THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 13 2017 Like us on Facebook facebook.com/thellanelliherald


U18s Wales selection players face Australia


71 Sports Six-a-side - the healthiest sport


Llanelli Leisure League at Coleg Sir Gar: ‘We are very proud of the community aspect to our league’


SIX-A-SIDE football is the


healthiest sport there is. That is the astonishing finding of a series of studies conducted over the last decade. Over 70 studies have taken place


Iwan Roberts and Liam Testino: Playing football against Australia next week TWO Sports Science students


at Coleg Sir Gâr will be playing against Australian schools next week following their selection to play for the U18s Welsh Schools Football Association. Liam Testino, a former Coedcae


student, and Iwan Roberts, a former Strade student, are both studying a Level Three Sports Diploma at the college’s Graig campus, where they


both play for the football academy team as well as Carmarthen Town U19s. Jonathan Garcia, who heads


the football academy at Coleg Sir Gâr, said: “Centre-half Liam and goalkeeper Iwan both attended four trial days for selection. This is a massive opportunity for them both.” Kick-off is at 2pm at Cardiff Met


FC on Thursday (Jan 19).


Reds convincingly seal three points STEBONHEATH PARK


played host to Aberdare Town on Saturday (Jan 7) in what proved to be a convincing 2–0 win for Llanelli Town.


The game was masked by poor


conditions and poor visibility; however, that didn’t stop a full-strength Llanelli Town squad from playing some dazzling football and, ultimately, scoring two wonderful goals. A first game in three weeks for


Llanelli Town - it certainly didn’t look it. Admittedly, Aberdare did look threatening up until half-time, with some impressive long-range passes finding their strikers. The game proved a messy affair


for some time; that is until former Swansea man Lee Trundle received a gift of a pass from Joe Clarke. Using his chest to control it, Trundle went on to lob a scrambling Aberdare defender and rifle a volley past Aberdare keeper Clinton Forbes who, up until this point, had made some spectacular saves to keep Aberdare in contention. The second half continued in a similar vein, with Forbes initially


over the last 10 years; their findings have been published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine and the conclusions are that playing football for 15 weeks - around the length of a Leisure Leagues season - substantially reduced the risk of heart and lung disease, as well as lessening the chances of diabetes and leading to a weight loss of 5lbs on average. Furthermore, the trials also found


that these football games had more of a positive effect on the participants than sports like swimming or cycling, all of which is good news for players who were thinking of taking one of the last remaining spots in the Llanelli League at Coleg Sir Gar.


proving successful in denying Llanelli Town a second goal as they continued to put pressure on their visitors – Joe Clarke, Jordan Fellows and Jordan Davies were all denied by an in-form Forbes.


After several attempts however, it


was once again Trundle who provided a game-changing moment as he lifted a superb ball over Aberdare defenders to find Joe Clarke, who this time tucked away a second goal. With thick fog now enveloping


Stebonheath Park, a final score of 2–0 sealed an impressive three points for Llanelli.


Following their defeat, Aberdare


Town now sit sixth in Division 2 on 21 points.


Meanwhile, Llanelli Town would


appear on course for promotion, currently sitting in first place and boasting 34 points – three points clear of Briton Ferry Llansawel and six clear of third place AFC Porth. The Reds welcome Abergavenny


Town to Stebonheath this Saturday (Jan 14) for a League Cup quarter-final game. Kick–off is at 2pm.


The encouraging medical news


comes at a time when the Red Cross declared that Britain’s National Health Service is at breaking point, with the Red Cross saying this past weekend that it faced a 'humanitarian crisis', while just before Christmas, the government’s own official figures declared that 27% of the population was 'obese' and 41% were 'overweight'. Leisure Leagues' Matt Webb


said the firm were delighted with the findings and added: “We are very proud of the community aspect to our league. Sport brings people together in a way that nothing else does and we are thrilled that in so many places around the world, our leagues are a real focal point for friendships to both develop and flourish. Whilst it has long been our belief that the health benefits were also huge, these studies prove it.” But what is really interesting about this is that these benefits are seen no


matter what the age or gender of the participants was, meaning that small- sided football was the most universally beneficial. Matt continued: “We have seen a real increase in women's and veterans' teams in the last 12 months, which makes such news even more gratifying.” It is now the hope of Leisure


Leagues that academic interest in the sport will lead to a change in perception. Matt said: “All too often, a game of a six-a-side is seen as something that people do before going to the pub, but these studies do show that those days are increasingly over.” Profits from the League will be


donated to good causes and charities, such as Cancer Research UK, Blind Children UK and The Dogs Trust. To join the League, register


on the Leisure Leagues website - www.leisureleagues.net. For further information, call 0333 123 2340.


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