Tonight is the night!

Tonight is the night!  The Human League kicks off tonight rain or shine!  We officially booked field 6 at Champions Park starting today, and will run until the end of October.  We have liability insurance and have an official permit to play by Louisville Metro Parks.  Please don’t forget to bring both a white and a black t-shirt so that we can keep teams even as possible!  For those of you who have officially joined the league (and paid your league dues!) I salute you – and for the rest of you – I still definitely need you to officially join – and pay sign the waiver provided here on humanleague.org.  We’ll try to accommodate those of you who are not technically inclined.

With the official start to the new season, I want to remind everyone of a few things.  First of all, thanks for being a part of the Human League community!  With this being my first season organizing the league, I really want to emphasize this aspect of community.  For some of us, this will be our first game with the Human League, and other of us (wily veterans!) we’ve been a part of the league since the beginning.   For everyone, though, it is really important to get to know the fellow members of the league – and all it takes really is to introduce yourself to both members of your (temporary) team, as well as your opponents.  I think you’ll find even more fun to get to know everyone, and it might make Tuesday nights even more fun.  For those that are interested, I’d like to encourage some additional ways that we can get know each other better on or off the pitch, and will provide more information as the season progresses. Your suggestions and ideas are greatly appreciated!

As a fellow member of the community, please be considerate to other members of the community – this is our golden rule.  I don’t want to have to spell out single infraction (because this email/blog post is already too long!), but keep this in mind every week!  Run hard while you are on the field, and sub often – none of us want to stop play just because some community members refuse to sub off the pitch.  If needed – we’ll split off another small sided game to accommodate everyone who wants to have a run!

Some of us bring a fierce competitive spirit to the league, which is great – but the league is meant to provide a healthy outlet for exercise (both mentally and physically.)   This means try hard to keep a positive attitude, and take yourself off the field if you need to calm down – we’ve been fortunate to avoid many incidents in the past, but we reserve the right to kick you off the field for the day or the season if you can’t keep to the spirit of the league.

We play with modified FIFA rules which include no slide tackling, and especially no slide tackling from behind.  We call our own fouls, and while you can pretend you didn’t really trip them, be honest to yourself and fellow community league members.

Thanks again and I look forward seeing you out there (eventually – ironically I’ll need to miss the start of the season for the first couple of weeks as I am adjusting to life as a proud papa of my second child, Sasha.)  Stuart Mushala will be the official Human League ambassador on the pitch.  This year I’d like to keep track of the scores and those who participate every Tuesday—we still need to figure out logistics.

Welcome to the latest season of the Human League

THL Season Premiere in 2 Weeks!

It’s that time of year again! In just a few short weeks the season will begin and we hope you will once  again join us. The 7^th year of The Human League will begin May 26^th and run every Tuesday through October 27st. 

What to Expect  The Human League is:

·    Co-ed - Both men and women play

·    Recreational - Players have various levels of experience. If you are fairly new to the sport, play hard. If you are a pro, adjust accordingly. There isn't a championship. Everyone is playing for fun.

·    Pick-up style - This is a flexible format. Everyone shows up, splits into teams, and plays 90 minute games. Players will self-referee and handle subbing on the fly.

·    Informal - As with any informal pick-up league, it's hard to predict what turnout will be like from week to week. It's important that everyone is flexible and willing to adapt on occasion (for example, be willing to play in a short game or sub more).

How Teams are Made

After everyone shows up, teams will be separated by shirt color. All the black shirts will be on one team and all the white shirts will be on the other. How do you decide which shirt color to wear each night? We recommend flipping a coin. We like to mix it up and keep it random. Also, this is why it's important that you bring the opposite color t-shirt with you every night - in case you need to switch teams to even up the numbers. 

Players must abide by the linked “Player Code of Conduct.”

 When

Games are every Tuesday evening beginning May 26. Games begin at 6pm so show up early if possible to get geared up. The final game will be October 27.

Where

Louisville Champions Park, 2050 River Rd., 40206 (River Road and Edith Avenue). Parking is available on Edith Avenue. Field 4 is reserved for The Human League. Look for the league flag. Check out the map from the 2012 post below.

 Weather

 The Human League Philosophy on the Weather

Soccer is not afraid of the rain and neither are you. We will play whenever it is safely possible to do so. Rain alone will not cancel a game. For the safety of the players, activities will be cancelled for the following weather-related reasons: 

Lightning/Thunder: In the event of lightning/thunder, all activities must be halted immediately. Players should return to their vehicles or other shelter for safety. Activities should not resume until at least 30 minutes after the last incidence of lightning/thunder.

Other Dangerous Weather Conditions: In the event there are other weather conditions that may present a danger to players (e.g. hail, dangerous winds, torrential downpours), all activities should be suspended while the dangerous weather conditions are present.

Field Conditions: If the pitch is so wet (standing water) that it could be damaged by playing on it, then games should be suspended. Fortunately, Champions Park drains very well.

So what should you do?

The decision will always be made at the playing fields at the scheduled game time. There will always be a league representative on site to make the final call. Plan on showing up for the official word unless the weather is obviously going to be too bad throughout the game time.

Equipment

Shin guards are required. Socks should fully cover shin guards. 

Soccer cleats are highly recommended - no metal cleats 
Two t-shirts (one black, one white)
Some other recommended items: drinking water, sunscreen.
Fees 

The fee is $24.00 (twenty dollars) per player for a 24 game season which is a dollar per game. This is to cover the cost of the Metro Parks’ playing field and general liability insurance that Metro Parks requires us to maintain.

Due to the new requirement of carrying liability insurance, players will only be able to participate if they have paid and are 20 or older. 

In order to pay for the season, please use the "Buy it Now" button below.  Paying through Paypal makes keeping track of who has paid very simple.

Release Form

NOTE: All players need to submit a new release form this year. 

The release forms are now electronic. Please fill out the linked form below. All players must have a release form on file.
Release Form

See you on the pitch!

Best regards,

Casey Barwell & Stuart Mushala

The Human League