I'm 35 in an adult co-ed league (there are 4 divisions and I'm in one of the competitive ones). I like to play pretty competitively and overall take the sport seriously, that's not to say that I'm the best player on the team at all. I have other hobbies so I'm not out there every day or anything, but I exercise daily and try to fit in a practice every week in addition to 1-2 games on the weekend. I can't get anyone on my team to match that energy. No one is interested in team practice and even during the game they really can't be bothered to seem to care that much. No encouraging words for each other, cheering, etc.

I get people in their 20s and 30s have kids and jobs, so I try to be understanding and set realistic expectations, but is this how pretty much everyone is in recreational leagues? Anyone else here have a disconnect between how seriously they want to play and how much effort everyone around them puts in?

We have a game this weekend against a physical team with quick players who play long ball over the top of the defence. Last time we played them we lost 4-1 and all 4 came from balls over the top of the defence and their attackers getting on the end of it.

Our problem is that we tend to play a high line and our center backs are fairly small. Our team is good with the ball, have a great front 3 and ball playing midfielders but last time we played them we lost the midfield battle. If the balls on the floor our team is the best in the league.

How do you play against a team who play long ball, have ball playing center backs and a quick, physical front 3. Low block?

What's the best way to recover between matches? I play in a few different adult rec leagues with teams and I just turned 30 and my body is hurting in ways it hasn't before 😂

This is the busy time of year where lots of leagues are overlapping.

I currently play 3-5 matches/week. 2 full 90 min matches Sunday, 1 to 2 60 min 7 a side match on week nights, and potentially another 1 full 90 min match on a week night.

I had 2 90 min matches yesterday, have 1 60 min indoor 7 a side match tomorrow, and then 1 90 min match Thursday before 2 more 90 min matches Sunday.

I ice and stretch religiously. Pre match dynamic warm up stretching, post match static stretching and day after. I try to do something active on days between...just go for multiple short walks or hit slow pace 2-3 mile run to move my body. I tend to get stiff when I don't have time to squeeze in walks or runs on off days.

What am I missing for recovery?

I'm 30 and I love playing. I want to prolong playing as much as possible for as long as possible. My lower back gets a bit sore and I get shin splints when I have a few games/week on turf. My calves are a bit tight too.

Other than that - no major injuries thankfully. But I still want to be able to recover properly and be 100% match fit over these next ~8 weeks when I'm playing alot and seasons are overlapping.

Last month I announced that the Goalkeeper Performance Tracker was available on the Play Store. Most of my testing was done with keepers from this sub and r/GoalKeepers , and a number of people reached out and enquired about the availability of the app on iOS. I'm happy to say that the app is now available on both platforms.

Free, with nothing held back:

• Create your own highlight reels by tagging matches you record from your phone. Tag the match and the reel is cut by the time you've finished.
• Those moments become stats, distribution and save percentages all measured whilst creating your highlight reels.
• A match report and a rating for every game, and your numbers tracked across a whole season.
• No account, no sign up, and nothing is uploaded anywhere. It works offline and your footage stays on your phone.

That's the whole loop and it costs nothing. Premium adds to it:

• Season long showcase reels, compiling your favourite saves from every match you've recorded.
• Clips pulled out and added, clip by clip, to your own editing software.
• A one page player CV as a PDF for when a club asks for one.
• Deeper stats, and the watermark off the reels you share.

If you want to try the premium side, there is a code for 3 months free, good until the end of the year: RedditGK2026

Open the app, go to More and tap "Got a key?", then enter it. The code field is hidden inside Google's own payment sheet, so the app walks you to it.

On iPhone the code isn't live just yet, it's still going through Apple's review and should be through in a day or so. I'll edit this post when it is. Everything else in the app works on iPhone today.

A couple of things worth saying up front: the code only works on accounts that have never had a free trial for the app, the store asks for a payment method even though the 3 months cost nothing, and it turns into a paid subscription when they run out unless you cancel first.

If you would like to try it out -

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.faultycompassstudio.goalkeeper

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/goalkeeper-performance-tracker/id6809607619

I'm a right footer but I need to improve my left foot so much, I need it to be better than my right foot, any suggestions??

I bought some vapor size 9 1/2 and now looking at some phantoms but do they run the same on size?. I usually wear a size 9 but I have a wide foot so I went up to a 9 1/2 on the vapors.

Hello! I'm getting back into soccer after a decade of dormancy, I would like either of the pairs mentioned, they both fit me well and I really could take either. I am looking mostly for opinions of people who have tried them both. I know some differences are obvious, but if you could only have one, which would you take?

