You might have been in sports teams when you were in school, or even during your college years. If you feel nostalgic about your school days, and are looking for a hobby, then you might want to consider starting a local sports team! Read on below to find some valuable tips when starting a team:
• Choose a sport – pick a sport first. There are many different sports to pick from – basketball, soccer, volleyball, cricket – the list goes on. Make sure to pick one that is not too unknown in your area though (or you might not find anyone willing to join!)
• Find a league – unlike school teams, recreational teams play off in leagues. Leagues are basically divided into divisions or levels (i.e. beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc.), and you should decide which league you will register in first. It’s best to start from a lower level and gradually make your way up – otherwise, hurdles that are too high to conquer might put a damper on team spirit.
• Calculate the team fees and find sponsors – you won’t be given a budget by your school or college here, so the expenses have to borne by the team members themselves. Calculate how much will go into team activities, purchasing equipment, etc. and find the total expenses. Once your team becomes a little more experienced, you can start considering sponsors – like your local shops and businesses.
• Create a team name, logo and outfit – unlike school teams or national teams, local recreational teams can have names of their choice. Normally, most teams include the name of the locality they’re from in their name, so you might want to do this too. In the logo, make sure you include a simple design and the name of your team – some sites are willing to create some nice logos for a small fee. Along with that, you might want to leave the custom soccer jerseys based site you might have just used.
Or instead you could visit some sports shops like the reputed EVO Sportswear willing to design custom soccer kits.
• Recruit players and fees – Once you’ve got the basics down, the next step is to recruit players. Ask around and hold try outs, but remember that most players will be working men and women – so make sure to consider the circumstances of each player you enlist in your team in future team schedules.
• Select coaches, captains, etc. – when you’ve selected the team members, you can finally nominate the captains, vice-captains, and other posts. You might want to be the manager and coach, or you might want to delegate those posts to someone else; similarly, keep in mind that the captain position is important – it’s not the ace who should be captain, but the player who is most suited to leadership who should be (of course, this can also be the ace).