So, I was chasing that “soccer player happy” feeling, you know? Like you see those guys on TV, scoring a goal, pure joy. I thought, “I want a piece of that!”
First thing I did, I looked up local amateur leagues. Found one that sounded alright, run by this fella at the community pitch. Signed up, paid my dues, got myself some new boots. Ready to go, I was.
But here’s where things went a bit sideways. This league, man, it was something else. Not in a good way. The guy in charge, let’s just call him “The Organizer” – though he barely organized anything – seemed more interested in the sign-up fees than anything else.
Here’s what we were dealing with pretty much every week:
- The pitch? Often it was more like a lumpy field with random patches of dirt. Ankle-twister central, that was.
- The equipment? We often used the same couple of battered soccer balls for every single game. One of them was usually half flat most of the time.
- The organization itself? Well, schedules would change last minute, like, constantly. Sometimes no refs even showed up. It was just chaos, plain and simple.
I remember this one Saturday really clearly. It was supposed to be a big game, or so we thought. We all turn up, ready to play, and “The Organizer” just sort of shrugs his shoulders. “Ah, looks like I forgot to actually book the pitch today, lads. My bad.” My bad? Seriously? We’d all taken time out of our day, travelled there, everything. No real apology, nothing. Just, “Maybe try again next week, eh?” You can imagine how that went down.
And the “happy” part of being a soccer player? Totally non-existent in that setup. Everyone was just frustrated most of the time. There was a lot of shouting, not really at the other team, but more at the whole situation, at “The Organizer” sometimes under our breath. It honestly felt more like a chore you had to get through than something fun. I’d go home from those games feeling more stressed out than when I actually arrived. This definitely wasn’t the “soccer player happy” I signed up for. Not even close, not by a mile.
So, after a while of this, I had a good long think. What was I even doing this for? This mess wasn’t it. I chatted to a couple of other guys on the team who were feeling pretty much the same way. We were all just plain fed up with the disorganization and the bad vibe.
In the end, I just walked away from that league. Told “The Organizer” I was done, thanks but no thanks. He didn’t seem to care all that much, probably already eyeing up the next new guy to take my spot and, more importantly, my fee.
And you know what? A few of us who left, we actually started our own little thing. Just a casual kickabout in the local park on Sunday mornings. We’d just bring a ball, use our bags or some jumpers for goalposts. Super simple stuff. No fees, no drama, no “Organizer” messing things up for everyone. And man, that’s when I finally got it. That simple joy of just playing the game. Running around, having a laugh, a bit of friendly competition. That was the real “soccer player happy” for me, no doubt about it.
Last I heard, that old league is still somehow running. Still the same old problems, from what folks say when it comes up. They’re apparently always advertising for new players to join. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? If you’re not actually making the players happy, how long can you really expect to keep things going like that?
