We recently asked you if you intend on returning next season.  The results are in:

• Yes – 44
• Maybe – 20
• No – 2

There have been some growing pains this year as we moved to a new facility with larger fields and we had a lot of new players join the league.  Here are some questions that you might have.

How many teams will there be?

There could be anywhere from 4 to 7 teams.  Our aim is to have 11 players per team including goalkeepers.  Each team needs enough players to field a full team every week, but not so many players that they have 5 subs each week.  We settled on 11 players because on average, 9 show up every week.  This gives us the middle ground we’re aiming for.  The 44 confirmed gives us 4 teams as of today.

Is it expensive to run the league?

Yes.  Yes it is.  Cost will play a big factor in league size.  If we continue to receive financial support from the company, we’ll just break even in a 6 team league.  A 4 team league would give us a little more breathing room.  If we went with an odd number like 5, costs would decrease considerably and that would in turn enable us to decrease the $350 registration fee.

What can I do to help the league?

Make the effort to recruit players within the company.  If you’re one of the “maybes”, the sooner you decide the easier it’ll be to plan.  If we drop to 4 or 5 teams, we’ll no longer need the third field.  It’s easy to give it away but hard to get it back if we grow the year after next.  It’s important that everyone understands that.

Equally as important is to not lose sight of what a good thing we have going.  We get to play soccer in a competitive but not fierce environment.  We get to see each other every week.  We get to meet new people we’d never have met otherwise.  Running the league takes a lot of work and the captains give of themselves to organize their teams.  It doesn’t happen by itself.

We’re all members of the league first and members of our teams second.  It’s very hard to balance teams, attendance can really throw things off.  Also, some players have a massive impact on their teams and they shift the balance considerably.  One thing though, that makes balancing much easier is the ability to freely move players from one team to another.  Next season, there will be no option to say no to a trade.  We want everyone back next year, but if changing teams against your wishes is something that you just can’t live with, then this isn’t the league for you.  The needs of the entire league outweigh the needs of a single player and I hope everyone can understand that.

Thanks to everyone for making this league so enjoyable.  Now go get us some more players!