Hi, I've been following the forums for a while and today decided to sign up. So hi. I would like to start playing football in a club, but I have some doubts and questions. Maybe you people can give me some advice and help? That would be amazing... but first a little story:

I just turned 19. When I was a kid I was very talented at sports, very fast, strong and agile. (I never played football much because I am only 5'7 and live in Sweden were people are tall, needless to say I got pushed around a lot - also my friends didn't play it, so neither did I). But when I was a teen I had a depression and became a bit overweight. From the age of 12-16 I had literally NO physical activity on a daily basis. NONE whatsoever. But over the last 2-3 years I've regained a respectable fitness level and I'm normal weight now, but I'm still only in "normal" shape.  Those 2-3 years were also the years where I found my passion for football. I have only played it very little, because I have none to play with, but I have loved it the times I have played. For the last 5 months I have been derping around with my football in the local park and shooting things and juggling a bit (20-30) but nothing serious at all. I watch football on a daily basis (mainly Barca ) and read as much as I can about the subject - I have become deeply fascinated by the game and the footballing world in general.

So now I would like to start in a club, and I thought of going to a "try-out" or w/e it' s called this month when the season begin. But my biggest concern is that I'm too old to play competetively in any way. I moan and sigh when I think of all the summer evenings that I wasted in front of my PC as a teen, but even more so over the potential to become a good footballer that I might have wasted. I am no footballing god and I'm never going to play for Chelsea, but I know my body and my physical limitations well, and I'm pretty sure I had the potential to be good, at the very least. I have asked people before, but I always get the same vague answer "you can do anything if you believe in yourself". So now I ask you in hope of an honest, clear answer from people who are best suited for these kind of questions: Is it too late to become good?

I'm not sure whether to join a club or if they will laugh at me. 19 sounds ridiculously old for starting a new sport. I'm not going to be a "professional", but is it possible that I could make it to, say, the divisions? I have plenty of spare time on my hand to practice (also for the next years), and I would be willing to practice 3-5 hours a day (depends, of course). For the last 3 days I've practiced 2 hours a day, just done some juggling and "getting to know" the ball. I've already done 270 keepy uppies, and I'm working on the ATW. Ain't that good?

I'm sorry for the wall of text, but I would like a clear answer. I know it's impossible to say in reality, because everything IS possible if you have enough talent. But if there are some smart football enthuastists out there that can give me some pointers as to what is realistic, it'd be greatly appreciated.

So based on my situation, what do you say? What is realistic? How should I "tackle" this?

You could make a semi-pro if you think you are talented enough but never leave the job to aim for professional football..you are well over the pro football age.

HAhaahh welcome to the forum man. This legitimately sounds like I wrote this word for word. IF I dedicated as much time to the sport as i did to video games and computers I would've been something. I have the perfect body-type for it too. Same age and everything.

Unfortunately even if you did make it anywhere, it'd be a tonne of work and probably not enough money to get by. Just enjoy the sport by watching it now, and keep yourself in great shape, and perhaps play it for fun. But it's time to wake up, reality hits you and you realize you must seek a second-choice job. Still do something you enjoy, although it may not be football or soccer or whatever you call it.

Hey, thanks for the answers :-) I'm glad you think it's possible that I could make it to semi-pro. How long do you think I should practice (outside the 'official' practice?) and what do you think I should work the most on? I'm not going to try to live off football, but to play it competetively at least.

Any tips / advice to a guy jujst starting out?

Bro the first thing you have to do is juggle.. juggle juggle juggle. Do weights at the gym, lots of running, get super fit.
Practice passing with friends..
Do plyos to get your footwork up to par.

And lastly, juggle the damn soccer ball lol. It helps more then you think. you need the ball control it gives you.

Also, its a commitment, you need to practice EVERY single day..

Giggity5313 wrote:Bro the first thing you have to do is juggle.. juggle juggle juggle. Do weights at the gym, lots of running, get super fit.
Practice passing with friends..
Do plyos to get your footwork up to par.

And lastly, juggle the damn soccer ball lol. It helps more then you think. you need the ball control it gives you.

Also, its a commitment, you need to practice EVERY single day..

I'm already juggling every day, so that's good!! Is there any special variant or something I should go for? Because I can already do a lot of the "normal" ones.

I'm also lifting weights, and I will start running soon. How many days a week do you recommend plyos / do you have a program, link for one? (Thanks)

Also, is doing tricks like ATW and so on beneficial or a waste of time?
Thx for answering!

To make plyos successful you have to overload the muscle, recruiting more fast twitch fibers

try doing;

box jumps
depth jumps

Do ladders and you can do what works best for you. (small jumps between each space, in and out to the right, in and out to the left..) remember to go as fast as you can but not to the point of bad form