Photo by adobemac via Flickr

You might figure that finding some folks to play some soccer with would be a cinch in a large city such as LA with such a diverse population. But, while you can find people playing pick up games throughout the city on just about any night and in most neighborhoods, these games can be intimidating to join, especially if you don’t know anyone in the group or you are only a recreational player, as I am.

One day I happened to drive by Aviation Park in Redondo Beach and noticed a banner for a coed soccer league. I visited the corresponding web site advertised on the banner and got all the details on the league and the sign up process.

There are actually various leagues for coed and same sex teams. Some leagues are 7 versus 7, while others are full on 11 versus 11. The skill levels for the leagues range from beginner to advanced. Games are normally played in the evenings throughout the week, but weekends also feature some afternoon games. Games are 25 minute halves with a 5 minute break in between.

The season runs for a period of 8 weeks, with 2 additional weeks for playoffs to determine a champion. There are seasons running throughout the entire year and at multiple locations (Aviation Park and Santa Monica).

Most importantly about these leagues: they are aimed at recreational players such as myself, and do not allow behavior that may cause injury to yourself or others.

Registration is simple and can be done online. If you have a team, you can register your entire group in one shot, although you might have to wait for an opening in an upcoming season if all the slots are already taken up.

I was on my own, so I signed up as a free agent for the 7 vs. 7 coed league. Doing so allowed me to be picked up by any team in the league, but not bites. After a few weeks wait, I got notice from the league organizers, South Bay Sports, that they had a team for me. Turns out I was put on a team entirely composed of other free agents such as myself.

Our league played its games on Friday evening, which was a perfect way to end a tough week at work. More importantly, it also provided 2 recovery days before I had to go back to work.

Not having participated in this league before, I really didn’t know what to expect.

The first evening was a little chaotic and made me wonder about certain things: Would the others adhere to the rules? How competitive is the league and players? Will I be able to pull my weight on the team? Would I be playing with folks in high school or retired 40+ league players?

Turns out my questions all had positive answers once I got through the initial week.

The first thing I discovered on the first night was that players ranged in age from early 20s to mid/late 30s. I am in the latter group, but didn’t feel like the “old guy” in any way. I don’t know if it is just my attitude or if it was a combination of that and the others not making me feel that I was older than them. Either way, it was cool.

Secondly, the 7 on 7 games are played across a third of the field and all thirds are in use simultaneously. Because each game has its own referee, the proximity can be a problem for some. For example, one might assume that the whistle one heard is for one’s game, when in reality it is for the game going on in the next field. It can also present a problem with errant balls from the other field rolling into one’s game. While we certainly got a couple of balls floating into our games on a few rare occasions throughout the season, everyone was very understanding and it was so rare, I wouldn’t consider it a problem.

One unexpected surprise on the first evening was the presence of a number of “guest” players. These were folks who were trying to decide if they were willing to commit financially. This made for a larger than normal crowd as I quickly learned the following week.

Nevertheless, once I figured out where my team was within the crowd, I found them to be quite nice and laidback. They were all very friendly and we quickly exchanged names and started talking soccer.

The first game was a bit reflective of the night as a whole and it too was a bit chaotic. The “guest” players inflated the size of our team, causing some confusion with game time strategy such as substitutions. After the first week, these issues sorted themselves out almost immediately. We had a set team the second week, making the process of substitutions and other game time strategy much smoother.

I had never played on artificial turf and the experience was rather interesting. It made for a faster than normal game, but also made the ball bounce more and really beats up your feet. Overall, it was a great workout and the weekend period was the perfect amount of time for me to recover.

The remainder of the season played out equally well. Players adhered to the rules and with very few exceptions, people understood that these games were merely for fun and to get some exercise. It seemed as though the “guest” night also helps weed out the players who were thinking of playing as though their livelihood counted on it. In retrospect, although it caused some confusion the first night, the experience served everyone well by eliminating those folks.

While our team did not do well on the field, it is always nice to play with friendly and laidback people. The same was true for opposing players, and sometimes we found ourselves joking with each other or laughing at our own mistakes together.

My only critiques of the experience were mostly related to the organization of the league.

With the exception of 1 or 2 games (including the first week), our team was always short handed. A bit of a mixed bag in some ways; on one hand, being short allows everyone to play the entire game, and the flip side being that everyone HAS to play the entire game.

We had a player pull a muscle in one game and being the brave trooper, she toughed it out, but it would have been nice to not put people in a spot where they feel they have to risk serious injury. Albeit, I would point out that the team and referee repeatedly checked in with her to make sure she was doing fine and overall, were concerned of her well being.

The league didn’t provide us other players until late in the season and that allowed us to field a full team for a couple of games. I would add that this is a problem that is unique to free agents, so the take away is to try to join as part of a team if at all possible.

Lastly, it turns out there were no playoffs for our league. It seemed like everyone knew, but me and one or two other folks floating around. This was probably due to the vast majority of the other players having participated in prior seasons and I was a rookie. Grant it, I think we did play 9 games and they were all fun, so it was no biggie.

Overall Workout: 10, recreational play, but still has plenty of running
Hobby-Developing Potential: High, especially if the game interests you and are just getting started.
Next-Day Pain: Very high
Cost: $75.00 for entire season as a free agent, $850 for entire season for a team.

Visit the South Bay Sports web site for details on locations and registration.