Before writing this article I was afraid to make very long, simply because soccer has tons of benefits that wouldn’t fit one Post …
… So, I’ve decided to summarize and only include 22 soccer benefits that you should be aware of.
Let’s dive in!
Physical Benefits
1. Increase your overall strength
Playing soccer requires the use of your entire body. By engaging your body in different ways, with running, shooting, guarding the ball, you are increasing your muscle and bones strength and density, especially in early ages.
Increasing the intensity of your training sessions will help you build more strength faster, especially in your legs.
Important Side Note: If you are a soccer beginner or amateur and would like to improve your soccer skills, then I strongly recommend to use soccer shoes with decent Quality and reliable Grip to perform at the best of your abilities. You can have a quick look at these quality soccer cleats to get an idea!
2. Take your endurance and stamina to a higher level
Soccer is a highly demanding sport that requires a high level of physical fitness. In order to endure high intensity training sessions and competitive matches, you will improve your endurance and stamina.
Higher level of these skills will make you more durable in every aspect of your life and boost your immunity system.
3. Improve movement coordination
To play soccer, you have to do multiple tasks at the same time. You are having the ball at your feet. Defenders are trying to take it away from you, while you are looking around the playing field, trying to decide whether to dribble or to pass the ball to your teammate.
These situations require constant balancing of your body and amazing feet-eye coordination. By practicing appropriate drills, you can increase your level of agility and reaction that will lead to improved coordination.
4. Increase your speed and acceleration
Playing this sport involves a lot of running in different directions, with the need for quick changing of pace.
Your movement involves walking, running and sprinting, depending on the situation. Running at your top speed will give you an advantage over your opponent.
That is the reason why training drills targeting the increase of speed are an essential part of every training session.
Soccer players through these drills and games improve both their running speed, but also the speed of their reaction, so they can change the pace almost instantly. This represents great body load, so practicing is crucial.
Health Benefits
5. Raise your fitness level
Playing soccer regularly keeps you in shape. Because you are using your whole body.
That puts you in a great position to reduce body fat and stay in shape. This reduces the risk of developing obesity and issues.
The studies have shown that soccer players have their blood pressure reduced by twice as much as the control group, with oxygen uptake increased.
6. Improve your mental abilities and brain function
Playing soccer demands observing your surroundings, analyzing all the information available at the field and making the right decision.
These activities require constant thinking and adapting to the conditions of the game, which enhances your mental and intellectual abilities.
7. Reduces the level of stress
The stress is unfortunately part of our everyday lives, and playing soccer can help us with reducing its level.
Stress is a natural reaction of the body and brain to challenges in the outside environment. Playing soccer relaxes your muscles and reduces the tension.
It also keeps you occupied and makes you forget about potential problems in your life. Your brain releases the endorphins, which are your body’s natural painkillers and reduces the stress level.
Releasing endorphins will also improve the quality of your sleep and give you a needed rest after long and tiring training sessions.
8. Improve the function of the respiratory system
Playing soccer regularly enhances your lungs capacity. Better capacity leads to a higher level of oxygen that you can inhale.
This means that there is better supply of oxygen to lungs, and therefore to other organs. Higher levels of oxygen saturation helps recovery after intensive games or training.
Social Benefits
9. Teamwork
Soccer is a team sport and without a joint effort, you cannot achieve success!
Playing requires great communication between all the players in the field, they must coordinate their actions, and work together the entire time toward accomplishing their mutual goal.
All these efforts and players’ cooperation helps build a sense of belonging and establish a team atmosphere.
Soccer teaches you all the advantages of teamwork and everything you can accomplish when you join the forces.
10. Makes you an extrovert person
You will have to communicate with your teammates in order to accomplish desired targets.
Information exchange is vital on the field, during the training sessions and the game itself. As you have to work together with your teammates, you will develop your social skills and become a more extroverted person.
11. Make friends
You are a part of the team and you are trying to give the best of you so that the entire team can benefit.
This sense of togetherness will establish connection with your teammates beyond the playing court. Soccer will help you make relationships with other players, maybe even for a lifetime.
