The New Year is nearly upon us and resolutions are being made.  You can almost guarantee that they will involve at least one of the following….

To get more exercise, lose weight, be more confident, increase your wellbeing, get healthy, learn something new, make new friendships.  The list is endless…..

Have you ever thought, I’d really like to start getting active but don’t fancy the gym or dance classes?  Have you wondered if you are good enough to start something new?  Ever thought how will you get the confidence to turn up on your own?  Do you think you’re too old to start exercising or get active?  Do you think that you aren’t the right shape or size to join in a sport or learn how to play football?  Does having no experience of playing football make you think that you couldn’t possibly turn up, learn to play and enjoy playing in matches?

If you are over 30 and answered “yes” to any of the above, then you are exactly the women we are looking for!  You don’t have to be a “spring chicken” to be able to get involved in learning to play football.  At COGS (Crawley Old Girls) we have such a wide spectrum of women who have taken the plunge and turned up at our Beginners’ session with nerves a plenty, but they did it and after the first 5 minutes, after they had been welcomed into the session, their lives would change for the better.

You see, you don’t have to have any experience of playing football to be able to learn and you don’t have to be Usain Bolt to be able to run with a ball.  Everything is done at your own pace and ability.  You will learn new skills and have fun while doing it.  You don’t even have to have a football kit to play, you just turn up in what you feel comfortable in, with some trainers/astro boots on and some shin pads (which you can borrow to start with).   You won’t be expected to run fast and complete anything you can’t manage but what you will learn is how to have fun, enjoying learning to play football and increasing your fitness and friends at the same time.  Being active is so important for physical and mental health and you are doing more for your body and mind than you actually realise, as it’s just an hour of fun which you will want to go on for longer!

Learning to play football for “older” women, really has given so many women the chance to improve their health and wellbeing, as well as fitness when, possibly, they wouldn’t be doing any exercise at all.   If you are interested in giving it a try, come and sample one of our Beginners’ Sessions, which are run by the Crawley Town Community Foundation (the first session is FREE) and see what you think.  Bring your friends too!  Wednesday evenings 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm at the 3G opposite the Redz Bar, at Crawley Town FC, are the Beginners’ Sessions and everyone is welcome.

Also welcome, are players who have had previous playing experience and have decided they want to come back and play again, recreationally.   Not everyone can commit to playing in a League, training and playing games week in, week out.  That’s where our Advanced/Experienced Sessions, again run by the Crawley Town Community Foundation, come into their own.  The sessions are run after the Beginners’ Session on Wednesday evenings from 8.30 pm – 9.30 pm and involve a warm up with playing a game for fun and enjoyment.  If you just want to come and play with the more experienced players, then come along to a session for some fun football.  The first session is FREE.

There is also an Intermediate Session, which is held on Thursday evenings from 7.00 pm – 8.00 pm, which welcomes players with some experience or those who have been playing in the Beginners and can now move up a gear!  Both the Beginners’ and Intermediate Sessions have drills and coaching which benefits the relevant level of ability.

The Coach is FA qualified and provides fun sessions for everyone.  If you want to find out more and see if you can fulfil more than one resolution in one go, please contact either cogscrawley@gmail.com or DarrenFord@crawleytownfc.com for more information.  You can also see our website www.crawley-cogs.co.uk to see all the other exciting things we’ve been up to and some Testimonials from the women who have joined us.

You know you want to……..