Tips for a Soccer Beginner? Advice of Any Kind Would Help!

by Sierra
(USA)

Even though I've never played soccer before, I really want to learn it. I watch professional soccer all the time and have been visiting websites lately to familiarize myself with terms, positions, rules, etc.

My parents won't let me because they think it's a dangerous sport that takes up too much time and they want me playing tennis instead (tennis and soccer are in the same season in my high school).

But it's not like I've played tennis more than a few months and there's no guarantee that I'd actually make my school's JV team next year, so why not try a new sport at the same time and see which one I'm better at?

They also assume it's too late for me to learn soccer, but didn't someone say it's never too late to learn something new unless you try your best and have a genuine passion for it? So, how do I convince my parents?

I got good grades in middle school and I'm taking 5 honors my freshman year, so my academics shouldn't be a problem. I want to be a great athlete and feel positive about myself. I don't care about injuries; I want to prove myself to everybody.

Our family doesn't have much money either, that's a part of the reasons why they'd hate to buy me expensive equipments and enroll me into soccer organizations unless they're free like the school teams. But the second option is impossible since JV and Varsity teams obviously wouldn't take in newbie’s like me.

I found out AYSO is the only place for students of or over fifteen years to learn soccer for the first time, but people say they don't teach kids on a competitive level, so it won't help if I wish to train and get into high school teams. Those people recommend me to join my town's rec teams, but they don't accept anybody without a tryout. Should I just get the feel of the sport in AYSO?

Please, should I pursue soccer or not? I have this feeling that if I don't do it now, I'm going to regret later in my high school years and by then, I would be too old and busy to start soccer again. If I should, how do I get around to persuading my parents? Thank you for reading my tedious question and any advice is appreciated as long as it's about soccer.

THE ANSWER

Hello Sierra, and first of all I just want to thank you for the long post as it helps me understand your dilemma better. Soccer is not more dangerous than any other sport because most of the injuries are caused by you and not necessary by the opponents.

In any contact sport (e.g. basketball, hockey) there will always be a risk of getting injured by your opponents but this is a part of the game that you need to accept. Before I continue, I just want to ask you whether your parents have ever played soccer? If not, maybe you could ask them to watch a game with you LIVE and let them realize that soccer is not as dangerous as they think.

As you are already mentioning, it is actually never too late to learn soccer. Another thing that seems to bother you is the finance part. I can tell you immediately that soccer is one of the cheapest sports in the world as it requires minimal equipment.

You need a pair of cleats and shin pads. Other parts like jersey, shorts and socks can be either borrowed from the team that you are playing for or bought for a very low price.

I don’t know how it works in the U.S when it comes to local teams but here in Sweden we have a lot of these. Why don’t you just join a team where you can play for fun without any requirements? I mean, there must be at least one such team where you are living? I really think that you should play soccer because you obviously love the sport.

Lastly, I just want to say that you should not let anyone make decisions on what you will do with your life. If I was you, I would explain to my parents that I am old enough to make my own decisions and that they need to accept that.

Let them know how much you love soccer and that it is your dream to become successful in it. I mean, you just want to have fun and enjoy the game of soccer; you are not actually doing something illegal.

/Mirsad