Adult Rec Team Manager Discussion Thread

[JRstriker12]

Anyone who has run an adult rec team knows that it can be a lot of fun and also a huge headache (such as when it comes time to collect season fees.).

I wanted to start a thread where rec team amangers can talk about it.

One of the most challanging things I face as a manager of an adult-coed rec team is finding new players to fill holes in rosters, especially female players. We are probably losing 4 female players in the fall and it's very hard to recruit more,while you can find guys very easily.

What do you as a manger do to find female players and keep them on the team?

I've tried playerslist.com and hanging flyers in my gym and local soccer shops. Had only moderate success so far.

[goyoureddevils]

For female players that are decent, show up on time, and are there to have a good time, go to your local colleges and universities to hang flyers. There are so many ex high school players who get into their sophomore or junior years and miss playing that I always find a ton of them just itching to get back into it.

[JohnW]

What do you as a manger do to find female players and keep them on the team?

I've tried playerslist.com and hanging flyers in my gym and local soccer shops. Had only moderate success so far.

I'm assuming you've tried to recruit via your own players? I've used the, "Do you have any friends or friends of friends who play?" I've turned up male and female players by asking them to rack their brains for anyone they know who has played before, is looking for a team, etc.

Many leagues keep a log of names of "free agent" players who call in without a team. I've both gotten players and have been introduced to a new team that way.

Also, if it's a big enough league, it likely has its own Web site. The MASL (Minnesota Amateur Soccer League) has a message board with quite a few postings "Looking for a team," "Team needs player," etc.

You also might try your state association, although to be honest it's likely that this works only for youth players. Our state allows teams to post if they have open tryouts or are looking for players, as well as players looking for teams.

Just checked--no one is listed higher than U-18. Possible you could pick up an older player, though, if you really get in a bind.

[JRstriker12]

For female players that are decent, show up on time, and are there to have a good time, go to your local colleges and universities to hang flyers. There are so many ex high school players who get into their sophomore or junior years and miss playing that I always find a ton of them just itching to get back into it.

Great suggestion. I'll have to try it.

[JRstriker12]

I'm assuming you've tried to recruit via your own players? I've used the, "Do you have any friends or friends of friends who play?" I've turned up male and female players by asking them to rack their brains for anyone they know who has played before, is looking for a team, etc.

Many leagues keep a log of names of "free agent" players who call in without a team. I've both gotten players and have been introduced to a new team that way.

Also, if it's a big enough league, it likely has its own Web site. The MASL (Minnesota Amateur Soccer League) has a message board with quite a few postings "Looking for a team," "Team needs player," etc.

You also might try your state association, although to be honest it's likely that this works only for youth players. Our state allows teams to post if they have open tryouts or are looking for players, as well as players looking for teams.

Just checked--no one is listed higher than U-18. Possible you could pick up an older player, though, if you really get in a bind.

I've tried to get other players to do the recruiting with mixed results. Our league web site is kinda weak.

I've used playlists.com , craigslist, and sportsvite and got a few bites.

Praying things work out as fees are due soon and we are still short.

[JohnW]

If you're ready for a Hail Mary, you can look for a team that is struggling (or looks like it is struggling) to field a full team. Talk to the "manager" and propose joining the teams, with players having the option to play with both teams. I did that once. It was hairy once playoffs began, but neither team forfeited a game that season because of not enough players.

I wouldn't suggest it for a competitive team, but in this case it was a rec-level, co-ed and we managed to squeak through that season.

[metro1026]

I've used my league's website, the local MLS team forums on bigsoccer and the metro fanatic dot com site.....I've used my players, I've used playerslist.com.....

I never have a hard time finding players, I just have a hard time finding players with a combination of talent and commitment to the team....

[JRstriker12]

I've used my league's website, the local MLS team forums on bigsoccer and the metro fanatic dot com site.....I've used my players, I've used playerslist.com.....

I never have a hard time finding players, I just have a hard time finding players with a combination of talent and commitment to the team....

Do you have a coed team?

It seems like finding female players is difficult. Usually the very talented female players have their pick of the teams they play on. You're always competing with 3 or 4 other teams.

Guys are fairly easy to come by, but I know what you are saying about commitment.

[Ray Luca]

The cosmopolitian soccer league has a website on it it has a place for unattached players to list on, and teams needing players in the tri state area.

I tried using it a few times I only found one player from it. He happened to come to the field with the player who made the post. :-)

Most coaches would not even let him try out he looked bad. I looked fitter then him and I am in my late 50's. He had a stomach and was balding he looked older then me but wasn't was 33.

So why did I take him? He never lost the ball under pressure. He found a way to short pass to a team mate under heavy pressure. Also amazingly he was always up field when the ball was up field an admirable quality, and when I made a coaching point to him he actually did it. One of the coaching points was get behind the ball when we lost the ball. I thought he was going to have a heart attack, but he actually pushed himself and did it. He was unfit, but he also had an iron will.

He got pretty fit in 8 weeks before the start of the season, and was a very good player for us.

