New League Team

[IPv6Freely 2096]

I'd just like to know how to go about starting a league without knowing anyone first. I assume you can't just one day go in and say "I want to start up a team" and they fill in the roster for you... it's probably like softball where they make you sign up AS a team (which is why I'm unable to play softball in san diego, no matter how much I want to).

Does anyone have any suggestions on a good way to get a team going? Put up an ad on craigslist? I've been out of hockey for 20 years, but I'd really like to organize a team myself (plus the semi-selfish reason of really wanting to wear blue and white as team colours).

[Secti0n31 0]

I wish I could help you, but I literally just showed up at my rink one day with the paperwork and they 'stuck' me on a team, Mostly consisting of other people who came in without a team. It turned out pretty well. A lot of other 'hodgepodge' teams don't.

Even if you put up a flyer at the rink advertising your desire for teammates I don't see how it'll help unless you absolutely need to come into the league as a team. There's no way of telling if these guys are assholes or can't skate, or if they have anger issues and are gonna snap a composite over the crossbar if they miss a shot. What are you gonna do, hold auditions and interviews?

The best way to do it would be to ask around. Maybe post a thread here and on a couple other forums, maybe an ad in the paper or on craigslist, but be very careful who you 'let' on your team man. I'd hate to see it end up badly.

[IPv6Freely 2096]

I wish I could help you, but I literally just showed up at my rink one day with the paperwork and they 'stuck' me on a team, Mostly consisting of other people who came in without a team. It turned out pretty well. A lot of other 'hodgepodge' teams don't.

Even if you put up a flyer at the rink advertising your desire for teammates I don't see how it'll help unless you absolutely need to come into the league as a team. There's no way of telling if these guys are assholes or can't skate, or if they have anger issues and are gonna snap a composite over the crossbar if they miss a shot. What are you gonna do, hold auditions and interviews?

The best way to do it would be to ask around. Maybe post a thread here and on a couple other forums, maybe an ad in the paper or on craigslist, but be very careful who you 'let' on your team man. I'd hate to see it end up badly.

Yea, I think that's what I'm going to have to do... just show up and hope they can stick me on a team. I wish adult leagues were like the kid leagues... where you pay a fee and get on a team. It really makes it difficult when you have to sign up as part of a team if you just moved somewhere and don't know anybody. Hopefully they can stick me somewhere on a team who won't mind having a guy who can barely skate...

[shotty 7]

there are a bunch of ways to do it. first, as suggested, you can contact the league you are interested in joining and ask if they accept individual registration. if there's enough guys who register on their own, the league will form a team of individuals... from there you can pick and choose the guys you like as the season progresses and build a team around your core group for the next season. everyone knows someone, so before you know it, you've got a full roster. it takes a season or two to fully come together this way. some guys are too shy to join a team full of strangers, so a guy on your team will probably have a friend who wants to come out. once you extend the olive branch, you'll have a full team. if you're going to post an ad on craigslist, be very specific in what you want. this will scare off a lot of the nut jobs. say specifically that your team is really social, zero drama, skilled, whatever. post the positions you want to fill and wait for responses. do it early because good players always have teams to play on.

2nd, you can start hitting up drop in sessions and stick and puck. approaching people on the bench or in the room after, asking if they'd like to join a team. to weed out the crazies, you can rent some ice a few times and bring out a bunch of skaters, picking the ones you like the best, in terms of attitude, skill, etc. the ice time doesnt have to be a "tryout" or "interview", just do it low key. watch how people act/react, who has chemistry, how people act on the bench. if you find anyone on craigslist, invite them out to a drop in session and see how they play.

3rd, running a team isn't easy. i'm not sure what it costs to register a team where you are, but in vancouver at the facility that i chose, it's over $12,000. thats a large investment to take on when dealing with 15+ individuals who will almost always need to be reminded when/how much to pay (with my team; for every guy who pays on time, i have a guy who owes me $500). it's also important to build a deep spares list, because when there's a ton of no-shows and only 7 guys show up, the games get horrible. organization is the key. on game day you might get 4-5 texts from guys who are hung over or busy or whatever. having 4-5 keeners that you can call to fill spots is key. having spares come out is also a good way to find new guys for upcoming seasons, and they can create revenue for the team.

jerseys are a whole other discussion. if you dont want to assume the expense of owning a set or two of jerseys, you'll have to get the entire team to agree on a price that works for everyone. not all are going to be interested in paying $50 a jersey... and at the end of the season when player x leaves and takes his jersey with him, you'll have to go out and find another one. what i did was buy the jerseys and lease them to my team. they pay me a fee to use the jersey for the year and if they continue to play into the next season, they continue to use the jersey. when they leave, they sell the jersey back to me and i lease it to the next guy.

if you have any other questions, let me know. i've done this a few times.

