Community Aligned Non-Elite Sport

Hello and welcome to the SoccerFit Blog,

I hope this blog provides an interesting narrative on all things related to SoccerFit. I will definitely try to stay ‘on message’ but please bear with me if I go off on a tangent every so often.

The programme continues to expand into new locations and this is particularly pleasing to myself and others involved in SoccerFit.

Fitness Skill And Teamplay

Our aim from day one has been to give as many people as possible the opportunity to experience the fitness, skill and teamplay aspects of soccer. In emphasizing fitness, skill and teamplay, SoccerFit distinguishes itself from competitive soccer. We leave it to local, regional and national representative soccer bodies to facilitate those seeking a competitive outlet.

However, regular players of the game (socially or competitively) can and do derive enormous benefits from SoccerFit - it's a great way to maintain fitness, stay mentally sharp, and work on some key elements of game performance.

It's also worth noting that many SoccerFit participants do make the transition from SoccerFit to suitable levels of competitive soccer, so clearly, as well as being a great fitness workout, the programme complements very well the popular competitive leagues running throughout Australia.

Introducing CANES - Community Aligned Non-Elite Sport (CANES)

SoccerFit does not have a minimum fitness or skill requirement in order to participate. Everyone and anyone can join in. It is a non-elite sports and fitness format that is accessible to the whole community. We call this concept Community Aligned Non-Elite Sports, or CANES for short.

When people think of ‘elite’ sports, they generally have televised professional sports in mind. The athletes that participate at these levels are a rare breed – think Juninho, Adam Goodes, Jonathon Thurston, Lauren Jackson – we love to watch and admire these high performers. At best, I expect only 0.01% of the entire human population can realistically aspire to ever perform at this level.

But what about those competing at state, regional or even the lower divisions of local club competitions that don’t typically make it on to our television screens? What percentage of the population can hope to participate at these levels? Again it’s a relatively small number, probably less than 1% of the total population.

Where does this leave the other 99% of the population in regard to participation in sports-oriented activities? Of course not everyone in this group is interested in sports, or even in getting fit, but in line with the CANES approach, it is primarily to this large non-elite group that programmes like SoccerFit try to appeal. It seems almost bizarre to say it, but this group is a forgotten majority. Sport by it’s very nature is elitist (that’s why we love it), but its positive benefits, in particular fitness, skill and teamplay, should be available to all.

The CANES approach to increasing participation in sport and encouraging a more active lifestyle, with the benefits that this can have in tackling health issues such as the much-talked about obesity epidemic, is worthy of consideration at government level.

I welcome your comments.

Regards,

Liam O'Duibhir, Director, SoccerFit

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here