D Blanchard Soccer

While soccer might not be as popular in North America, it’s still considered the most popular sport in the world. It still suffers from a few stereotypes and heavy competition from other sports like baseball and football. Perhaps it will never be number one in the United States, but that shouldn’t be stopping you from playing it. The fact is soccer is really fun and it’s something you can do at any time. And if you happen to be looking for the perfect sport in order to lose weight, soccer is a great choice. In the process, you might just discover what the rest of the world is raving about.

Why is soccer the perfect exercise for your weight loss routine? When you take a look at what soccer involves, you’ll see a full body workout conducive for calorie burning. You’re up on your feet at all times and there isn’t really a break in the action. You get a nice mix between short bursts of intense action in addition to casual strolling as well. It requires the perfect mix of concentration and balance, and both of these elements can benefit your health in tremendous ways.

Soccer also offers you many ways to engage whether it’s socially or competitively. Chances are there are soccer leagues that can join, or you can simply round up a bunch of your friends and head down to the local field. It’s also a cheap exercise considering you don’t need to purchase equipment beforehand. Unlike hockey or football, you don’t have to spend a fortune on pads, helmets, or related equipment. All you need is a ball, and the cost for good one is a negligible.

Perhaps the best reason to look to soccer for any fast weight loss program is the element of fun. One of the biggest problems people find when trying to maintain exercise is getting bored with their routine. This happens commonly even with the best exercise equipment when people have a hard time forcing themselves to work out. But since soccer is enjoyable, you could find yourself in a position where your dieting to player next game. Even if it’s a practice or a training session, there’s lots of factors that keep you coming back for more. And who knows, you might just discover that you have tremendous skills in this popular sport. You can rise to the ranks and play competitively to add another dynamic to this already exciting game. So if you’ve had problems maintaining exercise in the past, look to soccer to your regime, and you might just find the perfect sport.

When I was growing up my dad used to run a Sunday league football team, which was a bit of a mixed blessing for us kids.  On the one hand it meant that we had a great chance of getting picked for the team each week, but on the other we never knew if we were being picked based on skill or nepotism.  Tricky situation, really, and it was only solved when I transferred to another football team and found that my playing time dropped like a rock.  Ah.  I see.

Anyway, one of my dad’s weird little things was that he was a huge fan of natural mosquito repellent.  Every week the team would arrive to find him handing out mosquito repelling wristbands or spraying Listerine mosquito repellent on the field (seriously, look it up).  It was embarrassing for me and my brother, but absolutely nothing could convince my dad that natural mosquito repellent wasn’t as good as DEET. 

I remember one time, early on in my Sunday league football career, when my dad forgot to bring any mosquito repellent to the field.  He was just about to rush home and pick some up when one of the player’s parents grabbed a bottle of DEET from their car and offered it around.  We got no bites during the game, but to make my dad feel better I pretended to scratch all day