Pickup Soccer

Friendly game. No slide tackling, rough play, or coaching. Bring a white and dark colored shirt. Ideally we will play 10 vs. 10 on half the field, but will split into multiple games if we have numbers.

Come watch [Belgium vs. Iran on](https://www.volosports.com/d/f49d0a23-51f1-40e8-b3c8-3b60dbacb1e2) **[Sunday, June 21st at 3pm at Wunder Garten](https://www.volosports.com/d/f49d0a23-51f1-40e8-b3c8-3b60dbacb1e2).** **What you can expect:** Great soccer and vibes 🍺 **2 Free Anheuser-Busch products** i.e. Michelob Ultra, NUTRL, Bud Light, Budweiser **Limited edition World Cup merchandise for giveaway and raffle** 🔥 Exclusive, soccer themed Volo Pass swag (Members Only, [sign up here](https://www.volosports.com/volo-pass)) Bring your friends, wear your Belgium or Iran gear, and come ready to celebrate, cheer, and enjoy the game together! Note: General admission and entry to Wunder Garten is free, but the immersive Volo experience and perks are available only this registration.

Open play up to 18 people, all skill levels. Bring your friends or potential new members, bring a BBQ, (we have a lot of BBQ’s over the summer) your dog and cat, your good times and your laughter too.

## Details - Please read all below before you sign up **Event Time:** You are free to come in 2 to 3 hours at a time and leave early or come in late. This is a **4 hour** volleyball event. **Cost:** Free **Court Type:** Outdoor Grass **Level:** BB **Transportation:** Parking will be right by the grass. **What to bring:** at least 3 bottles of water and a ball/net if you have one. **4 persons per net max** **Host's Philosophy on this event:** The purpose of this meetup is to create a fun and supportive environment where we can improve our skills, enjoy competitive games, and connect socially. While we do aim to play seriously and challenge ourselves, the focus is more on growth and enjoyment than simply winning at all costs. This event is more on the competitive side. **Skill Level:** 1. **If you want to know your level, please see the link below:** [Smiley Social Volleyball Levels](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/edit) **YouTube:** The games may be recorded and uploaded to our channel here: Let the host know if you have an issue with this. [Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/@mp02626) **ATTENDANCE:** **Player Selection:** Regulars > Your Vibe > Skills > \*Flaky-ratio (your attendance ratio) > New Members \*If you have attended 3 events and dropped 6, you may or may not be invited. Anyone with a Flaky-ratio -.50 or lower. If you have a recent no-show, you may not be invited. The host takes attendance very seriously. Please remove yourself from the event (if you can't make it) as early as possible to allow others to join. You will be marked as a ***no-show*** if you don't show up to the event. [Smiley Social Rules](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HrG35p_0M08leRvCp8XWG3CMkr_GL928XFabl5T6Dvg/edit) **Q&A** *-Bringing your dog or cat is welcome and encouraged.* -Can I come if I don't know how to play? \*No, you may not. The host does teach a beginner's volleyball class that you may attend on Saturdays. -Can I be late or leave early? *The host expects you to be there **on time** and leave on time. If you need to come late or leave early, please let the host know ahead of time.* -Can I come even if I am not on the going list? No -How can I improve my Flaky-ration? *You can attend other Smiley events. Commit to showing up.* -Why are new members accepted last? *Because they are the most flaky.* -NO SMOKING (anything) **Smiley Social Important Links:** 1. [Group Rules](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HrG35p_0M08leRvCp8XWG3CMkr_GL928XFabl5T6Dvg) 2. [Liability Waiver](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W2mq-7m99lmvd7gdWYaSUFtvVg4UGnzV6koafAbHmco) 3. [Volleyball Levels](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/)

This game is located at the DC/Maryland Border in Silver Spring. We'll use the Tennis Courts at Juniper Blair Park where there are Night Lights shining on an enclosed arena. This area is enjoyable because it allows for more touches on the ball, with more movement around the field. THIS IS ON A TENNIS COURT. WE DO NOT WEAR CLEATS. WE WEAR FUTSAL SHOES, TENNIS SHOES; ANYTHING WITH NO SPIKES. Pinnies and goals will be provided. Bring a ball if you have one. We usually get 10+ more players not on meetup — we'll add those to whatever we get here and see if we can have a game. More than competitive, we all want to play good futsal and make it fun and entertaining for all. No warm sided matches here — new and advanced players are welcomed. Here, we want to get active and have fun in the evenings after work

