We all remember the simple joy of heading out with your pals and not coming back until the street lamps came on. Those endless summer evenings, the parks, the shrieks after a good bit of skill or a rub of bad luck — it made us fit, tougher and proper football mad.
The loss of the kickabout
To be fair, life now is different. Kids have more options in the house than we ever dreamed of, and social media and tablets are a constant pull. You can see why parents like the safety and convenience, but you can also see what’s been lost. The regular, informal games down the park gave youngsters a kind of education you couldn’t buy: reading the game without being told, learning to take a hit and get back up, proper off-the-ball work that only comes from being in a crowd of mates chasing one ball.
What the parks actually gave us
It wasn’t just fitness — though we were all absolutely fit as fiddles back then. The kickabout taught shape, timing, and decision-making in a noisy, chaotic way. You learned quick with a ball at your feet and quicker still when the neighbour’s fence was three inches away. There was banter, there was competition, and there was an honesty about effort that translated into other sports and life. Dads turning up to call you home was part of the ritual, and that sense of community mattered.
Can we bring a bit of it back?
It’s not about moaning for moaning’s sake. Technology has its pros: coaching apps, drills online, more information than ever. But surely we can balance that with getting kids out more. Local clubs, schools and communities can make small changes — encouraging informal games, keeping parks safe and welcoming, even organising simple evening kickabouts. You don’t need grand plans. Just a ball, a bit of space and the permission to be outside would go a long way. Who knows — maybe a few more of our youngsters would end up loving the game in the way we did.
Truth is, I miss those nights. The game felt purer in the street and the park. If we care about fitness and the next generation of footballers, it’s time to get them away from screens and back into the open air.
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