[LotharDSM]

Our "Over-The-Hill" league is a mix of coed and old people since we don't have enough players for individual leagues. The "Coed" part of the league was a massive jump from a min. of 2 women on the field to 3 and we've had to scour the area for more women players. Getting women to show up consistently is the main issue and the women are definitely the most difficult group to get numbers for so we're in the process of trying to recruit them through flyers at the following locations:
Soccer shops
YWCA
College
High schools
Fitness facilities
Work (the fitness centers in-house at current player's work and on-line BB's)

The women have also gotten together to figure out how to bring more women into the league since they requested that the number be increased, so they have some of the burden to recruit players as well or possibly see the min downsized back to 2 players as opposed to increasing it to 4 next go around.

As a league the women are allowed to sub in for other teams if they are needed each gameday to help offset the 9 v. 11 games that can happen and this has helped.

We use Active.com to sign-up on-line and players can pay the league fees as an individual and then get assigned to a team by the commish if they aren't snapped up. It's been a great burden off the team managers so we no longer have to collect fees and cover team expenses.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

[metro1026]

Good story Ray.

I've actually found 2 or 3 players from that site off the Cosmopolitan site.....

I think I have a player similar to your 33 year old. Mine is 23, has a belly, is from Mexico. He's a striker and he knows the game real well. He's been training with us for the past 6 weeks and is getting sharper and fitter, hopefully, he continues and scores a few goals for us.

To answer your question, JRSriker, my team is not coed, just an amatuer mens team playing in the Garden State Soccer League.

www.SecaucusFC.com

[DerbyRam54]

Most coaches would not even let him try out he looked bad. I looked fitter then him and I am in my late 50's. He had a stomach and was balding he looked older then me but wasn't was 33.

Never judge a player by appearances! Going back aways, Nottingham Forest had a left-winger (John Robertson) who looked more like a groundskeeper, didn't stop him creating and scoring goals in the European Cup final.
One of my women (I coach O-30 women) is an unlikely looking player but she's very hard to knock off the ball and has a hard shot, we missed her a lot when she had to have ACL surgery.

[Ray Luca]

Never judge a player by appearances! Going back aways, Nottingham Forest had a left-winger (John Robertson) who looked more like a groundskeeper, didn't stop him creating and scoring goals in the European Cup final.
One of my women (I coach O-30 women) is an unlikely looking player but she's very hard to knock off the ball and has a hard shot, we missed her a lot when she had to have ACL surgery.

Women are more likely to have ACL problem then the men.

Here is an old post for a player and person I respect and a test for it.

"ACL with regard to hereditary factors, they do seem to exist, even if they might more properly fall into the "physical make-up as a result of heredity" category.

The key seems to be the ability to hyper-extend joints. This would also explain why girls are more prone than guys, as they are more often able to hyper-extend joints.

The knee test is simple: sit on thefloor with your leg straight, and pull up on your foot. If you can liftyour foot off the floor WITH the back of your knee still touching the ground, you've reached hyper-extension.

This is good if you're a swimmer, but not good if you want to play soccer and avoid knee surgery. People who can hyper-extend their joints (I can get my foot a good three inches offthe floor in this exercise) must pay special attention to quad-hamstring strengthening exercises, as well as abductor-adductor exercises for lateral stability. Get 'em in the weight room, keeping weights low and repetitions high if they're younger. Also, don't neglect training like jogging and step-climbing: some research has shown that low-level impact training can strengthen connective tissues like tendons and ligaments. Coaches should also emphasize the importance of trying to maintain a slight bent-knee position through most pivots and twists, as well as during contact. It's almost impossible to tear an ACL while your knee is bent, even if it's ever so slightly. A straight leg (or worse, hyper-extended) isthe surest way to an ACL tear"

[JRstriker12]

Our "Over-The-Hill" league is a mix of coed and old people since we don't have enough players for individual leagues. The "Coed" part of the league was a massive jump from a min. of 2 women on the field to 3 and we've had to scour the area for more women players. Getting women to show up consistently is the main issue and the women are definitely the most difficult group to get numbers for so we're in the process of trying to recruit them through flyers at the following locations:
Soccer shops
YWCA
College
High schools
Fitness facilities
Work (the fitness centers in-house at current player's work and on-line BB's)

The women have also gotten together to figure out how to bring more women into the league since they requested that the number be increased, so they have some of the burden to recruit players as well or possibly see the min downsized back to 2 players as opposed to increasing it to 4 next go around.

As a league the women are allowed to sub in for other teams if they are needed each gameday to help offset the 9 v. 11 games that can happen and this has helped.

We use Active.com to sign-up on-line and players can pay the league fees as an individual and then get assigned to a team by the commish if they aren't snapped up. It's been a great burden off the team managers so we no longer have to collect fees and cover team expenses.

Please keep the suggestions coming!

Great Ideas Lothar.

I find that female players on my team can also be great recruiters. However, they must have tapped out their resources recently. I still have to do a bit of digging.

FYI - In my league we have 4 women on the field at the same time. I usually try to keep 8 women on the roster.

I wish our league used Active.com. I still occasioanlly drive the team fee check to our league director's house.