This game is located at the DC/Maryland Border in Silver Spring. We'll use the Tennis Courts at Juniper Blair Park where there are Night Lights shining on an enclosed arena. This area is enjoyable because it allows for more touches on the ball, with more movement around the field. THIS IS ON A TENNIS COURT. WE DO NOT WEAR CLEATS. WE WEAR FUTSAL SHOES, TENNIS SHOES; ANYTHING WITH NO SPIKES. Pinnies and goals will be provided. Bring a ball if you have one. We usually get 10+ more players not on meetup — we'll add those to whatever we get here and see if we can have a game. More than competitive, we all want to play good futsal and make it fun and entertaining for all. No warm sided matches here — new and advanced players are welcomed. Here, we want to get active and have fun in the evenings after work

● Ultra-light ball (\~1/8th as heavy as a normal 5). This allows zero chances of ball causing brain injury. (Hence the name, Soccer Zero.) It's also nice to do toe kicks! ● Injury-based foul system. This means that the rules apply even for same-team-side fouls, too. You can use your hands to protect yourself from the ball; hand balls are only called if you did it to gain an advantage. Yellow cards will cause the fouler to sit out for 120 seconds. Strong kicks of balls to anyone's head, called "face kicks", or nuts (for male players only), are yellow-card fouls even though the ball is so light it doesn't matter as much. This penalizes inconsiderate play, something we really do care about. Reckless players or anyone getting a red card is banned. (Before heading, you need to have an idea of where other nearby players are.) So, as an example, if you kicked the ball at high speed to your own teammate's head you still have to sit out for 2 minutes. ● No out of bounds. This makes it more interesting and easier to ref. ● No offsides. ● No goalies for the senior team. (The senior team is the one that is ahead in points.) This rule is used in place of an offsides rule, since it implies you cannot win by sticking some fat player who stands in front of their relatively small Pugg goal all day long. We define a goalie to be any defender intentionally within the "goal area". In turn, this *goal area* is defined as the ground in front of the goal covered by the top of the goal, were the goal to be tipped forwards onto the ground, similar to what would happen if the wind blew strongly from behind and the stakes were not secured. ● Goal resizing. Sometimes a strong player comes on mid-game after teams were picked by the two captains. If someone like Ronaldo joins a team and/or both captains agree to goal resizing to make the game more balanced the game will be stopped and the goal sizes altered to make it more even. Please don't suggest team shuffling as a better method. It destroys the team spirit. If the switched player sucks, it will add insult to injury to him or her. On the other hand, if the switched player is good, past points stack against him or her, which also destroys the game integrity, much of which is about trying to get your team to win. Goal resizing and point multiplying (each point counts as 2 for the junior team) maintains game integrity and helps maintain balance and game intensity. Games are in Silver Spring, MD. They are reffed. Clean red and blue pinnies are supplied when needed. A weekly invitation including a recap of the prior week's game is sent out to any players who want to read it. See here (https://www.meetup.com/safersoccer/boards/thread/23643732/0/). RSVPs are required. The reason is that it should increase their own enjoyment. You see, the ideal number of players for a pickup soccer game is perhaps 6x6 - 8x8; some players won't attend if they think the turnout will be low, and others will just assume the game will be cancelled even though we always play. (As a practical matter, smaller games are less fun since the comics won't have the audience they need, but, they do have two hidden benefits: shorter, more intense games/workouts and fewer face kicks/yellow cards. So we play no matter how small or large.) So non-RSVPers are a little short sighted, since they don't seem to want to maximize their own enjoyment in the long run. Rational and sane players who have a good chance of attending RSVP a week early here [and in the subgroup](https://www.meetup.com/safersoccer/). Location map (cut & paste url into a browser)(park on Plyers Mill): secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/1/7/2/600_364808562.jpeg