Mike Ross - Founder of Lethbridge Walking Soccer
Mike Ross is the founder of the Walking Soccer program running out of Lethbridge, AB. As someone with lifelong experience with being involved with soccer, he sat down to share his thoughts on walking soccer.
On his introduction to walking soccer…
I went to England, as you can guess that’s my heritage, in 2016 for a funeral. One of my brothers said “Oh, do you want to come and play walking football?” Of course, over there it's walking football. And I went, “What is it?” - “Well, it's football, but you walk.” I went well, OK, it sounds kind of lame, but yeah, let's go. I went and played with that group, I was there for two weeks, I think I've played 3 or 4 times. Then last year, 2022, I was back in England again and the same brother, who had since moved, we went and played another three or four times then. The first time around I had said, you know, I should do this. I should start this when I get home. But at that point I was working. I've since retired, and so this time I came back and got a hold of some people who are with the Lethbridge Soccer Association that I know and said, “hey, have you guys ever heard of walking soccer?” and “no, what's all [this] about?” and so we did some advertising and that was my introduction to the sport and how I came to be playing it now.
On playing “walking” soccer after “regular” soccer…
I had a hip replacement in November of 2021. I mean for about eight or nine months of 2021 [before the operation], I was walking with a cane, so I thought my whole soccer days were all over. Four months after having that hip replacement, I was playing walking soccer. That was a selling point for me and that's what really motivated me. I enjoyed it and [soccer is] a sport I've followed, watched and played most of my life. When I first came to Canada I played soccer and so yeah, [this sport], it's just part of my blood.
I’ve really enjoyed the experience and of course, as I'm finding now, guys who are joining us, they go well “I'm just going to come and try it out” and they keep coming back. It's 10 minutes into a game, it's like holy moly, you know, cause of course - I say to them, yeah, it's not strolling football, it's walking, and so you put some effort into it and it does get your heart rate up.
On the diversity of the players…
We've got two or three guys who [have] loved soccer all their life. 1-2 of them grew up in England, they played on the playground during recess back in the 50s, but never played organized. One guy never played it, but coached and here he is, he's 80 years old and now he's playing. He's brought another friend along as well. I mean ethnicity, most of us there's a mixture of, you know, Europeans. We've got a couple of Asians, we have a guy who's of African descent. So we have a fairly diverse group in that way. We've had a couple of ladies come out, but a mixture of varying experiences. We had one guy who played in the MLS. It's funny, the guys who’ve played at the highest level are the ones that are the least aggressive. Right, “I played and I can't, you know - and I realized that, and let's have fun with it”, right. It's really funny, it's the more neophytes that are more physical about playing it!
On the difference between the sport in Canada and England…
It has been around much longer [there]. I mean, it became an official sport in 2016 and there's now 70,000 players. They have clubs with 50 and 60 people in [them] and they do have men's mixed and women's [teams]. So I think we're where they were maybe 10 or 12 years ago because although it became an official sport in 2016, they were obviously playing it before that.
On the future of walking soccer in Canada…
I don't really think there's a limitation on it. The bigger issue in Canada is the winter. If you live in the Lower mainland in Vancouver where the climate is much more similar to Northern Europe, you can play year round, you may miss one or two games a year because of the snow but you can play if it's minus three or four no problem. Here in the prairies and even in Ontario, it's not unusual to get to minus 20 or minus 30, and you can't play outside. So I think the biggest thing is the facilities. Really I think it's only limited by the motivation to promote the sport and getting the word out and then by facility.
I think there is the potential there [for a competitive side of the sport as well]. I think there are a number of guys who, if you said, “oh, we're going to have that and we need to do training and that”, there are guys who would be willing to join. I know in England they have competitive teams; they have local and national and international tournaments and there is an English national walking football team. So I think there are people who played at a high level of regular soccer or have taken this on and have been playing it and understand the vagaries of that level that they would want to play there.
On the connections you can make through the sport…
I was in the British Army; I was a firefighter. I've played soccer at a reasonable level and played rugby and all of those [sports]. The people that you did those things with, I mean, I have friends I joined the army with who we are still friends with, right? And you may not see each other; I'm here in Canada, they're in England. [But] I connected with somebody last summer I haven't seen in 40 years and we got out of the car and said “Hey, how are you” and it was like we saw each other a week ago. Yesterday at the Super Bowl, they had former players, they come out and they're friends, and even if they played on different teams, that's the connection. It’s the sport itself right?
On why walking soccer is important to him…
First of all, it's fun. We’re a bunch of old fat guys waddling around the field - sometimes we laugh because you forget you're not 18 anymore, but you get that sense and then you go to do something and you go “ohh!” and someone's like, “oh shouldn’t have done that”. I think I would go back to what I was just saying - it's the opportunity to exercise and socialize with people who are quickly becoming friends. I think there's so much talk these days about mental health and a big part of that, especially as seniors, as you age, is your ability to do physical things. A good friend of mine who's one of the 80 year olds- he says he feels so much more invigorated the next day; he's getting things done now. He lives by himself, he gets things done now the next day that he's put off and put off and put off. So I think that whole mental health aspect is becoming more and more - especially in seniors, you know, [impactful]. Exercise is the prime motivator along with that social aspect of it. I'm an introverted extrovert, I enjoy people's company and I don't mind being in a group setting but I'm happy by myself. That one hour or now 2 hours a week gives me that opportunity to go and socialize. It’s different than [doing a] sit around having coffee, you're moving.