Here’s Why You Should Play a Sport in Your 20s

Gone are the days when you would hit the field for practice after school or hop on a bus to a school nearby for an away game. Your sport hoodies and jerseys are probably collecting dust in your closet, but that doesn’t mean you’re no longer an athlete. Many cities have leagues for every sport you can think of, whether you’re a former point guard or second baseman. So why not join?!

You can relive your glory days.

We all have those memories of scoring the winning point, beating a rival school, or maybe even winning some sort of championship. Those were the days, weren’t they? Now that you’re in your 20s, those don’t have to be just pictures in a yearbook. Be that striker you used to be! Bring back that awesome serve. You still got it.

There’s (usually) no bossy coach.

No one will make you run sprints after a loss, unless you want to punish yourself. There will be no thrown clipboards, no yellow cards, no unsolicited advice to improve your skills. You can just do you.

You can meet new friends.

None of your friends want to join your kickball team? No problem. A lot of leagues let you join as a free agent. You can play with all new people, which can be more fun than playing with people you already know.

It’s a cool new way to hang out with existing friends.

Happy hour after work can get a little repetitive. Why not get in a little physical activity?

It’s an excuse to skip the gym.

You’re going to be running around for a few hours, so leg day can wait.

You can grow your tshirt collection.

Most leagues hook you up with a team t-shirt. After the season is over, voila! You have a new pajama or gym shirt.

There’s usually beer after.

A lot of leagues have sponsor bars with drink or food specials. Need I say more?

There’s no better time to try a new sport.

Only ever played (insert sport here) in gym class? You can try it again now as an adult!

Sports leagues are still competitive, but not in a way that ends in you crying on the way home after a loss.

Lose a game? No big deal. The opposing team is (usually) pretty gracious.

You might surprise yourself.

I played volleyball in high school. I was decent. But now I have an awesome serve (if I do say so myself) and I’m not even sure how. You might actually get better at a sport you thought you were good at before.