12. Better conflicts resolving
Of course, a part of every team effort are the potential conflict situations. These situations are a part of everyday life are a part of the soccer world too.
Different circumstances lead to various scenarios, and this valuable experience will help you cope and resolve conflict situations in other aspects of your life.
With soccer you will meet people of different types, such as shy, social, arrogant, humble, etc.
Soccer experience will teach you how to treat and deal with these types of people. This is a very useful skill to have, not only in your soccer career, but also in your daily life.
13. Develop leadership skill
Sometimes you have to take on the lead role in your team. By influencing others in a positive manner and motivating them to play together and be better, so you can all achieve success, you are developing your skill as a leader.
This also motivates you to work harder and makes you more confident in yourself.
Mindset Benefits
14. Feel happier
You will be able to easily improve your mood and feel more satisfied. It releases brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphin, which triggers positive feelings like pleasure, happiness and love.
This will not only make you feel better at that moment, but also in general.
15. Developing growth mindset
As a part of your soccer training, you are trying constantly to improve your soccer skills. Team training or individual drills, all which can help enhance your abilities.
As you get better and more comfortable with your skills, which will reflect on your performance during soccer matches.
This will motivate you to continue to develop your knowledge and attributes. This will reflect not only on soccer, but on your attitude in other aspects of life too.
16. Boost your self-confidence
Continually developing your skills and playing at high-level helps you get self-awareness of your capabilities.
That way you gain more and more self-confidence, which will make you believe in yourself not only when it comes to playing soccer, but in general.
17. Become an athlete
This is not referring to a physical state, but to a developing athlete’s mindset. They are committed to excellence, on and off the field.
That is what drives them forward, in sport and in life. Athlete’s motivation is to give his maximum effort and concentration on the desired goal.
With developing this kind of focused mindset, you will learn how to keep a positive attitude and become a result oriented person.
Benefits for Youth and Kids
18. Fair play
An irreplaceable part of soccer is fair play. Especially important for children starting their journey.
This is the indispensable rule that is promoted in every league and competition. Unfair actions are punished and disapproved, while honesty and rightful behavior are encouraged.
Instilling these guides in children will guide them through life and teach them true values.
19. Emotional stability
Through different situations on and off the court, you will learn to handle various challenges.
Whether you will be a part of a conflict with a teammate or an opponent, or you will lose a game, you will learn to act in these and other situations in an appropriate manner.
While growing up and building your personality, through this playing experience you will mature and develop your emotional stability. You will realize that sometimes you win, but sometimes you lose.
Not only in soccer, but also in life. You learn to manage your emotions and remain focused and direct your energy toward finding a solution, not toward anger and frustration.
20. Learning self-discipline and habits developing
Soccer requires a lot of planning and responsibility when it comes to training. This will gradually make your kid more responsible when it comes to realizing the importance of your obligations, and through training routine it will help you develop good and healthy habits.
This is extremely important with young kids, as they are just starting to learn about the importance of this in school.
21. Help with the posture
Regular sport activity is crucial for kids, as they are just starting to develop their muscles and bones. Playing soccer regularly will make them stronger and help their postural balance.
This is vital for their growth.
22. Develop love for sport
It is essential for kids to develop passion for a hobby, activity or better yet a pure athletic sport from an early age!
Whether they will continue to play soccer later is out of lesser importance. What is important here is the development of sport spirit and the love for the game. Soccer is a good first choice for the children when you take into account all the positive sides of soccer training.
Also, after developing love for sport in general, children often start to train some additional sport discipline, which enhances the development of their personality.
Final Thoughts …
I am not sure, but I would guess that you are pretty much on the fence and wondering whether soccer is the sport for you or not …
… Hope these benefits I’ve listed above will convince you to actually opt for this sport, especially at an early age!
You never know! You can build a successful career out of this, or in the worst case scenario have a great activity and reap all these benefits.
Keep in mind that regardless of all those benefits, soccer is still a sport where players tend to retire too early!