How Old Were You When You first Started Playing Soccer?

Many things get complicated as children get older. Luckily, however, some things in life are still very easy when children are young. Youth soccer in America is one of those things. Soccer enthusiasts at the youngest age can learn to play the game, get exercise, and enjoy the companionship of teammates. although many sports require participants to be older before they can start, the game of soccer in America is an activity that children can start learning at the young age of three or four. The fact that even the youngest athletes can enjoy this activity with older friends and family members makes it all the more enjoyable.
Many Soccer Enthusiasts First Learn the Basics of the Game at Camps and Clinics
Always anxious to encourage others to fall in love with their chosen sport, college athletes and their entire teams often donate their time to youth sports clinics. Fueled by their love of the game, these student coaches can draw on their years of experience with the sport. With both male and female college athletes joining together the next generation of players can learn the basic skills of ball handling, running drills, and taking shots on the goal. College and high school age athletes who love soccer are perhaps the best at introducing this sport to the young boys and girls who are just learning to kick a ball.
As the youngest soccer players get older they will find plenty of other clinics and camps where they can improve their skills. Week long camps on college campuses and weekend clinics throughout the spring and fall can focus on the entire game or specific skills and strategies. Sometimes, entire middle school and high school select teams will travel to a sports travel clinic and experience the coaching techniques of famous athletes and trainers.
Soccer in America Continues to Grow in Popularity as Parents Look for Ways to Keep Their Children Active
From the earliest age, soccer is a sport that encourages good health. Running up and down the field for high school drills or running in circles as the youngest players enjoy the chase for more than the pursuit of any championship soccer skills. Not surprisingly, research indicates that adolescents who grow up playing sports are as much as eight times more likely to be active at age 24 than adolescents who do not play sports. In addition to encouraging an active future life style, soccer and other exercises can improve the current mood of children and teenagers. In fact, among students who exercised as many as six or seven days a week, only 25% indicated that they felt sad for two weeks or more in the past 12 months. This one in four percentage compares to the nearly 36% of students who participated in sports at the most once a week who indicated that they felt sad for two weeks or more.
An a time when American children are threatened by obesity, many parents understand that soccer is an activity that encourages fitness and creates a circle of friends who are also active. While some sports require very specific equipment and specialized playing areas, soccer is a sport that can be enjoyed on the play ground at school, in the backyard at home, and even in open grassy areas beside churches. Without the need for specialized equipment that gymnasts and tennis players require, soccer skills encourage activity no matter where a young athlete is at.
Fans of Soccer in America Look Forward to Olympic Competition
Soccer is basically a team sport. Although soccer in Portugal or soccer in England may focus on some celebrity status athletes, much of the love of soccer in America is about team play, especially in an Olympic year. Sales of team jerseys and parties to watch Olympic events not only grow national enthusiasm for the sport, but they also build team pride. Whether if is a World Cup year, which has been played once every four years since 1930, or an Olympic year, it is difficult to ignore the appeal of rooting for favorite teams. And while some players in some countries are more famous than others, there is certainly no less appeal for parents who are rooting for their child’s first competitive soccer team.