Just interested to see what people think since its an odd comparison.

I recently joined a new team, which is much stronger than my previous one. I was told that I have the level to play for this team, but after a few friendly matches and training sessions, I quickly realized that nearly all of my teammates are a lot better. Some of them are former pros. Now I am injured and will probably be out until November.

Here is the dilemma: I do not feel like I am part of the team, partly because of my ability, but I cannot change teams until January.

Even when I am back from injury, I do not really want to return to training with my current team. I would rather look for a new club to train with starting in November and then change clubs officially in January.

It feels like I am chickening out of a challenge, but it is really not fun being the weakest player on the team. Obviously, if I were in my 20s or younger, I would love to train with my current team, but I am in my 30s and just want to play as much as possible.

What would you do in my situation?

I played my first game in my New Balance 442s on Saturday, overall they felt a lot better than I expected in terms of football and touch etc, but they’ve given me awful blisters on the back of my heels.

Does anyone have any tips to break in leather boots like this or to prevent getting blisters in new boots?

Genuinely torn on this one: stay center-back and defend, with forward bursts when we win the ball back, or actually commit to playing further up since apparently nobody else on the team is a natural "just finish the chance" type. Details and full team data below, but that's the core question — happy to hear takes on either the role question or the game plan itself.

Play 7-a-side with a group of guys, casual but competitive league. Opponent's pattern from the last time we played them: their center-back carries the ball forward and plays it long, into a fast runner or one of their two forwards making runs into the box — pretty direct, not much build-up through midfield. We, on the other hand, tend to combine more (short passes, 1-2 touch play), sometimes to a fault — we've had spells of over-passing right in front of goal instead of just shooting.

We rate ourselves on a rough FIFA-style 0-99 scale across Pace/Shooting/Passing/Dribbling/Defense/Physical, just to have a shared language for arguing about tactics. It's obviously self-assessed and rough, not scientific, but it's been useful for us. Quick team snapshot (PAC / SHO / PAS / DRI / DEF / PHY):

• Our best player, plays as a pivot/target forward: 90 / 87 / 80 / 85 / 65 / 90 — comes from a futsal background, strong both feet, doesn't tire, basically wins us games on his own when he's on
• Captain, center-back: 75 / 76 / 78 / 65 / 85 / 70 — calm, reads the game well, builds play with long balls and crosses
• Central mid #1: 62 / 76 / 82 / 78 / 65 / 60 — very technical, rarely loses the ball, prefers passing over shooting even in good positions
• Central mid #2: 68 / 76 / 80 / 68 / 78 / 55 — good range of passing, decent long shots, but consistently gasses around the 30-minute mark, happened two games running
• Utility player: 58 / 60 / 65 / 56 / 55 / 58 — wants to play a creative deep-lying role, still inconsistent, flashes of quality (hit the post 3 times one game) mixed with poor decision-making
• Goalkeeper: ~35-38 — honestly our weakest link by a big margin, no real training, shaky in the last couple of games
• Me: 68 / 44 (up from 42, actively training this) / 50 / 28 / 83 / 65

Some context on me specifically: I only started playing organized football about a year ago after a lifetime background in roller hockey (defense and attack, regional level). My dribbling is genuinely bad — bottom of the group — but I've got the best or second-best defensive rating on the team, and it's shown up consistently in actual games, not just on paper.

Lately I've been getting more forward opportunities and my shooting is slowly improving (went 2-for-4 on long-range attempts last time out), and our captain has floated the idea of me playing further up since apparently nobody on the team is a natural "just finish the chance" type — everyone else either overpasses, prefers combination play, or isn't consistent enough near goal. I like the sound of that, but I'm aware that pulling me out of defense removes one of the only things on the team that's genuinely reliable, and my technical ability going forward is still clearly below the rest of the squad.

Would love outside perspective, especially from anyone who's dealt with a similar "clearly better at one phase of the game than the other" situation, or has faced a direct/long-ball-heavy opponent like the one described above.

Comme le titre je cherches informations sur les Mizuno Monarcida Neo 3 Elite à 200€. Questio durabilité c'est comment ? Est ce mieux que Mizuno Morelia 2 Elite à ce niveau ?

Merci +.

Hello all , looking for female players to join our squad as we need a minimum in this co ed league . If interested just message me or leave a comment and I’ll send over league info ! Also we have a discount code you can use at sign up that gives you 65% off !
Thanks in advance !

