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There is nothing like the spirit of camaraderie and competition that playing in team sports gives you. The highs of victory, the lows of defeat, staying in shape and the love of your chosen sport are all in abundance. And if you are running your own team, you will feel even more passionate about the successes of your group of players. However, if you have never set up a sports team before, it can seem like a daunting task that you have in front of you. So, in this article, we are going to break it down into stages that make it seem much more manageable. Let’s kick off!

Choose Your Sport

Of course, before you do anything else, you need to choose a sport which you are going to play. Obviously, it is much better if you already have experience playing and taking part in a team in that chosen game. Not only will you know the sport better, you are also more likely to have a group of players that you can call upon to get started. You also need to make sure that there is already a league in your local area to that you are able to get started quickly. Obviously, you also want it to be at your level of play as there is nothing fun about entering a league in which you get beaten time and time again!

Calculate the Finances

There are a number of different costs that you have to bear when you are setting up a sports team, so you need to make sure that you have calculated all the costs carefully. You have to pay the league fees, any equipment, uniforms, permits etc. If you are on a budget, you should check online for the places where you can get the best deals. So, if you are planning to set up a baseball side, you could take a look at the prices on items like blank baseball uniforms. Once you have a better idea of the financial situation, you can then work out what sort of registration fees that you need to charge players.

Create Your Team Name, Logo and Branding

Now is the time for the fun and creative part – choosing your team name. If you are setting up the team with some friends, you can start to bat around some different ideas. Choosing a name which is based on your region is a pretty standard choice – though you may prefer to base it on something which is more personal you. Once you have that name locked down, you can then start to look into creating a logo and some branding. If you have a friend who is good with graphic design, you could get them to create it for you. Otherwise, there are plenty of websites out there where you can find designers for an affordable rate. There is something special about creating your team branding as it gives you all something inspirational.

Select Players for the Team

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You may already have a general idea of who you want to be on the team, but if you can’t fill up all the spots yet, you may need to start holding some tryouts. Try to cast as a wide a net as possible by asking all your current players to ask their friends, coworkers, family members etc for anyone who may be interested in playing. Otherwise, you could always put some adverts up online, in your local sports centre, newspaper etc. There is often a high demand for sports teams, so hopefully, you should be able to get the following that you are looking for.

Create a Chain of Command

If you are setting up the team with a few other people, you may want to look closer at what your management structure is going to be. For example, if you are going to be the manager, you may want to have someone who is the captain, head coach, a treasurer, an admin guy etc. If you create this chain of command now, this will help to prevent any arguments from happening further down the line. It also helps to make your team appear instantly more professional. This may end up helping you out when it comes to recruiting players.

Communicate with Your Team

Once you have your team, you then need to collect all of their contact information so that you can keep in touch with them to arrange training sessions, match details etc. There are plenty of modern methods of doing this, and you could send out information by email or simply create a WhatsApp group which everyone takes part in. If you really want to go further, you could even set up your own team website on which you post upcoming fixtures, match stats, reports etc.

Arrange Training Sessions

The teams which are going to enjoy the most success in sports leagues are the ones which train together on a regular basis. So, you should establish these sessions depending on the availability of your players. You could focus on specific drills or just general fitness. And it is also a good idea to set up some team bonding sessions after matches. After all, this supposed to be fun for everyone and you will want to give all the players the chance to relax and get to know each other a little better.

There is no doubt that there are plenty of logistical challenges involved in setting up your own sports team. However, it should also be something which provides you with plenty of fun times and memories. The above points walk you through just some of the major considerations that you need to make when you are starting a venture like this one. It is always going to be easier if there is a group of you who are sharing the load, so that you are able to divide up your responsibilities. Ultimately, you need to keep a strong sense of organisation throughout.