Jumpers for goalposts.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I'm sad, because you just don't seem to see it so much, except in summer - at least I don't. My deliveries take me to/past a few schools at lunch and I never see kids out playing football. When I was young, even in the middle of winter, we would be out on the green in front of my house any chance we got to play football, using coats, bikes, canes or if we were exceptionally lucky, traffic cones as posts.

At school on our lunch break we would play football every day, even in moderate rain and on at least one occasion, heavy snow. (That was fun - though sitting through a French class soaked through after wasn't.) And the thing is, none of us, me and my various mates who we used to play with, were actually all that talented with a football, but we loved to play it and we had a great time.

Now it seems people only play football when they can hire at pitch or for their local club and it needs to be organised with proper teams.

So is there anyone who still just goes out and plays football with however many of mates they can get together on the local piece of open space whenever they can?

I sound so old.

[Raj]

Used to love playing in the streets til dark(im 40 now)

Your right it dont happen as often nowadays if at all..

Think its "the society" we live in! that parents are too sacred to let kids roam around without supervision.

[Corky]

I expected videos of the Football Pundit by Paul Whitehouse, rather than this sad tale of someone searching for the glory days of yesteryear.

Poor effort Travis

[StanSP]

I know the feeling! One of the few reasons I loved going to school was playing football before school started, any break during the school day and sometimes after school. As you say, we'd use school jumpers of our bikes for posts. Use any ball that someone brought in. We'd pick teams at the start of the year and try to stick to those teams for a whole term, keeping score as a massive aggregate for the end of term. On the rare occasion, a teacher would be referee but more often than not we were left to our own devices!

Rarely got a chance to play in the really bad weather conditions. Rain was fine, but if it snowed then we weren't allowed to go out.

And on some days, we would even get some makeshift cheerleaders and fan-bases going (this occurred more in lower/middle school, as opposed to upper school or 6th form!),

[davieG]

Perhaps they're not allowed to play footy in school playgrounds/fields these days.

As under 11s we used to play with a tennis ball in a large high walled in tarmacked playground and the yard was full of other kids and we used to play around them no one complained if they got hit with the ball it was seen as normal playground side effects, I can't imagine them allowing it these days.

PS does anyone wear jumpers these days?

[Corky]

We weren't allowed to play football on the playground at middle school, so we played handball instead, with some bizarre rules which changed depending on how teams were doing.

[StanSP]

Perhaps they're not allowed to play footy in school playgrounds/fields these days.

As under 11s we used to play with a tennis ball in a large high walled in tarmacked playground and the yard was full of other kids and we used to play around them no one complained if they got hit with the ball it was seen as normal playground side effects, I can't imagine them allowing it these days.

PS does anyone wear jumpers these days?

A couple of years ago I heard that my old middle school came up with some new rules that school-kids were only allowed to hang around in the playgrounds in small groups and no contact was allowed between girls and boys.

Bizarre and ridiculous rules, sometimes.

[davieG]

Actually through out my 5 year apprenticeship we as in all the apprentices used to either play in the street or trot down to Spinney Hill Park of a lunch time.

[Trav Le Bleu]

I expected videos of the Football Pundit by Paul Whitehouse, rather than this sad tale of someone searching for the glory days of yesteryear.

Poor effort Travis

*sigh*

[davieG]

A couple of years ago I heard that my old middle school came up with some new rules that school-kids were only allowed to hang around in the playgrounds in small groups and no contact was allowed between girls and boys.

Bizarre and ridiculous rules, sometimes.

We had toilets at one end of our playground and half the school spent time running in and through the girls/boys bogs trying to find an unlocked door.

[Raj]

Anyone remember "one touch football"

Headers and Volleys and long shots???

Oh the good olde days!!

[Trav Le Bleu]

Anyone remember "one touch football"

Headers and Volleys and long shots???

Oh the good olde days!!

Cuppies anyone?

[Webbo]

Cuppies anyone?

Yup, what about spot or it's shorter version Y.O.

[Corky]

*sigh*

Trav delivers

[Raj]

Cuppies anyone?

2 v 2 with one in goal?? We used to call it copies...Dunno why??

Yup, what about spot or it's shorter version Y.O.

I still play SPOT with my cousin against his garage door!!!

[Saxondale]

I take it you all remember the 'rush keepers' rule too? Also known as rush and scramble.

[Raj]

I take it you all remember the 'rush keepers' rule too? Also known as rush and scramble.

We called it Drop back goalies!!!

Us Mundella kids had our own names.

We wos ard!!

[Trav Le Bleu]

2 v 2 with one in goal?? We used to call it copies...Dunno why??

I still play SPOT with my cousin against his garage door!!!

Cuppies (for us) was similar, one goal but everyone for themselves in a last-man-standing event where if you scored you were through until there was one left who was eliminated, then in the next round it would be two goals to get through, then three and so on until you had a final pair left playing for the ultimate prize! Whatever that was.

[Raj]

Cuppies (for us) was similar, one goal but everyone for themselves in a last-man-standing event where if you scored you were through until there was one left who was eliminated, then in the next round it would be two goals to get through, then three and so on until you had a final pair left playing for the ultimate prize! Whatever that was.

Thats another one!

Copies(for us) was just a team of 2 players v 1 Goalie!

Think so anyway!!! Tis was a long time ago!!!

[Haydos]

All the time til I left school, even in 6th form all it would be at break and lunch would be football.

And up the park after school. I do miss it. Kids are still mad about footy nowadays though, don't see why it would be much different.

[Trav Le Bleu]

We called it Drop back goalies!!!

Us Mundella kids had our own names.

We wos ard!!

I was gonna say that, drop backs, but I knew plenty of kids who called it rushies and we all knew what the others meant.

[Trav Le Bleu]

Oh, and one-touch wallie. One touch to hit the ball against the wall (usually as hard as possible to make it difficult for the next person.) You were eliminated if you took more than one touch or worse still... missed the wall.

[Saxondale]

You never see 'penny floaters' anymore these days. Probably because a proper ball is only £3 from Sports Direct.

[Darkon84]

Cuppies,

Double Cuppies,

Rush keepers,

SPOT,

Heads & V's,

Summer holiday crunch matches agains 'them lot from the next street/green',

Oh those were the days.

Remember playing out on the park in pitch black, trying to play footy with a couple of torches....it failed, but

[Saxondale]

Cuppies (for us) was similar, one goal but everyone for themselves in a last-man-standing event where if you scored you were through until there was one left who was eliminated, then in the next round it would be two goals to get through, then three and so on until you had a final pair left playing for the ultimate prize! Whatever that was.

I'm sure we played also a variation on cuppies called World Cup. Can't remember the rules but sounds similar.