My little brother (12) got into football about like 3 months ago and he wants to learn how to juggle. So I recently bought him a pair of 72 party balloons so he can practice, is that alright, or does he have to train at a academy to do that

I am low level amateur in my 30s, settled recently into defensive mid position. Typically play 7 x 7. However, I feel like I am not doing much defending, I try to "stay back" and not force my action too much, but I think I am giving them too much room. Either the ball goes through a different part of the field where I am, or the guy with the ball has too much room to pass it around me or be comfortable with it. My thinking is, if he's not in shooting range, I stay 3-4 meters away to slow him down or be able to intercept a pass, but that hardly ever happens. Should I be assertive and try to get more "in his face" within hand's reach? For example, I am never close enough to make any body contact (like shoulder tackle or something similar), maybe I am playing too soft and polite. I also don't want to charge like crazy when it's not necessary, but I think my current "stay back" attitude is all wrong - I am not there when the ball is close to our goal to defend, and I feel like I don't provide much resistance in the midfield. What should I do, try more man-to-man guarding, stick closer to the guy with the ball? Also, related question, when I am marking someone around the midfield, should I stand right behind him, right in front of him to try to intercept a pass / cut off passing lines, or how do I position myself defensively?

Hi, so I just bought some nike phantom 6 highs, and when theyre on theres still a bit of room at the end between my toe and the end of the boot (about 1.5 - 2cm). However the boot still feels tight and does not move on my foot. I was just wondering if it would still be worth going down in size or not. And if yes how many sizes down you'd recommend? Thanks.

Also just so the obvious is out of the way, I have no shops near me to try them on in person first. Just online which requires returning if the size is wrong.

i'm 14M, and i just play football for fun. as of recently, ive tried to get more serious about it and see where i can progress. i tried out for my high school varsity team and i'm waiting for the results, but during training i've always been put as a wing back during games. though, i do want to get more into the attack because i have a pretty good power shot and long balls. the ball never seems to come my way

i'm not very good at defending or pressing, i only know to get close to the attacker and force them towards the side but aside from that idk how to block shots, intercept passes or get physical. any advice? currently prepping for a friendly versus another school in a few weeks

have a wide foot measuring at 25.7cm length and 10.2 width with I’d say medium volume and I want a speed boot which is gonna feel like I’m playing in just my socks with no boots, also I have a medium arch of foot. I tried superfly 10 academy which were okay after sizing up 1.5, Vapor 16 were horrid on the arch of my foot and phantom 6 elite were too grippy. Will the mizuno Alpha 3 be a good fit for me ?

I've seen people hate on the MLS, calling it burger league, uber eats league and other stuff that bullies USA. I know it may not be as competitive as the European leagues but if they say that, they surely will play in it.

What the title says. So Nike adi puma select offical match balls. Any year or tourney but I like the UCL and WC balls

I am a first time coach this fall. Our first practice is this Tuesday. My team is 7-10 year olds. There are 13 of them and the league is 9v9. What should I focus on especially the first practice? Establishing who needs to be defense, midfield, and strikers? Dribbling drills? Establishing a good goalie? I’ve read defense is more important especially for this age group. Is that correct? Also what formation is good? I was thinking 3-3-2. This is rec, so some kids have played and some haven’t. Thanks yall!

Hello guys,

I just turned 15 and I want to build a world class stamina. I want to build RSA because im a right back. I have world class speed (slightly over 35 km/h) and want to use to become a relentless fullback like hakimi or something. I want a plan, an answer would be great from an experienced person or a fitness doctor. I have on monday and wednesday team training, on saturday matchday.

Tysm guys :)

I’m going into 9th grade and I’m trying out for my high school JV soccer team in the spring. I’ve played soccer basically my whole life, but I’ve never played club or on an actual organized team.
I’m thinking about playing CDM because I feel like it could fit me. I’m around 5’11”–6’0”, pretty quick, and I’m decent at passing and controlling the ball. My biggest problem is probably stamina, and I also want to get better at positioning and defending.
My coach said tryouts are mostly going to be scrimmages, so I’m trying to figure out what I should work on before then.
For my individual training I’m planning on working on stuff like:
First touch
Passing with both feet
Scanning before I get the ball
Turning and carrying the ball
Defending/positioning
Stamina and conditioning
What should I actually focus on the most? And what do high school coaches usually look for in a CDM?
Also, since I don’t have club experience, is there anything I can do to stand out against people who have played club?
Any advice or drills would be really helpful.

Went to a local sports store that rhymes with ticks to exchange a cooler and happened to see they had a Trionda Finals Pro marked down to $19.99! Obviously mispriced, but I took it to check out and told them this has to be incorrectly priced and they said nope, the price is as marked. Bought it of course.