Can I get back into playing after years away from it?

[Lions98]

Gday I’m 20 and thinking about looking at playing some local footy next year. I played juniors only up till year 8. I feel like I had above average skill and game smarts but I was severely underweight and couldn’t keep up so got into soccer and was quite good. This past year and a half I’ve hit in the gym gone from 67-87kg at around 17% bf 6”1 and coincidentally rediscovering my love for the game I was brought up with. If I spend this year getting my fitness up what’s the chances I’ll be able to have a crack at getting at least in the 2’s somewhere or have I missed the boat. Appreciate any replies cheers

 

[00Stinger]

You will be fine to go down to a club and have a kid.

It would have probably been better to have gotten down in pre season, but there is no reason you couldn't get down to a club now. Train for 3-4 weeks, have a run in the 2's and see where that goes.

Might be a good idea to look at a lower division club to start off with

 

[Macpotata]

Gday I’m 20 and thinking about looking at playing some local footy next year. I played juniors only up till year 8. I feel like I had above average skill and game smarts but I was severely underweight and couldn’t keep up so got into soccer and was quite good. This past year and a half I’ve hit in the gym gone from 67-87kg at around 17% bf 6”1 and coincidentally rediscovering my love for the game I was brought up with. If I spend this year getting my fitness up what’s the chances I’ll be able to have a crack at getting at least in the 2’s somewhere or have I missed the boat. Appreciate any replies cheers

You're 20 years old, Young as *. Have a crack not just this year and next, but the next several years after that as well. At the very least you're doing what you love.

Get into it. Step by step.........

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

You'll be fine. The fact that you've been playing another sport in your time away from footy will help

 

[Allikat]

You will be fine to go down to a club and have a kid.

I'd suggest going down to a club and having a kick instead.

I did this last year. Hadn't played footy for a very very long time. Last played when I was 14 and because I'm a girl there were no pathways to play after that. Got back into it last year, but made sure I was there day 1 of pre-season because I didn't have the fitness behind me. Ended up playing seniors.

The worst you can do is try. If you're fit and dedicated and not completely uncoordinated there'd definitely be a 2's team that could use you.

 

[megatiger]

Here's a question, after not playing AFL for a team since 10 because of living abroad reasons played rugby basketball but suddenly 35 and done jack nothing puffed out running 100 metres, is there any coming back?

 

[Aeglos]

Here's a question, after not playing AFL for a team since 10 because of living abroad reasons played rugby basketball but suddenly 35 and done jack nothing puffed out running 100 metres, is there any coming back?

If some 40+ year old bloke can play a full game in the 2s then 1s at Thornton-Eildon on a Saturday (the poor bloke lost by a cumulative 500 points when he played us last year) then back up for Marysville vets the next day you should be fine

 

[megatiger]

If some 40+ year old bloke can play a full game in the 2s then 1s at Thornton-Eildon on a Saturday (the poor bloke lost by a cumulative 500 points when he played us last year) then back up for Marysville vets the next day you should be fine

if I could run 100 metres without needing an inhaler and then a cigarette I'd agree with u lol

 

[cptkirk]

you'd be surprised how little running you can get away with at local/ammo level and how easy that running can be if structured properly

 

[Delair]

Just give it a crack mate, what's the worst that can happen? Not hard to find a club that's short on players and won't be too fussy about form/fitness/experience. You only live once and we tend to regret the things we don't do.

 

[Themanbun]

Thoughts on a guy getting back into it aged 26, last game played aged 18, a year after an ACL reconstruction (kicking leg)?

Doing my ACL playing cricket has left me with a lot more time to be able to watch footy again, and I'm hooked. I'll be 12 months post-op in February next year. Thinking I might be better off trying to find touch footy somewhere and then cracking back into the social footy league once my graft is 18-24 months old. I'm still pretty fit, done plenty of bodybuilding and powerlifting in my years away from the game, and for probably five of those 8 years I used to go around from the 45 at the local oval and pot goals.

I'll be getting on by then though

cptkirk, your thoughts?

 

[Aeglos]

Thoughts on a guy getting back into it aged 26, last game played aged 18, a year after an ACL reconstruction (kicking leg)?

Doing my ACL playing cricket has left me with a lot more time to be able to watch footy again, and I'm hooked. I'll be 12 months post-op in February next year. Thinking I might be better off trying to find touch footy somewhere and then cracking back into the social footy league once my graft is 18-24 months old. I'm still pretty fit, done plenty of bodybuilding and powerlifting in my years away from the game, and for probably five of those 8 years I used to go around from the 45 at the local oval and pot goals.

I'll be getting on by then though

cptkirk, your thoughts?

I didn’t play a game between 20 and 28 (did powerlifting in the mean time).
I’d potentially give your graft a bit longer (every month post 9-months decreases risk of re-injury (there’s a lot of ACL/knee experts who recommend a return to sport 24 months post-op).
One thing from another weight lifter to another I’ll strongly recommend; make sure you do some running before rocking up. I didn’t and had DOMS in my diaphragm for about a week after the first training session and got shin splints after about a month (and this was mid-season lol)

 

[Themanbun]

I didn’t play a game between 20 and 28 (did powerlifting in the mean time).
I’d potentially give your graft a bit longer (every month post 9-months decreases risk of re-injury (there’s a lot of ACL/knee experts who recommend a return to sport 24 months post-op).
One thing from another weight lifter to another I’ll strongly recommend; make sure you do some running before rocking up. I didn’t and had DOMS in my diaphragm for about a week after the first training session and got shin splints after about a month (and this was mid-season lol)

Thanks for the advice.

And I definitely will do. Found out the hard way when I got back into cricket 3 years back. One of our bowlers went down so I had to throw down 20 overs. Got through it on the day but was sore when breathing for a few days to the point where I freaked out thinking I had asthma

 

[Lions98]

Cheers for responses, spending this year continuing to bulk and get fit then give it a red hot crack next season