On a different pitch

Shortly after getting the full diagnosis of my knee injury, I decided to give up playing football.

This is my third ACL reconstruction and I am 41. I have played football competitively and for fun for over 30 years. There is nothing that I am playing for anymore, I am not going to become a better player now, and every time I step on the pitch I risk another injury.

They are all the right conclusions, but it still doesn’t feel right to give up the sport I have loved for as long as I can remember.

So when I saw a local walking football game in Dénia, I thought I would give it a go. No running means no real cutting movements, and I can take it at my own pace. It might just full the gap.

I had my reservations, but it was more fun than I thought it would be. It wasn’t much of a workout but I got to be on the ball a lot, score a few goals, and have a laugh with some new people.

In a way, it took a little bit more pitch and movement awareness. When you can’t run, you have to think carefully about where you are moving and why. You can no longer bail out your poor movement with a quick sprint – if you move to the wrong place, you are behind the play and it’s hard to get back into position.

That made it interesting to me as a training exercise. I am a qualified coach with a few years of experience at grassroots, and I am thinking of getting back into it again. Walking Football could be a useful tool for teaching movement, space and positioning.

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Above all, it was a great feeling just to be on the pitch and have a drink in the bar with some good people afterwards. Sometimes it’s the social side you miss just as much as playing the sport.

Unfortunately, I am out of Spain now for two or three months, but when I return I will definitely get involved in Walking Football again.