[IPv6Freely 2096]

there are a bunch of ways to do it. first, as suggested, you can contact the league you are interested in joining and ask if they accept individual registration. if there's enough guys who register on their own, the league will form a team of individuals... from there you can pick and choose the guys you like as the season progresses and build a team around your core group for the next season. everyone knows someone, so before you know it, you've got a full roster. it takes a season or two to fully come together this way. some guys are too shy to join a team full of strangers, so a guy on your team will probably have a friend who wants to come out. once you extend the olive branch, you'll have a full team. if you're going to post an ad on craigslist, be very specific in what you want. this will scare off a lot of the nut jobs. say specifically that your team is really social, zero drama, skilled, whatever. post the positions you want to fill and wait for responses. do it early because good players always have teams to play on.

2nd, you can start hitting up drop in sessions and stick and puck. approaching people on the bench or in the room after, asking if they'd like to join a team. to weed out the crazies, you can rent some ice a few times and bring out a bunch of skaters, picking the ones you like the best, in terms of attitude, skill, etc. the ice time doesnt have to be a "tryout" or "interview", just do it low key. watch how people act/react, who has chemistry, how people act on the bench. if you find anyone on craigslist, invite them out to a drop in session and see how they play.

3rd, running a team isn't easy. i'm not sure what it costs to register a team where you are, but in vancouver at the facility that i chose, it's over $12,000. thats a large investment to take on when dealing with 15+ individuals who will almost always need to be reminded when/how much to pay (with my team; for every guy who pays on time, i have a guy who owes me $500). it's also important to build a deep spares list, because when there's a ton of no-shows and only 7 guys show up, the games get horrible. organization is the key. on game day you might get 4-5 texts from guys who are hung over or busy or whatever. having 4-5 keeners that you can call to fill spots is key. having spares come out is also a good way to find new guys for upcoming seasons, and they can create revenue for the team.

jerseys are a whole other discussion. if you dont want to assume the expense of owning a set or two of jerseys, you'll have to get the entire team to agree on a price that works for everyone. not all are going to be interested in paying $50 a jersey... and at the end of the season when player x leaves and takes his jersey with him, you'll have to go out and find another one. what i did was buy the jerseys and lease them to my team. they pay me a fee to use the jersey for the year and if they continue to play into the next season, they continue to use the jersey. when they leave, they sell the jersey back to me and i lease it to the next guy.

if you have any other questions, let me know. i've done this a few times.

I'm starting to think this is going to be too much work. My dad ran a team for decades, but he also played hockey since he was a kid, and was easily the most skilled guy on the teams he played on (except when he had ex-NHL'ers playing on his teams). He had full sets of white and dark hanging in the basement, so he actually collected the jerseys at the end of each game and took them home to wash.

I'd LIKE to run a team, but I'm not sure I'm cut out for it (and seems like a lot of work just to make sure I get the jerseys I want...)

[shotty 7]

ya, if you're doing it purely to have the final say for the jerseys, you will soon find out that its not worth it. when you get onto a team, just offer to do all the leg work in procuring new jerseys and i'm sure they wont care if you pick the colors. the team manager will probably thank you for it, as its one less thing for him to do.

as for washing the jerseys... if you own them, its a good idea because you are protecting your investment. pain in the ass though!

i actually remember years ago my uncle's team somehow ended up with a complete set of the albany river rats jerseys. every few weeks a different player would take them home to wash them. being the typical lifelong bachelor, my uncle throws them all in together and the whites ended up pink. he thought it was quite funny until the team told him to buy new ones.

as for running a team. there are ups and downs. its not a rule that you have to be the best player on the ice, or even a lifelong player to be the manager. you are responsible for bringing together a great group of guys and in the end it feels great when friendships are formed and championships are won. the more organized you are, the easier it is.

[Chadd 916]

as for running a team. there are ups and downs. its not a rule that you have to be the best player on the ice, or even a lifelong player to be the manager. you are responsible for bringing together a great group of guys and in the end it feels great when friendships are formed and championships are won. the more organized you are, the easier it is.

That's about right in my experience. Being able to manage the money and the people are the two most important skills to running a hockey team.