THIS SOCCER TEAM IS MORE THAN JUST A FAMILY AFFAIR.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

At a stage in their lives when golf or tennis might seem more appropriate and safe, Richard and Aida Johnson have dedicated themselves to the sport of indoor soccer, and they have made it a family affair.

Richard, a 52-year old California Highway Patrol officer, and his wife, a 48-year-old doughnut-shop owner (yes, they have heard the jokes), took up the sport three years ago, and shortly thereafter were joined by their three adult daughters in leagues at the Santa Clarita Soccer Center.

``It's really nice to be able to play with my daughters,'' said Aida, who drives from Sylmar four nights a week to compete in women's and coed leagues with her daughters, Yanira, Lisset and Jessica. Aida and two of the daughters also regularly join Richard in a Saturday coed league. ``It keeps both of us feeling young.''

Richard Johnson will be eligible to retire from the CHP next year but says he hasn't felt this good in 20 years. He plays three nights a week and many of his teammates are young enough to be his sons.

``Most of my teammates are around 30 or 35, but I'm finding that I am getting healthier as the years go by,'' Richard Johnson said. ``I feel better than I did at 35 and I ache less than I did at 35.

``As long as I keep feeling good, I'm going to keep playing, although I did cut back from four nights a week because I tended to get hurt a little bit more.''

Aida Johnson grew up around soccer although she never played as a child, and her brothers convinced Richard to pick up the sport three years ago.

``It's kind of like playing basketball, except you learn to use your feet instead of your hands,'' Richard Johnson said. ``I felt a little out of place at first, but playing indoors is a lot of fun. The ball doesn't roll out of bounds, and you can pass off the walls and things like that.''

Although he was a longtime member of CHP softball teams, Richard Johnson said he hasn't had much success convincing his police buddies to kick the ball around with him.

``A couple of them have tried, but I don't know, it's something about cops and exercise,'' Richard Johnson said with a laugh. ``I hadn't played sports in a while before I started soccer, and I feel myself getting stronger, my legs definitely get stronger from all that running.''

For the first year, Aida Johnson was merely a spectator, cheering on her husband from the sidelines, until one day she worked up the nerve and motivated to try the sport herself.

``When I grew up, soccer was strictly a male sport,'' Aida Johnson said. ``But when I was watching (Richard), I saw all these ladies playing and I thought maybe I should give it a chance.

``I tried it and I was a little afraid at first, but I got more and more involved.''

Aida Johnson plays for recreation, but she insists that the women's leagues as just as fierce and competitive as the male leagues.

``There are two types of players: women who play for blood and women who play for fun,'' Aida Johnson said. ``I want to win, but I go out there to have fun and relieve my stress and feel energetic, and I'm proud that I can compete against younger women.

``Now I'm out there with my daughters, and people come up to me and they say, `You play?' They probably think, `Hey, if that lady can play, I can do it too.'''

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Photo: (Color) Richard and Aida Johnson stay young by playing indoor soccer three times a week.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News