Why Don't Social Sports (Like Kickball Leagues) Endure in Roseville? Here are 2 Answers.

From Kickball, Dodgeball, and Tetherball to Scrabble Pub Crawls and Connect Four adults are returning to children's games or “Social Sports” for a new take on group activities.

“Social Sports” are meant to focus on the social aspect of group activities rather than the more traditional sports which focus on competition. In addition the elementary level of the activities are designed to allow for a lower level of skill to be able to play.

These “Social Sports” have popped up in Roseville / Rocklin on and off but I think that the reason they have not endured is two fold. They become too competitive getting away from their social roots, and they don’t address the family aspect of Roseville / Rocklin.

As a social sports leagues progress the players naturally develop a greater level of skill and ability. These veteran teams begin to dominate the league and creating divisions of us and them as scores reflect a difference in skill level. It is one thing to just play for fun, but it is another to lose every game you play.

This causes new teams to the league to quit after the first season and search for a more fun alternative, because they were promised a ‘social experience’ and got a competitive one. veterans teams will slowly disappear from natural attrition and changes in player’s lives.

The other aspect is that a large population in Roseville / Rocklin are young families, with small children. I don’t think that this accounted for in most social sport leagues. I have seen families take turns watching children on the sidelines, but then there is always someone left out. If you are lucky you may be able to find and afford a babysitter, but that is still an additional cost on top of the league fees.

Sure I have some ideas on how to address these issues, but I would rather hear some of your ideas in the comments. Do you think that Roseville / Rocklin wants social sports, and if so, what needs to change to make seasons a success?

Thank you,

~Matthew Heintz - Personal Social Health Expert - Radii150.com