Reasons to Play Football

6 Reasons To Play Football
Football is a great game to watch. It brings back memories of high school and college, and it is a tradition in many households at particular times of the year including, of course, Thanksgiving. Plus, it gives people something to look forward to when there is a game on, and their team is playing, and it is a way of making new friends who support your team and enjoying some time together.

Playing football is also fantastic. It is a positive way to get fit and healthy, and there is a lot of team spirit required, which is great for your confidence and self-esteem, and it can help you in other aspects of life too. What are the other reasons to play football? We’ve put together just some out of the dozens that exist for you to think about.

1. Fitness
When you play sports, your physical endurance, flexibility, agility, speed, and strength are all going to be increased. Football is especially good at giving you this added level of fitness because it uses all of the muscle groups and is a full-on, physical kind of game. It’s not just the game itself that is good for you either; the training and practice sessions are equally important at making you healthy and fit (perhaps even more so). There are many different drills that players have to take part in such as running up and down ladders, through tired, running sprints, vigorous and vital stretching, and using weights amongst other things.

Remember, of course, that with all this movement and muscle use there can be injuries, so it is important not to overdo things. If you think you might be at risk of injury, try wearing compression arm sleeves and ankle supports which will help you to stay safe. As well as this, it is essential that you always wear the right protective equipment such as a helmet and padding when playing football to prevent, or at least reduce, the risk of injury.

2. Discipline
When you play football, you need to be utterly disciplined about it. You are working in a team, and you are all striving to win, and if you aren’t disciplined in your playing and in your practice, you will not be able to beat a team in which all the players are completely focused. Being disciplined means turning up for practice even if you are tired, and listening to orders from your coach then following them through. Concentrate on the game at all times and be prepared for anything that might come your way – this is only achieved through having great discipline and being ready to play and win any time you are needed.

3. Teamwork
Teamwork is a hugely important part of life, and it can be learned through many different means. Once you know how to work well in a team to achieve the best possible results for everyone, you have a significant life skill in your armory, and any employer would be glad to have you working for them. Or, if you wanted to be the boss yourself and start your own business, you will know how to get the best out of those working beneath you. Playing football is exactly the kind of situation in which you can quickly and easily learn precisely what teamwork is really all about. In football, if you work as a team, you are much more likely to win. It is not a game for individuals like tennis or running might be. Instead, football is all about every player working with every other player to achieve the best possible results and to win the game.

4. Humility
Everyone gets a little above themselves from time to time, and egos can become seriously inflated. A game of football can quickly and easily remind anyone and everyone that anything can happen, and that a loss can occur no matter who is playing, or how well. This is perhaps especially important after a winning streak; learning humility through losing is useful to keep everyone on the team grounded. It is also something that can be useful in other areas of life. No one likes people who have huge egos and who always think that they are right, and this can damage your reputation and make work and home life difficult. Keeping humility in mind will make you a much more likable and, ultimately, more successful person in the end.

5. Excitement
Football is not seen as an extreme sport, but there is a certain level of danger associated with it, which is why the safety equipment is such an important and iconic part of playing. Every time you step out onto the football field, you are taking a calculated risk, and you could come away with an injury if you are not entirely focused. Even if you are careful yourself, the other players might not be, and accidents can still happen.

Why is this a good thing? It’s because a level of excitement and the chance to boost your adrenaline levels every now and again is good for you. It keeps you alert, gives you something to look forward to and focus on, and afterward, you will feel great because of all the feelgood hormones that are surging around your body.

6. Analysis
When you play football, it is vital that, once the game is over, you analyze it properly. Whether you win or lose, you should look back over the game and see what was good and what wasn’t. Even in a winning game, there could be areas that need improvement, and if you lose, there might still be shining moments that can be focused on in a positive way and even replicated in future games. Learning how to take a game apart and look at it in an objective way is crucial. You will need to step back and remove any emotion from watching the game again, simply concentrating on what happened, not on how you felt or still feel about it.

This is a skill that you can take with you into the wider world, and it will be particularly useful in work situations when you need to write reports, give performance reviews, or look back at your own work and see what worked and what did not.