So, I was trying to get a game going the other day, right? Just a casual kickabout with some mates and a few new faces. You know how it is, you send out a few messages, hope for the best. We were aiming for enough for a decent 7-a-side or maybe even an 8-a-side if we got lucky. And guess what? We ended up with exactly 17 soccer players. Not 16, not 18. Seventeen.
The Awkwardness of Seventeen
Now, you might be thinking, “Seventeen, that’s loads!” And yeah, it’s a good turnout. But it’s just a really, really awkward number for a casual game. Seriously. If it was 16, perfect! Two teams of eight. If it was 18, great! Two teams of nine, or even split into three teams of six for a mini-tournament. But seventeen? It throws a real spanner in the works. You’re immediately faced with a few headaches:
- Someone has to sit out more than others.
- Teams are uneven if you try to make two.
- Rotating one “extra” player is clunky and disrupts the flow.
It’s not like we’re professionals here, with designated subs and tactical formations. We just want to run around and have a bit of fun. But that one extra person, or one person short of making things even, it just complicates everything.
Honestly, this whole thing with the 17 players, it really dragged up a memory from years back. I was trying to get a game together for some folks from my old office. You know, team building, but actually fun. I spent ages trying to get numbers, sending emails, nagging people. Finally, game day, and we end up with something like 13 people. Just like this time, an odd number that makes everything a pain. We tried to make it work, but you could just feel the grumbling. One guy, Dave from accounts – always a bit particular, Dave – he kept sighing every time he had to be the ‘floating’ player or wait his turn. It kind of killed the vibe, you know? You put in all this effort to get people out, and then the simple maths of it trips you up. It’s not like you’re managing a World Cup squad, but these little logistical things, they can really sour an afternoon if you’re not careful. People just want to play, not stand around figuring out complex rotation systems.
What We Ended Up Doing
So, with these 17 players, we stood around for a bit, scratching our heads. A few ideas were thrown about:
- One massive game: Like, 8 vs 9. But that’s instantly unfair and one team gets knackered. No one really fancied that.
- Three teams: We could have gone for, say, two teams of 6 and one of 5, and rotated. But then two teams are always playing and one is sitting out, and the team of 5 is always disadvantaged. Seemed too complicated for a quick game.
- Finding an 18th player: Someone even suggested quickly calling another mate. But it was already game time, you know? A bit late for that.
In the end, we went with two teams of eight, and one poor soul volunteered to be the ‘super sub’. This meant he’d basically play for whichever team felt like they needed a rest for one of their players, or if someone picked up a knock. It wasn’t ideal, let me tell you. The ‘super sub’ spent a lot of time jogging on and off, never really settling into a rhythm with one team. And the teams themselves, well, you’d have someone come off, someone else come on, it was a bit disjointed.
We played for about an hour like that. People got their exercise, there were a few goals, a bit of banter. But I could tell it wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. The flow was definitely off. That one extra player, it just made everything a little bit… fiddly.
It’s funny how such a small detail, the exact number of people, can change the whole vibe of a casual game. You go from anticipating a straightforward, fun match to suddenly having to do all this mental arithmetic and people-management on the fly. I suppose it’s a good lesson in flexibility, but honestly, next time, I’m going to be a lot more insistent on getting an even number, or at least a number that divides nicely! This 17 soccer players scenario, while not a disaster, was definitely a bit of a faff. Made me appreciate those times when the numbers just work out perfectly. Those are the best days.
