It’s 11:30 pm, and you pull into the lot at Total Soccer Royal Oak, packed into a car with your best friends. You exit the car, laughing with your matching team shirts on, excited to play with the team you created just for fun. This is a common scene as early November rolls around again and groups of Berkley students have gathered teams and registered for the high school co-ed league at Total Soccer Royal Oak. This facility, right across from Royal Oak High, has a league open to all high schoolers to create a team and play on weekends. This year, there are nine teams in total. Despite there being no affiliation with the high school itself, four of them are composed of mostly, if not all, Berkley students. As a member of one of the teams, I wanted to explore why this has become a tradition for many students to take part in, and what makes it so fun.
The general consensus of the league is that it is not necessarily about competition but rather having fun playing a sport with your friends. While a lot of the players play soccer outside of these games, whether that be for the school, travel teams, or just recreationally, a good amount of the players never touch a ball outside of this league. This comes to create an interesting mix of teams that vary a lot in skill, but all are there to have a good time.
The games take place on Total’s larger field and are always late into the night, starting anytime between 9:40 pm and 11:50 pm. For a lot of the players, this is part of what makes it so fun. The games are also super high-scoring, due to a number of factors, including the field size and a (bit controversial) rule that when girls score, teams are awarded two, instead of one point. The games are 5 v 5 plus two keepers, with both teams being required to have at least two girls on the field at a time. The games are 40 minutes long, with no halftime and a running clock.
The Berkley teams this year include two senior teams, Meloche F.C. and Sons of Pitches; a junior team, called The Diddlers; and a freshman team, creatively called Freshman F.C. To learn more about the specific teams and the various perspectives on the league in general, I talked with a few players, beginning with Meloche F.C.
My team, Meloche F.C., began its run last year, though some of the players played two years ago on another team for the same league. The name Meloche F.C. is, of course, a tribute to BHS’s principal, Mr. Meloche. Last season, Mac Sperl, a current senior, went to the extent of creating T-shirts for the whole team, with Mr. Meloche’s face right in the middle. This team is composed of seniors from Berkley, except one student from Royal Oak. Everyone on the team plays soccer outside of it, with everyone on varsity for their respective school teams.
I talked to Jessie Burns, a Berkley senior on the team, about why she played last year and is again this year. She noted that “it’s a positive environment and more about having fun than winning!” She said that it’s “fun to play in a different environment” than her regular team, and play with, along with against, her friends, both guys and girls. Danielle Nodler also touched on this, adding that she “love[s] when everyone’s friends come to watch, and sometimes even play in the games.” Meloche F.C., as do most other teams, usually have a lot of the player’s friends come and stand on the sides with the team to cheer them on. Sometimes, depending on the score, they can play if they want since there are no specific rosters. There is often a speaker on the sidelines, playing music and keeping the energy high. In addition, they have an Instagram page that covers their results, posting funny highlights and “almost game day” pictures.
Overall, the games are pretty relaxed as far as structure goes. For Meloche F.C, there is no specific coach, and everyone just goes in as they see fit, adding to the fun, not super serious air. Meloche F.C. has played two games so far, with the first game the weekend of November 10th, playing Sons of Pitches. Burns reflected on this game, claiming it is “one of [her] favorite teams to play each year since it is against others in [her] grade.” Meloche F.C won by a very large amount, but it was a very fun game for everyone, despite the very lopsided score.
Sons of Pitches, like Meloche FC, is made up of a majority of seniors, though there are a lot of players from other schools. To learn more about this team, I talked to Gabe Vieder. He explained how his team also formed together last year, started by Avery Weingarden. He said that they all just brainstormed a bunch of names until one stuck, and they decided to make shirts for it this year. Vieder revealed that they have 23 players technically on the roster, about 8 guys and 15 girls, but have a bunch come in and sub for a majority of their games. Vieder explained that he plays because “it’s just a really fun activity to do, go out on a weekend night and hang out with my friends.” As he is a non-actual soccer player, he elaborated that it’s about “playing a sport we may not be great at, but having a lot of fun with it anyway.” A good majority of the players on Sons of Pitches do not play any soccer outside of this and are just there for fun. Vieder then recalled one of his favorite memories, when he scored a goal by megging the goalie last season against last year’s senior team, Geeb F.C., since they were really good. Like Meloche F.C., Sons of Pitches have an Instagram page for their team that they update regularly with fun interviews, “almost game day posts,” post-game pictures, highlight reels, and more.
Moving on from the senior’s teams, I then talked to Ben Sanborn, a Berkley junior, to hear about the Diddlers. They have about 9 boys and 6 girls, and this is also their second year playing. He shares that they “heard about it from the upperclassmen last year and decided to make a team.” Most of their players play soccer, though they have a few that don’t. At the time of the interview, Sanborn said that his team was most excited to play Meloche F.C., since a lot of the juniors and seniors on the two teams are friends. It did turn out to be a great game, with the seniors taking a close win over the juniors. Although Meloche F.C. and Sons of Pitches will graduate next year and therefore can’t play, the junior team definitely still plans to play next year.
Finally, I talked with Cam Bancroft, a freshman on Freshman F.C. They have about 12 players, and most go to Berkley, but all play competitive soccer outside of this. A lot of their team played last year in the middle school league, and since the juniors and seniors play for the high school league, they decided to do it again this year. Bancroft explained how his team is “all friends and are all pretty good, so they like to win.” Like the juniors, Cam said the freshmen are most looking forward to playing Meloche F.C. They are also planning on playing again next year, so it is likely that the tradition will carry on.
Overall, the total soccer teams are a fun addition to BHS’s student life. Unlike all of the school-affiliated teams, this is a chance for anyone, no matter their skill, to create a team and play other high schoolers from Berkley, and surrounding schools. Although the late game times can be annoying sometimes, it can make it more fun and seem like more of an adventure, being out past midnight just playing soccer.
