Team sports with diabetes

Choosing the right team sport

No matter the season, exercising outdoors beats running on a treadmill in the gym. But can you do team sports with diabetes? Yes! If you want to keep fit and have a social life, then soccer, touch rugby or rounders is the answer. Nicole McCreedy tells us how to get started.

The beauty of ball sports is that they’re so easy to learn. All you need to do is find an open space to play, organize some equipment and two teams, and learn a few basic rules. While your focus is on winning, you’ll be walking, running and laughing your way to better health.

Touch Rugby

The basics of touch rugby are similar to the traditional version of the game – the ball is passed backwards during play. However, in touch rugby you don’t tackle your opponent but rather touch the person running with the ball on any part of their body, clothing or the ball itself using your hand. Because touch rugby is less physical, women can also play without fear of injury.

Once touched, the player in possession of the ball is required to stop, return to the mark where the touch occurred and perform a ‘rollball’ without delay. Facing the defending try-line the player rolls the ball between his/her legs. After six touches the ball is handed over from the attacking team to the defending team and the game starts again from the halfway line in the centre of the field. The aim is to score a touchdown over the defending team’s try-line. Five to six players are on one team at a time, and a game lasts for about forty minutes per side.

Soccer

A game of soccer can be as simple as kicking the ball around with a few friends. Players dribble the ball on the ground, kicking it to pass to each other. For most games, there are eleven players per team – the goalkeeper is the only player allowed to use his/her hands.

Teams are made up of defenders, midfielders and forwards. Two defenders patrol the left and right area while the two central defenders play in the middle. The midfielders play both defence and attack, and the forward positions focus on scoring the goals. The centre forwards play in the middle flanked on each side by a wing. In soccer be aware of the offside rule. If you are behind the other team’s defenders without the ball, you are offside. But if the ball is kicked past the defenders, you can pass them. Laduuuuuuuma!

Rounders

To play rounders you need a small ball (a tennis ball will do) and some kind of bat. There must be a minimum of six players per team. A match consists of two innings, giving each team a chance to bat and bowl. An innings is over when the last batter is caught out, and each person on the team gets a chance to bat. When bowling, the ball must not bounce and it must be above the batter’s knee, below the batter’s head, and not at the batter’s body. The batter hits the ball and then runs in a circle, passing a series of markers on the way. A ‘rounder’ is when the batter makes it all the way around the circuit in one hit of the ball. The team with the most rounders wins.

A batter is out if the ball is caught before it hits the ground or if the ball is fielded before the batter reaches a marker. A batter who has missed the ball can run to the first marker and then continue to the next three when the next batsman strikes the ball. Only one person can stand at a base at a time.

Of course, there are plenty of other team sports to consider – netball, basketball, even ultimate frisbee! Team sports are a great cardiovascular workout because they increase your heart rate. They are particularly good for people with diabetes because the body uses up extra glucose and decreases resistance to insulin. Muscle strength, endurance and eye-coordination also improve. Best of all? You lose weight while having a ball! Team sports with diabetes get a cheer from us.

Footcare tips: shoes or barefoot?

We ask podiatrist Anette Thompson for some tips on team sports and footcare.

Never barefoot!

SEMDSA, the Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of South Africa, recently released 2012 guidelines which state that a person living with diabetes should not walk or run barefoot. There are a number of reasons for this – even well controlled, highly active people who have not developed any complications will experience a delay in healing if their skin punctures or cracks. Any break in the skin is a potential entry point for infection: bacterial, viral or fungal. Here’s more about fungal infections of the feet.

The goal is to wear footwear that most closely approaches the benefits of being barefoot. ‘Barefoot-like’ sports shoes allow maximum flexibility and give the feet the most natural workout. The benefits are improved blood flow to the feet and lower limbs, which feeds nerves and muscles during exercise. Ensure that the shoes are wide enough, as well as being the correct size. It’s a good idea to invest in good quality socks as well.

You only get one pair of feet – take good care of them.