The real point of this article, is that a core selection of the team, myself included, believe that we've arrived at a crossroads. A chance to mix things up for FC7, and to create a more competitive edge to our games.
The Background...
So far we have been playing Thursday nights. When we struggled to get 5 players to a match, we were playing random teams and often getting spanked, losing most games. Sure, there were a couple of victories, but nothing to really build on. As our game signups have increased, we've been able to have more training sessions in 2021, a chance to improve. So in a 5-a-side game we are getting 7-8 players. But when we mixed things up and played a 6-a-side game recently against some randoms at Westway, we were soundly tonked......again.
It was deja-vu, no visible signs of improvements. And although we all play for fun, defeats can suck that out of you, albeit temporarily, but it also hits home as to what we all really want from football.
This was when it hit me, that we didn't really have a clear and concise vision as FC7 on the pitch specifically yet. Sure, as an organisation, we had nailed it, we had created the persona as FC7 when it came to actually playing football, we hadn't.
FC7 is about inclusivity (here, we talk about welcoming all abilities), but it's easy to forget that in an effort to be inclusive that we might over look the better players. It's not about being more competitive, more the desire to win games. Currently we are a mix match of ballers, some of us hadn't played footy before FC7, this is exactly what we are about, welcoming all abilities.
But we now feel we have a core group of players, that might want to add more to their games, on a personal and team level. To compete and play with players on a similar level to them. To start winning games regularly as FC7....on the pitch. It's becoming clear to me that we have a great setup as a club to introduce people to football, to have fun in a safe space, so they and all of us can have the freedom to try new things on the turf, have no pressure to improve, and to get some base fitness into our routine weekly.
We have grown incredibly over the last year, and it's now the right time to add another dimension to FC7.
What we propose...
We want to be able to be in a position to provide fun to everyone, and in the last year we feel we have done that. But while stability is important, we also feel we're at the right junction to start providing fun to the more competitively minded players. We haven't really catered for them. Everyone plays football for different reasons. Some for pure fun, some to catch up with mates, personal driven fitness goals, and some all of the above.
But to actually put together our best team forward, the competitive reason, that some people strive for, well, sometimes it's at odds with the principles above. Nobody wants to lose games, we mean nobody, so it's not directly about winning. But playing to compete against the opposition means that we're more likely to be constructively critical of each other, overall the game is taken up a notch in the serious stakes. Which can make a game uncomfortable for players who just want fun, a catchup or a game amongst mates.
So how can we fix this? What do FC7 propose?
A 2nd game
Yep. Maybe not weekly, we'll trial this out around July, after our birthday celebrations. The idea behind this is to offer up a game, where we attempt to limit the numbers to a full side, then put ourselves up against the randoms or teams who sign up. Again, at no point is this meant to be exclusive, this is meant for all. But there will be some pre-requisites and some explanation below:-
To play the "2nd Game" you must of signed up for the previous week's Thursday night game
The reasoning for this is that we want to make 3 things very clear.
Firstly, the 2nd game has to encourage commitment. The toughest thing about football, is getting commitment, a lot of people talk but proof is in the pudding. Going into our 2nd year, we plan to have more competitive games, against other companies, teams, take part in tournaments, and hopefully a league one day. Before we do that, we need to demonstrate a bit more commitment from the team. A dual point, which carries across, is that we will want to only have a maximum amount of players to make up a team. We're not going to be hard and fast with all this, we don't want too many rules, but hope that everyone understands what we're trying to achieve here. So if we have a 5-a-side game, we only want 5 signups maximum. 7-a-side, 7 people to signup.........8-a-side, 8.......11-a-side, 11....and so on. We don't need to have a minimum, these games are for the hardcore, to pit themselves against randoms, ideally as a team. But it isn't necessary ultimately.
