A return to Outdoor Grassroots football….. and life!
As we sit here, still in Lockdown, there is light at the end of the tunnel and that light shines even more brightly when it involves outdoor grassroots football returning!
The excitement, longing and better mental health enhancing news that we can return to seeing everyone and play football again, cannot be underestimated.
It will have been 3 ½ long months since we last saw each other in the flesh, since we chatted and caught up on life during our warm-ups, smiled at each other instead of giving a long awaited hug, let alone kicked a football with each other and that, for some, has felt more like 6 months.
You see, getting together to learn to play football, meeting new friends, coming back into the game and enjoying the camaraderie of a load of “Old Girls” together, is something it’s often difficult to put into words. We run Women’s Recreational Football sessions, 5 each week in fact, with the help of Crawley Town Community Foundation and we have a session to suit every woman who wants to play, whether it be running about having played before, wanting to play a slower paced version of the game by participating in Walking Football sessions or opening your mind to trying out a new activity, in the form of kicking a football. Only, it’s not just about the football, it’s much more than that and in some cases, it’s life changing. Our COGS were asked what it was about joining the Crawley Old Girls that enticed them in and held them so tightly that they wanted to come back again and again. The football was only a small part of their rationale. Many answers included the words “fun, laughter, friendship, “me” time, confidence and self-belief” and then there were statements which really hit a nerve, like “changed my life” and “transformed my life” as well as having “pride and not embarrassment” at being an old woman playing football. The statements below are all from our inspirational women and they will give you an understanding of what now being able to play football has given to “older” women over the last 6 years. These wonderful women are aged between 25 and 60+.
If you’re struggling or feeling unmotivated to get out and get active, while you’ve been coping with Lockdown, or if you’re desperate to get out on the pitch, we will be starting our sessions again during week commencing the 29th March (as long as the Roadmap is still in the same place) and we will be waiting to welcome any women who want to come and join us for the first time. We offer a safe, non-judgemental environment where you will be welcomed by the women who already attend our sessions. Our focus is on fun and enjoyment and it doesn’t matter to us whether you mis-kick a ball or you don’t have any experience, everyone is welcome. We have a Beginners session where no ability is needed, we have a Beginners/Intermediate session for those beginners who now feel more confident, we have an Intermediate session for those with some experience and an Advanced session for those who want to play with the more experienced players. We also offer Walking Football for women 40+ so you have a pathway from being a beginner to an advanced player, through our sessions. We have also had players who played in the Advanced session, who have gone on to play League football, so the choice is yours.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to get out and get active for the first time but when you join a group like the Crawley Old Girls, not only do you get support from like-minded women, you have a great laugh along the way too. Women are brilliant at empowering each other and COGS is no different.
Get in touch if you’d like more information, at cogscrawley@gmail.com, and check out our website for all the information on our sessions, as well as lots of other stuff!
Not long now…..