Questions From An Adult Beginner (23M)
I hope this is the right place…
To start, I’m a prospective beginner (23M) who was looking to finally learn the game properly as an adult.
I’ll soon be applying to Canadian universities (like UBC or McGill) for the Fall 2027 cycle, in MA/PhD programs.
One of my desired pursuits was the recreational sports available to me in those universities. But I had a question about the intramurals there, specifically for soccer (one of the sports I’m aiming for alongside rock climbing, cycling, and possibly quadball).
With complete honesty:
I’ve never truly had a proper foundation for sports in my life. In my childhood, I was often sheltered by my parents and wasn’t really encouraged to play sports of any kind. I didn’t have parents who placed a ball at my feet or played sports with me in the park. In school, I couldn’t play soccer because of this due to my complete lack of understanding or skill for the game and, well, my classmates weren’t really the best peers ever. They were people who asserted dominance through sports and gave me crap for not being a proper player in the first place.
Sadly, I was benched or sidelined in every single match throughout school, and my PE coaches also weren’t the best, which eventually conditioned me to abandon sports entirely (essentially without ever having played it at all) just to avoid humiliation. I subconsciously learned to associate sports with embarrassment and was fully convinced that it was never meant for me. Spent all of elementary and middle school, and eventually high school, on the sidelines.
Hence, I have zero experience in mainstream sports like soccer besides just knowing the rules.
However, I still wanted to learn how to play it and be able to enjoy the game purely for fun and to build a great social life. Obviously, I don’t want to join any Varsity team or Tier 1 league, nor do I want to officially go pro (which I’m well-aware is impossible for late starters, but even if it wasn’t, I still wouldn’t want to go pro as I have different career ambitions entirely), but I do want to reclaim my body and childhood by finally allowing myself to play soccer and just enjoy it for the sake of it, instead of wanting to go pro or something like that. I wanted to play it right without having to worry about scrutiny, penalties, or competition; something I couldn’t do before. I figured that via the intramurals and drop-ins, I could finally learn soccer and play it with friends, hence why recreational soccer is one of my pursuits as I apply for my graduate programs soon. I really wanted to know how it feels to freely play the game and have camaraderie as a team. Consider this a mission to heal my inner child, LOL.
Here’s my current plan for now, though:
- Before Canada, I was going to buy a size 5 ball and play it with my best friend at the park (just the two of us). He’s played a good amount of it throughout school, so I asked him to properly teach me basic techniques and drills. We’ll probably play it once or twice a week for around 3-4 months. The guy once helped me learn gym curling, so I have full faith in him.
- Once I feel that I have a starter foundation ready, I can casually hit up friends for no-stakes, casual matches in nearby parks. Essentially, a “field test” where I can try out my newly learned techniques.
- Keep these up for around six months to a year, and then head out to Canada for grad school and join intramurals in the lowest tier.
So, my questions are:
- Is this plan viable?
- I know children absorb sports like soccer like sponges, and it’s easier for them to learn because they just do it without thinking. But do adults have any advantages in learning over children as well? Can we learn in the first place?
- Are the lowest intramural tiers (such as the ‘Just for Fun’ tier at UBC’s soccer intramurals, or ‘Play-Fun’ at McGill University) really just for fun? Will I have a problem if I join without any prior experience whatsoever? It won’t happen, hopefully, but asking just in case.
- Can I also just get what I want from these programs alone, or is that a recipe for disaster?
- Any other advice you’d like to give me?
Would really love to hear it from players themselves. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!
TL;DR:
23M, never played soccer growing up (no support at home, bad PE experiences left me avoiding sports entirely). Now heading to Canada for grad school (UBC/McGill, Fall 2027) and want to actually learn the game as an adult beginner — purely for fun/social life, zero interest in pro or varsity play. Plan: learn basics with my friend at the park for 3-4 months, then casual, but sporadic pickup games for 6-12 months, then join the lowest-tier intramurals (“Just for Fun”/“Play-Fun”) once in Canada. Questions: Is this a solid plan? Can adults actually learn sports well, or is childhood the only real window? Are the lowest intramural tiers really beginner-friendly? Should I get more experience first, or can these programs teach me from scratch? Any advice from people who’ve done something similar?