I play medium tier co-ed soccer, have for the last dozen years or so. I just hit 40, am slowing down and taking longer to recover from injuries. I know my time at a fun sprinting competitivish level is coming to an end but… Sure, I’ll miss the new dope friend aspext of it but equally importantly, 3 nights a week for years, I’ve been so happy to play and for a few hours a week the world, the future, politics, none of it mattered, all that mattered was stopping the bad guys from putting a ball in the wrong place and hopefully making it go to the right place (I’m defence, that half of the field is up to the other 6)
I dunno. Hoped maybe one of you has had to do this before and can share some thoughts. (I just had my foot clipped pretty bad, know I’m out for a few weeks but just came back off another injury etc…)
Edit: Goodness gracious, you folks are all so kind and supportive. Thanks so much, I’m definitely feeling less dejected and much more hopeful about the next stage of living an active and wild life.
Specifically for soccer, there’s O40 teams (and even beyond, up to “walking soccer/football”), and if you can change your headspace just a bit, you can drop down to a more recreational level and still enjoy the sport you love. Just be mindful that they’re not really the bad guys, and you can still try to stop them and shut out the rest of the world. As a chronic overthinker, that simple headspace can be a really healing place to be for a while.
I didn’t even start playing until I was already fat and almost thirty, but I had a good ten years of playing indoor off and on; yes… forty, but you almost certainly have much better fitness than I ever did, LOL. Speaking of indoor, it really limits the duration of your sprints and whether on offense or defense you can “manage” more of the field without the same physical strain. The consistent conditions are nice too, though many facilities smell like sweat at all times.
This was really well put, thanks! I’d actually been worried about the older age groups for much the opposite reason, the couple I’ve seen have been hard competitive with a lot of Europeans who used to play at higher levels. And I’m a 5 - 15 years older than most of my team mates so I’d have to join pretty much solo. But I imagine there are a bunch of different leagues of all abilities/aggression/competitiveness.
As someone about to hit late 40’s I can give some applicable advice here. I manage two over 30 teams, a coed and a mens team. I play on both and pick up games when invited. I’ve had a long list of injuries but always come back.
You do need to change how you play, the competitive part has to drop down a bit, basically let the younger peeps have those 50-50 balls, don’t go for headers that have any kind of pace, avoid contact with players you know are willing to injure you.
But most importantly, go to physical therapy and collect the appropriate workout. Hit that workout 3-5 times per week and don’t stop. If you can’t get your workouts in, don’t play that week.
This is heartbreakingly reasonable advice. (I play centre D so almost all the gameplay changes you suggest are my bread and butter. Probably time to learn a new position if I want to stay intact.)
Great advice on the workouts, probably safer to only play if I’ve been working out that week AND it’s great motivation to actually go to the gym.
I hear you… Man I hear you… I’m more an attacker but what I’ve found is that I’d rather play with like minded individuals that we all enjoy eachother. We don’t win most of our games anymore but we do still score goals and win games. They know that putting direct balls at my head means I’m going to let it go by. But one I can sprint on? Yeah baby, it’s a footrace. If you play center back, consider playing as a target forward. A lot of the same skills, but instead of running at players, you’re more back to goal, hold up play… Bringing your teammates into play. Finding that clutch through ball for the winger.
If you want to continue this conversation on a regular basis, I’m super up for it. We’ve got 50+ERS on our team and at this very moment I’ve been out for two months due to a back injury. You are not alone and I can help navigate.
You’re fully right on the attitude. Part of why I love these teams is somehow we keep attracting just awesome groups of people so even though everyone plays their heart out, it’s still laughs and loves when we get ragdolled.
Interesting idea moving up to forward. I always joke about how scary that half of the field is but I’m not a terrible distributor and don’t mind just being bigger at people in the box…
I’ll definitely follow up with you at some point if you’re down. Right now, I’ve got to heal this dumb foot but then, yoga, the gym and maybe slowly transitioning to forward to get some practice there with friends before trying that on a new team.
Really appreciate the kind words and support!
Of course, tag my username if you want, reach out anytime. Who knows, maybe we play in the same area.
I switched to lower impact sports like kayaking/paddling and cycling as I aged. Still can be social, especially biking, but hard to replace a dedicated league soccer. Do y’all have pickle ball? That is pretty social in my area and probably will feel low impact compared to soccer.
Those are really great suggestions, especially as I already enjoy or have enjoyed half of them. I haven’t kayaked in at least a dozen years and I live on Canada’s West freakin’ coast!
Pickleball seems like a slower and thus lifelong version of tennis, is that kind of the idea? Can you just not smash that sort of ball very hard/far?
I play disc golf as my low impact sport. Super chill, most courses are public parks so they’re free, and it’s a great excuse to go walk around a park for a few hours
Oooh, we do have a few of those around. Honestly, should probably try that and give in and give actual golf a try too.
