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The concerns over the health and fitness of today's youth are plain to see in every day life without reading a Newspaper or watching TV. Over weight and lethargic children can be seen in all walks of life.watches

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

Soccer is the beautiful game, played by millions of young girls and boys (aged 6 to 18) across many continents; whether it's on the beaches of Rio, the back alleys of a major city or the local park you'll 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.watches

Having a more structured approach is both a good and a bad thing.watches

In the club environment youth players do get training and development from willing coaches who demonstrate the correct way to develop their skills from beginner right up to advanced play. Plus, organised small sided games wrap everything up together to provide a total learning experience.

On the other hand, time is often limited and maybe an hour or two is devoted to structured soccer practice during the week, what happens when practice is over?watches

Getting your child to participate in an organised soccer school or club can bring tremendous benefits to you and your child. Soccer can help increase your child's self esteem that feeds their self talk which ultimately drives their performance.watches

Soccer isn't the only winner, quite often academic performance can increase too!watches

Research shows that children playing soccer at an early age fosters a great attitude for the game and this attitude grows with them into later life.

One of the biggest reasons why kids play soccer is to enjoy themselves and have fun; if soccer is fun and enjoyable then players will want to continue playing. This benefits their overall fitness and reduces their health risks considerably.

In today's world, Soccer is made fun by coaches worldwide who willingly give up their time to organise youth soccer practice and coach teams.watches

Gone are the days when soccer was an 11 a side game for the really young players with offside rules and no touches of the ball for massive periods of the game. Youth soccer from the age of 6 to 11 is typically about having fun, playing small sided matches such as 4 v 4 with no goal keepers, promoting lots of touches of the ball and player interaction on the pitch.watches

Through playing soccer, and encouraging children to take regular exercise, many of the risk factors that are associated with heart disease such as obesity and diabetes can be reduced significantly. Since 1976 research undertaken has shown that obesity in our children has increased by more than fifty percent, a frightening statistic.watches


Getting your child involved in soccer doesn't just improve their health.

Social 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 be the best, aiming to win, supporting and helping others are all by products of playing soccer.watches

Many of the life skills that the players learn through soccer are beneficial in later life such as how to form and build relationships, developing a sense of co-operation, how to lead people, how to handle adversity, what commitment means and punctuality all of which are key qualities and will benefit the players in adult life.watches

Although soccer is the ideal team sport for youngsters to be involved in encouraging youngsters to play any sport will be beneficial to them, now and in later life

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