Active for Life 50-plus league aims to keep soccer games social

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Woodstock FC will be expanding its programming for older players who want to step away from the competition and have fun playing soccer as a social activity.

The Woodstock Soccer Club is launching its Active for Life 50-plus co-ed recreational soccer league. There will be a maximum of 60 players who are 50 years old and older playing in a 5 versus 5 format every Friday at 7 p.m. from Feb. 28 to April 25. The league will have no carding, scoring, or standings.

"Like the title says, Active for Life,” said Timothy Jansen, adult league convenor. “We’re trying to just promote being active and being able to stay in shape. It's a good weekly endeavour to go out and socialize with other people their age and get together."

The program came out of players in the 35-plus league aging out of it.

"Original players pretty well moved up in age,” Jansen said. “They were getting to that age where they were like we can't play with 18 and 19-year-old kids. It's too competitive. We just can't compete with them."

The 35-plus league played on a smaller field, but players aged out of that group too.

"Now we're pretty well finding that we have athletes that are around the 50 are like I can't play with 35-year-olds, so now we're looking at the next phase for them,” Jansen explained.

As Active for Life was announced just before Christmas, registration has been low so far. However, Jansen said it has been talked a lot about in the region and registration is expected to pick up. Joining Active for Life will cost $120 and include a jersey, socks, insurance and referee fees.

There will also be a division of Active for Life for younger soccer players who are 18 years old and over. Those games will be on the same Friday nights, at 8 p.m.

To register for the Active for Life 50-plus league, visit go.teamsnap.com/forms/442562. Any questions can be addressed to Jansen (woodstock_soccer_club@yahoo.com) or to club administrator Wendy Gravel (Wendy.Gravel@woodstocksoccer.com).