Secondly, signing up for the "2nd Game" means that on your part, you accept the game to be a lot more competitive. Ergo, a lot more communication (shouting), discussions and constructive criticism. If this isn't what you want, then please stick to the regular Thursday game. It goes both ways. We want to keep the fun and inclusivity of the Thursday game, so if you come to that game and start getting too serious, it won't be for you. BUT, put your money where your mouth is, stand up, be counted, commit to the "2nd Game". We hope for both groups that we create 2 different atmospheres, where nothing from either spills over to the other.
Thirdly, by making the more serious toned players sign up to both games, we're not splitting attendance from the regular Thursday night. We're also keeping the overall ability levels good for Thursday night, so everyone can look to improve. We have something great on Thursday, we're not changing that at all. We're only looking to add another dimension to FC7. By doing what we're doing we are not splitting people into 2 groups, this isn't what we want, so this resolves that. One final reason for the pre-requisite, is to make sure that our players don't use this as an option to pick and choose a game they want to play in. We don't want people signing up on a Monday or Tuesday game, because they can't do Thursdays. This "2nd Game" is NOT about flexibility, I'm afraid.
What we hope to achieve?
Well, again there are multiple reasons. Some have been explained above, but it harms no one to list them out, so we represent a clear vision to everyone.
- Commitment - we want to start getting a core group of players who are committed to FC7. By playing 2 games in a week every now and then, you are visibly showing this. This isn't a tick box exercise, but it will help to pick a team for any more competitively flavoured games we want.
It's worth re-iterating that this fully inclusive and isn't related to ability.
- Competitiveness - we want to start getting better as FC7. Having a core group of players, playing with each other regularly and against other teams will do this. It's always been an ambition of FC7 to take part in a league, tournaments etc, and there's a point where we want to be instilling that winning mentality into players......the players that want that level of seriousness however.
It goes back to the commitment point, being committed to winning as FC7.
- Expansion - We want to cater for all players, and while we have firmly established a fun, regular, Thursday night game, we also want to introduce a fun, regular, more serious minded game. Having the 2 games will give us more opportunity to offer everything that everyone wants.
- Social/Cultural - We have always wanted FC7 to be more than just a weekly kickaround. Part of that is the people that make up FC7. The culture and social values of the club. Our fun Thursday games are brilliant, no one takes it too seriously, and it's the perfect day of the week to (post-Covid) have some drinks after, chat about the game and basically just catch up. Having the 2nd Game gives us more freedom to focus all our efforts onto that. Football isn't just about winning, it's about introducing the sport to people, crating environments for people to be comfortable in. For players that want that, we will have it and we always will. But for players looking to cut their teeth in an environment where winning is a priority as well as having fun, measuring themselves against the best players in grassroots, then we will have that too now.
- Team Selection - We hope to have some fun things coming up in the future of FC7. We've alluded to it before. One-off matches against other companies, teams, tournaments and leagues. We need teams for these matches, and it only seems fair that we offer the opportunity up for the committed players. It will also help to get our best sides out on the pitch.
This might sound like a paradox, but it's worth saying again, that the "2nd Game" isn't about ability. We don't want to close this off to anyone at all. If you're willing to commit to a 2nd game and take onboard on the more serious nature of those games, then go for it. This is what FC7 is about, a player who may never have played footy before, signing up for 2 games, getting fitter, better and scoring a winning goal for FC7 in the final of the cup.
Don't despair, it doesn't mean there won't be potential for leagues, tournaments etc if you don't take part in the "2nd Game", we need to put the final icing on top of these proposals, and thrash out the fine details. But essentially this is what we are putting forward.
There's no fail/success to this project. If only 2/3 people sign up for the "2nd Game" then at the very least, those players are getting fitter, getting more geared to rep FC7, and are playing more football. There's no losers here.
Remember we struggled to organise games in 2019, often we would get a several players involved, but the actual games they could make would be few and far between. When we started FC7, we were only getting 4 players, we couldn't even make a 5-a-side team.
How far we have come.
Sure we're trying out new ideas.........but from seeds, mighty oaks grow.
We are FC7
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