October 2020 – Collaroy Cromer Strikers Football Club

Benefits of playing Football – Part 11

28/10/2020/in Benefits of Football /by Liam Bonney

Another mental health benefit that comes from football is confidence. The confidence benefit comes from all of the points above. Looking good and feeling that you look good is a massive boost to an individual’s confidence. Being social and having plenty of friends gives someone confidence. Being able to focus at work so that you can have a successful career also gives someone confidence. There are not to many successful, athletic people with large friend groups that suffer from crippling depression and anxiety. Confidence maybe the most important benefit that football provides for individuals of all ages.

Kids too, I used to be a shy kid, until I started playing sport and becoming good at it. Then I became more confident and I have massively benefitted from this. Being a shy kid is hard, you have to rely on others to come up to you and introduce themselves as opposed to you being the one to approach them. This can make it hard to make friends and be able to approach teachers or coaches if you need help with anything. Confident kids as well as kids who are good at football is what I also try and achieve. I have had kids who appear afraid to say hello then by the end of the first session are having an open dialogue with me, which I think is great.

Confidence is also important as it adds to a kids and really any individuals sense of self and who they are. Now in some instances you want people to change who they are, if they are overly arrogant and ignorant well then yeh maybe they need to think about how they behave. But for the most part individuals should own who they are and be confident in acting how they want to. Football provides this through the confidence it can create in players.

Benefits of playing Football – Part 10

21/10/2020/in Benefits of Football /by Liam Bonney

Football as a result of the two points in the last post can also lead to less depression and anxiety issues. I should point out that is not just relative to these two it is a consistent theme throughout footballs benefits to mental health. This won’t be the last time I bring these up. Anyways back to the point. Body image issues is the main culprit when talking about depression and anxiety to do with someone’s physical appearance. By releasing endorphins whilst playing football someone is less likely to suffer from depression or if the individual is already suffering from depression may lessen the extent of it.

Similarly, with anxiety, if someone is anxious about how they look and they start playing football and over a season start seeing some physiological changes then they would have less anxiety over how they look. This works also works by reducing the stress levels associated with anxiety which lowers cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone and I think (not a doctor) can lead to weight gain through disrupted sleep patterns. I also hypothesize (not a doctor but used a big word to sound smart) that spiked cortisol levels directly relate to the cravings we sometimes get when we are stressed or anxious. One of them being overeating.

From a social standpoint it feels good to belong to something. The vast majority of us want to be a part of a team, group or culture. Football provides this as it is a team sport making people interact and work together towards a common goal all of which I covered in a previous post. Having that sense of belonging can help elevate someone’s self esteem leading to less of chance of developing mental health issues. One of the best parts about football is you don’t have to even be a player to be able to enjoy these aspects. There are thousands and thousands of supporter groups out there for people who don’t play but have a favorite team. They may simply support a team because their partner does or because their friends do but even still they have an opportunity to belong to a group

Similarly, it can also help relax individuals as they have a group of friends who they can trust, maybe they feel more comfortable talking about things in front of group rather than just one individual. By being able to talk about things, get advice on the little things and be reassured that everything is ok individuals will feel less stressed and anxious leading to better mental health overall.

Benefits of playing Football – Part 9

14/10/2020/in Benefits of Football /by Liam Bonney

Mental health is something that has almost taken center stage over the last 10 years and it would be silly to think that football does not influence this. Lets start with how can football effect mental health. Buckle up this is the last of the what I would determine to be the three main areas of what makes up someone’s life and its going be a big one. So, how can football help mental health? Its actually largely a combination of the other two areas physical and social.

In combination with the physical aspect, exercise releases endorphins which make you feel good. The feeling good part is what I would say is an effect on mental health. The lines are blurred as we are one holistic system not 3 separate components. Footballs benefit is that for most teams this occurs twice a week once at training and once at the game. As you get to a higher level this increases even more.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone who has actually put on weight during a football season (injuries aside). Football being the very active sport that it is can certainly contribute to an individual losing weight and gaining muscle. This would therefore make someone appear more athletic which is what many people desire, what guy wouldn’t want to look like Cristiano Ronaldo. This change in body composition can lead to a better self image and a sense of pride in what an individual looks like. How many people do you think can confidently say I am proud of what I look like. Not many, people may say that they wouldn’t change a thing regardless and I 100% agree but even myself even though I am not fat I would still like to have a 6-pack (Pasta and Ice Cream be damned). The point being, football can lead to a more athletic look that can make an individual happier with how they’re body looks.

Benefits of playing Football – Part 8

07/10/2020/in Benefits of Football /by Liam Bonney

Football for kids is one of the best ways for them to learn how to interact with others. Social skills are just as important in life as being physically active and well educated. At football kids will learn how to introduce themselves, to talk about themselves, to talk to others and to respect authority just to name a few. In doing so they will be equipped with the skills that will stay with them throughout life. One thing I forgot, NO FIGHTING. Kids love a good play fight but this is should probably stamped out as it can lead to injuries especially if there is a large size difference between kids. Furthermore kids are very impressionable and if it is perceived to be okay at football they may think that’s ok to do it anywhere which can lead to problems at school or at home.

Football is a team sport, and even in its 5 aside form where there are less players on the court meaning individual skills may be more present you still need to work as a team to be successful. Therefore, football teaches cooperation. Cooperation is an essential social skill that enables people to work together in order to achieve a common goal. In footballs instance to score goals and prevent the other team from scoring goals as well. In the game itself there are isolated examples of individuals cooperating. A goalkeeper telling his teammates who to mark at a corner, players performing a free kick routine where everyone plays a part in order to hopefully fool the opposition and score a goal. Both are examples of players having to cooperate. This would therefore hopefully translate to there outside of football life and enable them to cooperate with classmates and work colleagues.

Football is also a great way to make new friendships. Players tend to come and go throughout a teams dynamic especially when people start getting to seniors. Life tends to get in the way whether that be family or work or something else. This means that there is a constant flux of new players coming into the team and this provides an excellent opportunity for people to create new friends. This can have other benefits too, my football team has a very wide range of occupations some are in accounting, marketing, finance your typical white collar types where as others are in blue collar occupations such has plumbing, construction and landscaping. Deadest if ever I need something fixed all I have to do is call up a teammate and its sorted. I would not have that opportunity if I didn’t play football.

At a young age as well its so important for kids to make as many friends as possible, because at that age they can manage it. As you get older its no secret that the amount of friendships that can be consistently maintained tends to dwindle. Plus a child who enters a completely new team apart from maybe 1 player who was an existing friend will hopefully gain another 6 or 7 by the end of the season depending on how many are allowed in the team. If they are completely new to a team in the junior age groups in my area, then they would have the opportunity to become friends with another 15 players.

I touched on this a little bit before, but football also provides an opportunity for people to maintain friendships as well. How often are you able to hang out with at least 10 – 15 mates if its just one team and up to 20 – 30 people if it’s a squad twice a week for roughly 6 months continuously. Not a chance you would be able to do that without football. Maintaining friendships is key to having a healthy and fulfilling life, it feels good to have friends and be a part of a team. We are social creatures after all.