When a soccer player enters onto the field, they have one objective to fulfill – collaborate with their squad to score multiple goals into the opposing team’s net. During a soccer game, eleven players (per team) grace the grounds in speed, contorting their bodies as they dribble between their peers and block their rivals from obtaining the ball. Each match lasts approximately ninety minutes, and the team that scores the most goals wins the game. While people of various ages and skill levels enjoy participating in this fun, educational, and competitive sport, playing it also benefit’s each player’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. If you are looking to kick-start a healthier regimen, scoot your way onto the field and learn how playing soccer can help you lead a triumphant, healthy lifestyle.
Let’s Get Physical:
The game of soccer (also known as ‘football’ in other countries) combines both aerobic and anaerobic exercises (including sprinting, kicking, and running) that improve an individual’s physical health. During a soccer game, players endure a comprehensive cardiovascular workout, as the sport involves numerous quick movements – each activity amplifying one’s heart rate and promoting circulation throughout their body. In addition, when players dribble and kick the ball, they strengthen their quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles, which helps them maintain stamina and also build muscle mass. Those who regularly play soccer are likely to achieve and sustain a healthy weight, have lower blood pressure, and decrease their risk of developing heart disease.
Say Sayonara to Stress:
While playing soccer improves an individual’s strength, endurance, and motor coordination skills, it also enhances one’s focus and mental fortitude. As soccer is a physically demanding sport, playing it leads to the body’s release of endorphins (also known as ‘the feel-good chemicals’, generated by the brain), which help to alleviate pain, lower stress, improve one’s mood, and enhance a person’s sense of well-being. In addition, the strategic and tactical aspects of a soccer game promote a state of mindfulness for players, allowing each one to temporarily escape from life’s routine concerns.
The weighting game:
Soccer is a superb activity that counters body fat and helps players actively stay in shape. As the dynamic nature of the sport involves constant movement and quick transitions, one’s metabolism is boosted both during and after the game, leading them to be in a calorie deficit until their next meal.
Mental Health for the Win:
Soccer is a dynamic and fast-paced sport that requires its players to be resilient in the face of competition. In order to be the victorious team, each player must know how to handle pressure, quickly adapt to change, embrace setbacks, and conquer challenges. The ability to cope with stress in soccer (like scoring a last-minute goal) extends beyond the field, and provides individuals with experience in remaining composed in challenging and unpredictable situations. In addition, the competitive spirit of soccer instills a drive for improvement and setting and obtaining personal goals; qualities that lead to success in multiple aspects of one’s life.
There’s Strength in Numbers:
Soccer, being a team-oriented sport, requires participants to work together to achieve a common goal. It grants players the ability to develop communication skills, exert their leadership abilities, and foster a sense of unity within their squad. As the game appeals to individuals of multiple age groups, ethnicities, genders, and social cultures, it helps break down barriers, allowing players to ignite new social networks and build lasting friendships. When we engage with others, we create empathic connections that offer support and understanding, providing a powerful antidote to depression, anxiety, and isolation.
Build up your Bones:
As bone density decreases as we age, the repeated weight-bearing exercises exhibited during a soccer game help to strengthen of one’s skeletal system. The constant running, kicking, sprinting and jumping involved in soccer helps to stimulate bone growth, and individuals who regularly participate in games can reduce their risk of developing osteoporosis later on in life.
Pick Up the Soccer Ball; Avert Injuries:
Although soccer is stereotypically known for ‘being the sport with higher than average physical altercations’, playing it can actually prevent injuries. As soccer involves a combination of standing, running, sprinting and kicking, players develop better balance and proprioception, ultimately reducing their changes of slipping, tripping, and falling both on and off of the field.
Jerri Lyons | Contributing Writer