIT is excellent for your cardiovascular health and will lower your resting heart rate and your BP. HIIT is also a strength building cardio regimen, unlike long-distance jogging. For example, compare a long-distance runner with a sprinter in physique.
HIIT is basically what soccer is like, in that you might be walking around for a few minutes, and then jogging as you move towards the ball or into position, and then full sprinting for short periods of time.
The HIIT I do is a 5 minute warm up of fast-paced walking, followed by 3 minutes of jogging at about 5.5mph, and then sprinting at 10mph for 30-45 seconds, then 3 minutes of jogging at 5.5mph, then sprinting for 30-45 seconds at 10mph, etc., etc. I follow it up with a cooldown regular speed walk for 5 minutes.
Unless you’re already in sprinting shape, you will of course use different speeds for your walking, jogging, and then jogging-sprinting intervals, but you can find those speeds out yourself. This is a time where a treadmill is way better than doing it outside without a clock and speed setting to make it easier to gauge. A treadmill also cushions you much more than concrete, asphalt, or dirt, which makes it easier on your knees. That said, you can use a stationary bike, rowing machine, or whatever you have access to, and perhaps most importantly, enjoy doing. I love running, and the runner’s high is real, and you’ll feel it after a 15-20 minute HIIT session.
A strength training regimen mixed with HIIT, for as long as possible before you start soccer will help prevent muscle, tendon and ligament tears, as well as giving you much more stamina and endurance. And it will make the next day or two much more friendly to moving around without being in excruciating pain.
Protein powder is also recommended if you start working out, and as you drink your protein shake, eat an apple, as the sugar will quicken protein absorption. Peel on, of course, for the benefits of the fiber.
To help limit inflammation, stay hydrated as you work out and play soccer. For pain, take some tylenol and an nsaid together, just make sure you don’t overdo the tylenol.
Why obsess so much about it? I started going to a gym when I was 67 and am still going strong.
Completely off topic:
Billion now at http://www.moonofalabama.org:
The conservative group Judicial Watch has FOIAed documents of then Secretary of State Clinton related to the September 11 2012 attack in Benghazi which killed a U.S. ambassador and several CIA honchos. The documents prove that the Obama administration knew that the attack in Benghazi was part of an Al-Qaeda operation. Clinton and the Obama administration have publicly claimed the attack was in reaction to some anti-Muslim movie that was circling on the Internet.
Judicial Watch also got the release of Clinton’s email to her daughter Chelsea stating that an ‘al Quaeda-like group’ was responsible within an hour of publicly pushing the bogus story about the film. That kid knows more state secrets than Obama, I’d guess.
Do it. And if it gets too much, why not just take up running?
Do it. Soccer is like riding a bike, and one of the funnest games to play at any level. Also: whey protein/banana/coconut water smoothies for games and fish oil as a dietary supplement are your friends.
Just be a defender or goalie. Anyone can do that. I think I defended quite well as a very chubby 10-year-old.
Good for you. CabinGirl is a very wise person, you should listen to her.
A smart man always listens to his wife. And if he is smarter than her, then, well, he wasn’t so smart after all!
Do it if you think you can. My husband started playing in an adult, co-ed soccer league when he was in his mid -forties. He and my oldest son have often played on the same team and they loved it. He stays in shape and is also an avid bicyclist, so it’s been fine.
But my husband is now 57 and finds that recovery takes a lot longer. He comes home with deep bruises and the occasional strain or sprain. He had hernia surgery two weeks ago, so he’s missing the soccer season, but I think he’s almost glad to have an excuse not to play.
Go play, but be mindful of the consequences.
Lots of interesting info, advice, suggestions.
One thing still seems omitted, though: whatever you do, make sure it’s something you really like doing, so you stick with it and continue to get the benefits.
For me that’s tennis (though earlier phases cycled through running, basketball, and biking; torn [basketball] and repaired ACL, with some persisting issues with that knee, left tennis seeming the best option at this stage.
But do what you’ll be motivated to keep doing!
Life’s clock only runs one direction, use it or lose it. You’ll regret it if you don’t…
I think others have given good advice already and I’ll add notes from my experience. I’ve played soccer nearly all my life though I’ve never played competitively. After a 10 year hiatus, I restarted in soccer a few years ago. I’m 58 now and one of the older guys. Ages range from 20s to 60s.
My advice:
After you restart your soccer, please let us know how it turns out.
Oh how our youth shapes the rest of our lives.
I was one of those clumsy, unathletic, nerdy kids who got bullied in gym classes by fellow students and even by some of the coaches. Football was the worst. As a result, I have an abiding loathing for the sport. Good thing I don’t live in a place like Texas, where football is a religion.
Personal lesson: stay away from team sports. I like to cycle–with my daughter if she’s around–and swim.