Youth Soccer in Europe

I hope that Andreas can answer this, as my kids never played soccer while they were growing up. Daughter played on a handball team though and this really did not cost very much. One plays in a "verein" which is a non-profit group used in Germany for all kinds of things, including sports. Sports are not part of the school, other than taking phys-ed. So, no teams there. But many of your new friends will probably be in a league and tell you how to try out, etc. The cost will be very minimal. If you have soccer shoes, better bring them. Lots of people just play pick-up games of soccer in the parks too. Hopefully, you will be here during the next World cup as this will be the best party!

I think I mentioned checking out Toytown, and this would be a good question to ask on there.

http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php

Hi Jo, so either you think I was still a teenager or you consider me to be a very old father with teenage kids ;-)... OK... The truth is my daughter is 4 months old and so far she's totally fascinated by my black-and-red Eintracht Frankfurt mug. Playing youth football (Jake, for God's sake start calling it by its real name! It's called football all over the world with the only exemption being the US. It's called football because unlike in rugby (which YOU guys refert to as American Football) you mustn't use your hands, you can only play it with your feet) is easy and very affordable. Even small towns and villages have their own football teams which play in all kinds of leagues. As soon as you know WHEN and WHERE you'll be staying it'll be very easy to find out what the local team is called and what the admission rules are. Those teams are coached by a certified football coach (who in theory could be one of the kid's father of course). There are different levels and they'll test your level before they let you play in a match.

they say that every time someone utters the word 'soccer', a British person dies...

The word "soccer" is British slang for their football. The word originates from the UK. But then again I guess most all of our words originate from the UK:)

it actually means 'high sock' in latin.

I heard that it was slang for "Association Football"...

While I agree that it is an English term I am struggling to remember when I last heard it used or saw it in writing to describe the game in the UK. My OH is a fanatical football supporter and I have never heard him or his friends use the word soccer. In fact an expression of pain crosses his face when ever he hears it!

Maybe it was coined originally to differentiate it from Rugby Football but when it became the dominant sport in the UK it felt able to drop the usage.

Perhaps someone can tell me why the Italians use the word calcio for football.

Here's what Wikipedia says about "soccer": "Soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of association football. It is also the common name for the sport in North America, South Africa, Japan and Zimbabwe." It also says: "The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of the word "association", often credited to former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown."

Andreas,

In football (soccer) you are allowed to use your head as well.

Linda,

I found this about Calcio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcio_Fiorentino

Bea

Thank you, I always forget about Wikipedia!

Interesting, I suppose it was the nearest thing to modern football and they just transferred the name?