Low impact, high damage
I have only seen it played and have not played it myself. It does seem like slow tennis to me too. I’ve seen people of all ages and apparent fitness levels playing each other though so I mentioned it.
Canada’s West Coast seems like a great paddling area. Lakes and big water rivers. Plus all the wildlife and nature.
Yeah, I’m similar in that I’m aware of pickleball but know nothing about the actual game.
And yup, the West Coast is amazing for paddling! I’ve only ever done ocean kayak trips which are great but there is a lot more to explore!
I’ve always wanted to properly ocean kayak. I used to whitewater mainly but I got injured (and scared lol) and now I do flat water paddling. High mountain lake paddling is fun too if you are a hiker. Packraft is the product category you’d be looking for if that interests you.
Oh cool, I’d never heard of a packraft but they seem awesome!
Fully recommend ocean kayaking. My buddy had an attachment so he’d basically be trawling a fishing line behind the boat so more often than not, we’d have fresh caught, ready for dinner when we landed.
If it’s available where you live, perhaps consider sports that are played on the sand, like beach soccer and/or beach volleyball. I understand that those tend to be much easier on your joints and less injury-prone.
Oh interesting, I’ll look into that. I’ve always felt pretty tuckered after beach volleyball so just assumed that was somehow higher impact.
Yes, what @bigpEE said - less impact on your joints, but more cardio.
Low impact on your joints, aside from arm wear and tear. It’s tiring because running and jumping on sand takes a ton of cardio
Have you looked into age group leagues? My friends are in their late thirties and play roller hockey in a thirty plus league
I have! I’ve only watched one league and it was wildly competitive (lots of Europeans who played at much higher levels back home) but I’m sure there must be some at an appropriate level.
The thing that has really stopped me is that on most of my teams I’m 5 - 15 years older than my teammates so they couldn’t come with me and I love them. But, maybe it’s just an opportunity to make new friends
That sucks about leaving your teammates. My friends were really happy when they were able to move into the older league. They were playing in the younger league before they turned thirty, so it was them at 28 or 29 and the league was I think 16-29, so they were playing with some young guys who were skating circles around them and playing more aggressively than they wanted to.
Ha, I fully get the appeal of getting away from the younglings! I’m lucky, I can still keep pace with most of them. Which led to my favourite accidental burn:
Defending against some fast kid (okay, early 20s) and I beat him a few times on sprints to long balls. After the 3rd or 4th time, he says "man, you’re really fast for an… " then pauses, re-evaluates, “uhhh , you’re really fast!”
My neighbor is 78 and loads his hockey bag into his car twice a week.
That warms my heart!
I switched from team sports to individual or 1 vs 1 where risk of injury is significantly lower.
Badminton, Paddle ball, ultimate frisbee, yoga, cycling.
55m here.
Was an avid volleyball player, even though I’m 5’8" (1.72m) tall. I have very strong legs and could meet a lot of 6’2" plus guys at the top of the net.
Skydiver with 4500 jumps, spent a few years doing it professionally.
Now, my knees and back are shot. I can still play volleyball, but my jumps are about half what they used to be and I need to wear knee braces. Skydiving is almost completely out, unless I jump a very soft opening canopy as I have a disk bulge that is pressing on a sciatic nerve. If I get slammed on opening that could present a LOT of issues for me.
Now I focus on those things that I can do. I’ve always been an avid hiker and there is a nice state park nearby. I try to hike the trails there every day. Also I keep up with working out. Weights and other exercises. I’m not trying to build muscle, just keep what I have.
Right now, I’m sitting here with a very sore back and aching muscles, due to helping out my wife’s Figure Skating Club to setup for a competition this weekend. That involved moving a lot of tables, chairs, podiums and other things for 4 hours last night.
I think I’m going to take it easy today.
If you have the opportunity to try it, I’ve heard that beach volleyball is a lot easier on your joints than indoor volleyball.
It was sand volleyball during the summers and hard court in the winter for me. This was in Cincinnati, which surprisingly is a HUGE volleyball town. There are a lot of places that offer summer and winter leagues of all types. I started out playing on the Cincinnati Ski Club’s rec league in 1992 and played on it til 95. Post Ski Club league I played at the Cherry Grove Bowling center’s sand courts, which were great. By that time I had a permanent team and played with them until I moved away from Cincy in 2006.
While sand is easier on you landing and falling, being only 5’8" I had to jump that much harder to block and spike. Kind of a trade off.
In all hard court was easier for me to play on, where I could see someone north of 6’2" would like sand.
Interesting, thanks! I’ve never played hard court myself. In beach volleyball I see people of all ages playing though, if it’s any indication.
That was great to read, sounds like you’ve earned a break!
There is lower impact sports that you can do late in life,
I climbed alpine summit with a 75 year old gentlemen, he sais that since he reached 70 he stopped going above 4000m, but still climbed.
