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| Diploma in Sports Science & Sports Management qualified Coaches Masazhari & Masykur |
Written By: Shahrom Asmani (ex-football reporter for a few magazines and newspapers)
39-year old Football Crazy Person has
been in love with football ever since he attended Singapore National Team’s
matches at Kallang Stadium in the roaring 80’s. Has been a goalkeeper for a
good part of the decade for a variety of teams but joined WaF4H last year
because of the team’s mission and values.
WaF4H does not only allow
participants to play football, holistically the team concentrates on various
other aspects as well such as food, nutrition and personal well-being.
Hopefully WaF4H can lengthen this writer’s career, be it in the football field
or in the part-time writing arena as well.
Benefits of Walking Football (part 1)
Walking Football4Health is a health
through fitness empowerment that gets people to start moving and play football
in a fun and friendly atmosphere, regardless of age or health condition.
The movement was started by Celebrity
Exercise Physiologist and Nutritionist Dr Dee Dee Mahmood.
Walking football was introduced by
her to a small group of female players some time back as a research project for
Dee Dee to collect findings and present the health data to the Science
community. More importantly, it served as a research initiative under her work
as an Associate Adjunct Senior Lecturer and Regional Head for Raan ECU, Edith Cowan University, Australia.
Her success in the program enabled
her to start a mens’ team in 2017 and the rest, as they say, is history.
Not only has the movement gotten
bigger in Singapore, the team has played many friendly exhibitions and
international matches that had gotten widespread media coverage.
Walking football can owe its success
to the innovators at United Kingdom, who started the program for males over 50
to be involved in a community kickabout rather than living a sedentary
lifestyle. The success it has garnered not only in UK, but in other parts of
the world as well, has shown that male football players are not just about hanging
their boots yet just because they are above the age of 40.
There are so many positives one can
take away from such a program.
Take for instance Walking
Football4Health (WaF4H) Head coach Masazhari Yayit.
2006 was the year that Masazhari,
better known as Kecik, got a big scare because he could not move his body
easily after waking up one morning.
“The doctor told me that I had
slipped disc and an operation could be 50-50,” Kecik recounted.
“However, he told me that since I was
still quite young, I can start to exercise regularly and try to cut down on my
smoking,” Kecik added. And he did.
Due to his busy work schedule, Kecik
did not manage to find the time to exercise regularly. But thanks to Dr Dee Dee’s
guidance, advise and Kecik’s motivation to change his own lifestyle, the head
coach is much more sprightly nowadays as compared to a decade ago.
Kecik (right) and Malaysian Legend
Soh Chin Aun Sparring in an International Walking Football Match
Benefits of Walking Football (Part 2)
It is never easy to bounce back from
a major injury.
Especially for a football-crazy
person like 41-year old Masykur Bin Abdul Malek, who has been playing football
all his life.
This WaF4H’s Head Coach has played for many
teams, even for teams that is just one rung lower than the professional teams
that ply their trade in the old S.League.
However, as fate would have it,
Masykur suffered a debilitating injury that made him feel depressed for quite
some time.
Masykur suffered from cervical
myelopathy condition nearly a decade ago. The condition happens when the
cervical spinal cord is compressed. He was not able to move, let alone walk
properly.
However, after being treated by
specialist doctors and undergoing a specialized rehabilitation program designed
by fitness research specialist Dr Dee Dee Mahmood, Masykur was able to participate
in the Walking Football program on 2017.
Imagine his delight to be able to
score his very first goal ever after not being able to play the sport that he
loved for many years. And imagine his delight when it was scored on foreign
soil.
WaF4H took part in a Walking Football
Match against the Malaysian Legends team in May 2018.
Coach Masykur scored WaF4H’s only goal in
the 2-1 loss, something that he really cherished till this very day.
He fondly remembered, “I was very
happy to have scored the goal against the Malaysian team.”
“That was the very first goal that I
scored after having not played for a few years due to injury,” Masykur said.
Masykur Training Hard to Play
Competitively
It definitely won’t be his last goal
as well. Looking at the progress made in terms of his health improvements,
Masykur is making huge strides in his health, one simple walk at a time. In 2019, he started being able to run in short bouts and is able to jump lightly without losing his balance. And exciting news! He played in a soccer match recently - well, more on that in our next feature coming out soon. Wait for it!
Walking football has changed lives for many. What is stopping you?
If you can walk, you can play walking football! Come join us. We train every Sundays!
About Dr Dee and Walking Football4Health:
Walking Football4Health 2019 in Review
https://iamdeedeemahmood.blogspot.com/2017/10/i-am-dee-dee-mahmood.html