Healthy Hoboken: Get Your Fitness Kicks in HASL

I found a work out opportunity in the last place I suspected it: waiting in line to enter a bar. I had just moved to Hoboken, was waiting in line at Maxwell's, and standing right in front of me was my former soccer coach. I hadn't seen him since high school, seven years earlier.

He immediately tried to get me to join one of his Hoboken teams. Fearing I'd shank the ball into the Hudson or fall flat on my face, I initially declined.

After a few months of hearing his complaints about the team not having enough girls—many of the leagues are co-ed and require at least one girl to be on the field at a time—I agreed to play. I figured even if I was terrible, I'd still be getting a workout. 

The team I joined is part of the Hoboken Adult Soccer League. HASL has been around for years, playing traditional 11 vs. 11 games on the Sinatra Park field. This spring, with the field closed indefinitely, the league introduced a 5-on-5 format, played on the roller hockey rink at the corner of Second and Adams Streets. There are three divisions, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights.

There is also an over-35 league that plays on Sundays. Games last 40 minutes and are split into two 20-minute halves.

Playing on such a small field doesn't make the game any easier. I actually think it adds to the challenge, because you really never get to rest.

As for fitness, soccer has its obvious cardio benefits. A recent study found that soccer is actually more beneficial than running. The study is published in "Football for Health," a special edition issue of Scandanavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports released on April 6.

Professors Peter Krustrup and Jens Bangsbo of the University of Copenhagen, the lead researchers on the three-year study, found that men worry less when playing soccer than when running, and women are more likely to stick with soccer than running.

This is because, according associate professor Laila Ottesen, who also worked on the study, "the runners focused on their health and on getting in shape, whereas the soccer players were more committed to the activity itself, including the fun and not letting down teammates."

Joining HASL is a relatively small investment. You don't need to buy cleats or equipment. I just wear my running shoes. There is a registration fee per team, and usually comes out to $60 per person.

If you're nervous that you won't be good enough to play—don't be. I was so nervous that I offered to just watch from the sidelines, but my teammates insisted I get on the field. As soon as I did, I remembered how much I love the game.

Of course, I'm no Mia Hamm. About five minutes after subbing in on Sunday, I wiped out, hard, while going after a ball. I have a nice big bruise to show for it. A few minutes later I missed a shot wide-left on an open net.

I'm still working out the kinks in my game, but I am so happy to be playing again. I love my kickball, yoga, and running, but I needed a competitive sport to balance them out. I should've known I would find it in the game I learned to play as a four-year-old.