Minnesota GLBT Soccer

Several of our members have been been busy making sure that people can find us. In addition to this blog, we now have a page in Facebook (Facebook registration required), we are listed at Outsports.com, and Andy is setting up a Myspace.com page for us.

We will be playing again on Monday, April 2, 2007 from 8:30 - 9:30 PM at Corner Kick Indoor Soccer. If you plan to join us for the first time, if you would like more information, or if you are interested in carpooling email mnglbtsoccer@gmail.com .

Please do not wear spikes if at all possible.

Labels: facebook, GLBT, myspace, outsports, soccer

We had twelve players show up on Monday and two of those players were brand new to our group. We had three balls on the field during warm ups, so it was a bit like the bonus round on a pinball table with extra balls flying everywhere.

We split into two teams, headed by Jesse and Adam and began playing. The quality of our play is very clearly improving. We played with four on the field and two substitues for each side. The substitutes were well used for the most part. It seemed like everyone really put their heart into the game. I don't think I have seen queers sweat that much off the dance floor since... ever. Our passing game is improving and this goes far in terms of putting together an organized and effective offense. We did not keep track of the scoore, but both teams scored many many times.

At one point we had to stop the game due to one of our balls being logded in the netting above the field, but the short and somewhat silly break in the game gave several of us the chance to catch our collective breath before returning to the game.

The temperature outside was a balmy 80 degrees Farenheit, so the tempreature in the building we play in was probably warmer than it has ever been during oe of our sessions.

When the game was over we talked a bit more about moving to an outdoor venue. Anthony suggested a field in Bryn Mawr, someone suggested fields near the U of M, St. Paul campus, and I suggested that we all pay attention to the soccer fields that we pass outside to find the best places to play.

We will be playing at Corner Kick for at least the next 2 weeks, but eventually we will move to the great outdoors. I am going to try to bring a small scoreboard for nextweek's 8:30 PM game so we can keep track of our goals.

Labels: fun, gay, lesbian, minnesota, soccer

Last night we got together at Pi in SE Minneapolis. We had a wonderful turn out that made for a great time. Pretty much everyone that played soccer from Monday was there. Although we didn’t have anyone show up from our email list we did find some people that were interested in playing with us in the future.

Looking foward, we are growing which is a good thing. There will be a need to start looking for a place to play outdoors. Also, since it’s free to play outdoors, there is the possibilty of playing a couple of days a week as opposed to just one. Also, we are starting to look at playing in the Minneapolis Parks District league.

Labels: Pi, soccer

Join us on the field to celebrate ten weeks of GLBT Soccer in the Twin Cities. We will be playing on Monday, March 26, 2007 from 8:30 - 9:30 PM at Corner Kick Indoor Soccer. If you plan to join us for the first time, if you would like more information, or if you are interested in carpooling email mnglbtsoccer@gmail.com .

Our group is co-ed and we have players of various skill levels. We are playing to have fun, get in better physical shape, and to improve as soccer players. You are welcome to join us regardless of your skill level.

We hope to see you on the field.

Labels: GLBT, maplewood, minneapolis, minnesota, soccer, st. paul

On Friday, March 23rd at 9:30 PM we will be meeting at Pi in South Minneapolis. Meet soccer players off the field and have a good time.

Pi is located at 2532 25th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN. A Google Map for Pi is here.

For more information about what PI is like, check out Erica M's first impression over at Metroblogging Minneapolis.

Labels: drinks, Friday, minneapolis, Pi

Andrew sent out a reminder on March 17th about the game, and I hoped that we would have at least seven players. The turn out made me smile. Eleven players showed up to Corner Kick!

We started out kicking the ball around the field and warming up. I asked two of our best players to be opposing captains, and we split our players up according to shirt colors. One team started play with six players while the other team had five, but at any given time there were only four players on the field for each side, a goalie and three players. Having substitution players is great because it lets you run very hard and then take much needed breaks. The teams were relatively evenly matched and everyone played hard.

At the end of the game everyone seemed really upbeat, and our hearts were beating fast due to our exertion on the field. We had a short chat about implementing an additional rule for next week (the goalie can only kick or throw the ball to a player that has not crossed the middle line) and everyone pitched in $10 (or $5) to cover the cost of the field rental. I mentioned that we will be at Corner Kick for at least the next 3 weeks, but that at some point we will want to have a discussion about when to move outside, and where we should play once we do move outside.

We talked about the possibility of getting together on Friday night to check out the new nightclub Pi (or is it Pie?) in South Minneapolis. Then we dispersed and went home.

I stopped in the soccer store in the facility and purchased a couple of good quality soccer balls, so next week we will have a couple of new balls to kick around.

Labels: bisexual, gay, lesbian, maplewood, minneapolis, minnesota, soccer, sport, transgender

I remember watching the 2006 Germany World cup games during July of 2006, and thinking "I would love to play soccer again." I started playing soccer with a co-ed group of men and women that I met off of Craigslist. I enjoyed playing with these folks, but as sport is one of the last unabashed arenas of homophobia, I remember hearing offensive remarks made occasionally by the straight folks I played soccer with and I realized, "These people don't know I am gay." I am out in all other realms of my life: work, family, friends, but somehow I was unsure of how to be out and yet remain on the team as "the gay guy."

Several months later I met a fellow by the name of Andrew. He is also gay, and said he was also interested in playing soccer. Andrew and I noted that there were gay leagues for softball, bowling, volleyball, and other sports, but we were unaware of any sort of GLBT friendly soccer group. At that point we hatched the idea of putting together a GLBT group of people in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to play soccer. This blog is a documentation of this process, and our progress at becoming better soccer players.

Since we started this in the winter months, we would have to play indoors as Minnesota in winter is not hospitable to playing soccer outside. To start with, I put up some advertisements on Craigslist for GLBT soccer players. Our first set of advertisements went on the activity partners, men seeking men, and women seeking women message boards. The first post I made was short and to the point:

Soccer for Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans and other friendly people

There are GLBT leagues for several other sports in the Twin Cities, but I grew up playing soccer. Several people are looking to find other persons interested in meeting up to play soccer with other GLBT folks. This is a great way to get fit and to meet people who enjoy the benefits of being physically active.

We are looking for men and women of various ages who want to get out on the soccer field and remember how fun it is to play soccer. You don’t have to be an excellent player. Perhaps you have not set foot on a soccer field for several years, but you want to get out there and kick around a ball. Email me if you are interested in playing.

During the winter we will play on indoor fields, and there will be a small fee to cover the cost of our field rental. At this point we are considering playing on Monday nights, but this could change.

* Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul

At our first night there were 4 people that showed up, including Andrew and I. Andy and Sandy were the other inaugural players. Here is the break down of our attendance so far.

Week 1 - January 22, 2007: 4 players
Week 2 - January 29, 2007: 7 players
Week 3 - February 5, 2007: 6 players
Week 4 - February 12, 2007: ~8 players
Week 5 - February 19, 2007: ~8 players
Week 6 - February 26, 2007: ~8 players
Week 7 - March 5, 2007: 10 players
Week 8 - March 12, 2007: 6 players

I have noticed that our skill level is increasing slowly and each time a player shows up he/she is better than the week before.

If you are interested in joining us to play on a Monday night, please email us at mnglbtsoccer@gmail.com