How to Form an Adult soccer team (and have fun !!)

Want to play soccer and have fun as a member of a team? You can join a team, or start your own. Here we discuss how to start an Adult Soccer Team.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• internet access
• organizational skills

1. 
    

   Decide whether you want a co-ed team, or all male or all female team. Decide what skill level you are and/or what skill level you want the team to be.

2. 
    

   Find a coach. Or you or another team member could be the coach or team leader. It helps to have someone "in charge." It is time consuming, however, so you might want to split up the tasks.

3. Pick a soccer league to join. Find out when the league takes new teams. Some leagues require you to join the lowest division (usually representing the lowest skill level). If you want to play at a higher level, you might need to "challenge in." This means you could play a game against a team already in the division. This usually occurs only in leagues that have promotion and relegation.

4. What are the Jersey or uniform requirements? Pick a team name, too.

5. Post on the internet (craigslist.org is a good start) to find teammates. Use a catchy name for the headline, to separate yourself from the others. Go to the local pick-up game locations and ask around. Hold a "try-out." Make sure to allow for some people to flake: to commit but not show up. Post at local schools. Ask your friends at work. You might be surprised who has an interest.

Tips & Warnings

• Read a leadership/team building book. The author John C. Maxwell is a good first choice.
• Allow 6-12 weeks for the process. If you are in a rush, you can select a teammate that is not a good fit.
• Don't rush the selection process. Make sure to have try outs.
• The best teammate has a good combination of skill and personality. It is more important to select a player that is a good "fit" personality-wise for your team, than to be the best player. The "Prima Donnas" are notoriously difficult to get along with. One bad apple can spoil the bunch.
• Do you want to hold regular practices, or is this a show up and play team. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

Resources

• John C. Maxwell's website
• Craigslist - find your city
• Northern California - list of soccer leagues

[MIghtyDreamer]

on 1/6/2009 great opening shot! Sounds like a fun way to play soccer

[Felicity]

on 6/12/2008 Thanks for this info - great stuff!

[WriterGig]

on 12/28/2007 I would love to play soccer again! Thanks for the ideas.