About
Mission
The East Bay Over Thirty Soccer league (EBOTS) is a coed adult recreational soccer league for men over 30 and women over 21. We are a league that prioritizes fun over competition. EBOTS started as a pick-up league in the summer of 2003 and incorporated at the end of that year. EBOTS is a unique league that combines the best elements of an organized sports league (insurance, guaranteed fields, etc.) and a pick-up game.
The idea behind the league was to create an atmosphere where players of all levels, from experienced players returning to the game to those with less field time could meet and have fun playing the great game of soccer.
From its inception, the league has strived to encourage friendship and camaraderie over competition and the social aspects of the league are what build strong relationships and keep players engaged in the EBOTS community. Here are some of the things we do to ensure that the league maintains this spirit:
- We play every week, year round, and offer our members the opportunity to develop and maintain friendly relationships.
- We put personal safety above everything else.
- We divide our members into teams and play for a few months; three times a year we shuffle the players, form new teams, and start over. This way we all get to know each other and we learn to keep things in perspective since this month’s “opponent” may well be next month’s “teammate.”
- We do not use referees; instead we call our own fouls. We have found that the presence of a referee at times polarizes people. The absence of referees promotes fair play and camaraderie. This system is not perfect and definitely not for everyone, but it works for us.
- We do not track scores or points. The final score is usually forgotten once the game is over.
- Players frequently cross team lines to help out the other team if it is short in players.
- We hold formal and informal clinics where more experienced players help others develop their skills.
- We keep the number of members relatively low so we all get to know each other fairly well.
- We try and hold social events several times a year and frequently players meet after games for pizza, a beer, and lively soccer conversation.
Thank you for your interest in EBOTS