I’ve seen 80 year old Kendo sensei, this frail gentleman struggle to climb a stair, but once he has a sword in the hand, he knows what you plan to do before you. (and I’ve seen 80 year old with lower level, many of them indeed stopped free sparing, but that’s all)
EDIT : Typo in "sport"word making the comment unclear
These are pretty inspiring examples! I guess I just have to change my headspace from “I’m losing soccer” to “I’m picking up a new lifelong sport.”
I have some guys in my team who are over fifty and still play every week, so it certainly is possible. One is the goalie :P The other does a lot of jogging which helps him stay fit. Stuff like yoga and calisthenics also help prevent injuries. So you might try looking into that and see if it helps you stay in the game.
Always heartening to hear anout a team with other greybeards! And honestly, with one minor edit, you are absolutely right.
So you might try lo̶o̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ actually doing that and see if it helps you stay in the game.
I keep meaning to yoga but it’s there with drink and smoke less, wake up earlier, donate more etc. But if yoga keeps the games going a few more years…
I was gonna say - do you lift? It’s easier to stay healthy when you can deadlift twice bodyweight
This is true. I used to lift but it was a pretty bro-ey group/instructor and I hurt myself enough times that I switched to swimming (which I admittedly don’t do enough of.) I should probably look into another trainer and get back to moving heavy things up and down.
I recommend two things to get started training on your own. First, get a copy of the book Power to the People by Pavel Tsatsouline. Read that, paying attention to his advice for high-tension lifting technique. Then search for Dan John’s program Even Easier Strength, and apply Pavel’s techniques to that program. You can run the program anywhere between 2 and 5 days per week (whatever works for you). Workout takes about 30 min or so. And you leave feeling better than when you entered the gym.
A 30 minute workout?!? That feels like cheating, I am DOWN!
These words will change your life:
For the next forty workouts, pick five lifts. Do them every workout. Never miss a rep, in fact, never even get close to struggling. Go as light as you need to go and don’t go over ten reps for any of the movements in a workout. It is going to seem easy. When the weights feel light, simply add more weight.
Hmmm, that seems so counter intuitive but I will give that a shot!
I use some videos from this channel. Usually 30 minutes, three times per week, alternating with soccer/calisthenics days. Works perfectly for me.
(Specifically # 4, 5 and 26 from this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBfRLLhSBb-Ce7jXhButzHMHoQcAf_dgE
But they a lot of other good videos as well, so be sure to look around.)
Thanks! I’ve tried Yoga with Adrienne but should probably keep switching it up to keep things fresh!
Played hockey most of my life. Got sick and had to stop for months at 41. Now I’m 42 and I fail to see how I’m gonna be able to go back as my health has declined significantly. I’ll just have to be an old broad yelling at my tv while watching the games, at least the season is starting I guess…
Sorry to hear it, that’s a rough hand to be dealt. But yeah, like you say, at least the season starts soon! As a Canucks fan, I’m ready to be hurt again.
Haha, I feel you. As a Habs fan, I’m just waiting for someone to get hurt bad so we lose another 😭
Rooting for you guys also, love myself some Quinn Hughes, hope he signs with you long term. I understand he wants to play with his brothers buy I’d rather them coming to Van than the other way around…
Oh dang, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Habs, they’re so much fun to root for. Must be fun now that you’re on the upswing with Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson and co!
Thanks for thoughts on Hughes, myself and most of the city feel similarly.
When I didn’t want to do my high-impact sport anymore, I switched to reffing some, and also moved to competing in lower- impact sports.
Last summer I joined a dragon boat racing club where our oldest teammates were 78 year old twins and the average age of the whole boat was about 60. “Too old” for sports doesn’t exist.
This is a good point. Maybe I can grow to love different kinds of more age appropriate sports.
Martial arts
I did a couple
I miss them, but I don’t miss the constant pain in my joints. I have a thing where they were deteriorating, and all the exercises to strengthen the supporting muscles actually made shit worse unfortunately
Martial arts
Is this where your username comes from or is that a happy coincidence?
Sorry to hear about the deterioration, that sounds rough.
My name is because I enjoy fisting
The joints will always be fucked, but they’re slightly less fucked when they’re not being constantly abused
It’s rough, but it is what it is
Was never a sports guy in the first place
At 41 I switched to Jiu-Jitsu which isn’t any safer but is even more fun. Unsure why so many of us old guys do BJJ but it’s a thing.
That does sound fun though I feel I’d find a way to break my own neck…!
Fun fact: there are plenty of ways in Jiu-Jitsu to break your own neck. Possibly more ways than there are for other people to break your neck.
Ahahaha, well I do love tempting fate so maybe…!
I’d still play some hockey if invited. But I’d probably suck and/or hurt myself. 😅
