Playing soccer on the roof is the kind of thing that got you grounded as a kid. Adulthood has its privileges.

Each Wednesday evening in Miami's Brickell Avenue neighborhood, while the MBAs and financial managers ramble from nearby offices to happy hour, jersey-sporting footballers ride elevators up five floors to the roof of the posh Capital Grille restaurant to compete in the Rooftop Soccer League.

This smaller variation of soccer is played on a field (called the pitch) about the size of a basketball court. Games consist of two 25-minute halves, played by teams of six players and a goalkeeper. Substitutions are allowed -- and necessary, as the pace of the play is intense.

The level of competition runs the gamut from weekend-warrior to pretty-darn-good.

''There's every level of play going on out here. You won't be out of your league,'' says Teófilo ''Nené'' Cubillas, member of RSL team Brickell Knievel (and son of Peruvian soccer legend Teófilo Cubillas Arizaga).

The most striking aspects of the game are the surroundings: players sprint along a panorama of the Miami River, and high-rise office and condo towers loom to the south and west. A net encloses the roof, preventing kicks from sailing off into the blue yonder.

Because of the smaller field the play is frenetic, with constantly changing possessions. Games are played on a rubber-graded grasslike surface that's great for speed, quick cuts and forgiving on the knees.

The coed league, run by the Miami Sports and Social Club, began its inaugural season in June.

''Everybody in all the local soccer leagues, people that live in Brickell and downtown, they all want to sign up,'' said organizer Steve Arsenault.

While physical fitness is the main goal, rooftop soccer enthusiasts also tout the social aspects of the league.

''It's a better workout than going to the gym,'' says Bobby Moore, 31, a Brickell-area lawyer, ``and it's a better way to meet people.''

The Get Up, Get Out column runs every other week. To share your unique workout experiences, e-mail dquinones@MiamiHerald.com.

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