Kids' football: so your little one wants to play football in winter?
Playing football in winter is not always easy, especially for young children. It can be hard to motivate a young player to go out and train when the temperature is hovering around zero. Here's some advice on keeping them interested when it's chilly outside
Tip no.1: equipment suitable for the cold weather!
It's difficult to keep up your motivation to go to training, particularly for people living in particularly cold regions. To help your child stay motivated, you need to send them off to training with equipment that's suitable for playing in the cold.
It's essential that young footballers have a full outfit for playing in winter. A base layer (base layer top, long or short undershorts) will help your child (or brother, sister, nephew, niece, etc.) maintain their body temperature as they play while benefiting from optimal perspiration wicking.
At Kipsta, we've carefully designed our clothing, particularly for the base layers worn on areas of the body which sweat a lot, to be adapted to children because the way they sweat is not the same as adults.
Tip no.2: play with a lighter ball
This advice applies at any time of year, but is particularly important in winter. There are balls which are 15% lighter than standard balls. These balls allow the youngest players to experience the sensation of the game, to be able to lift the ball and aim for the sky like the adults, or even to do headers without hurting themselves.
Of course with the cold, we tend to hurt our feet more easily when kicking the ball. But this is reduced if you use a lighter ball!
Tip no.3: futsal: a great alternative…
There is another solution for those more sensitive to the cold: futsal. This sport is played indoors, so there's no problem when it comes to temperature. The other benefit of playing futsal is that it helps develop technical skills The pitch is smaller, so players learn to develop their game in a small space, which can be very useful for outdoor football. Besides, many of football's biggest names have come into the sport by way of futsal. People like Ronaldinho, for example began their careers with it. And he's done well!
Tip no.4: get prepared, even if you're just standing on the sidelines!
This last piece of advice is for you. If you're going to watch your child's training or match, you should also remember to do one or two things to prepare.
The most obvious one: prep for the weather. Football pitches are often very exposed to the wind, and so it can feel very cold when you stand still.
Try to find a club with a small shelter, which might help you keep a little warmer. A refreshments area with a view over the pitch would be even more comfortable and sociable, particularly when conditions return to normal, let's hope that happens ASAP!
