Cabernet Indoor Sports — A story for everyone
Cabernet Indoor Sports celebrates its two year anniversary next month. For many reasons, the entire staff at Cabernet is excited about this milestone. We appreciate the warm welcome everyone has extended and the many friendships that have been made since we opened. One thing in particular that has become apparent; sometimes the best results are unintended and other times the best intentions play-out completely different than originally thought.
Prior to opening Cabernet Sports, our hope was that the business experience and planning would produce a product that you, as the customer, would embrace. In fact, business fundamentals aside, the primary goal was to create a culture that prospers through community support and family.
Things started moving quickly around Cab the moment the doors were opened and I realized that many of the intended outcomes were brought to life. I also realized some unintended ones had developed; both good and bad.
Ultimately, in a very short time, what developed became bigger than one persons dream, Cabernet has become a community unto itself. Everyone who belongs to Cabernet has helped define it. Proudly, it has developed roots so deep in the community that children will grow to adults with memories made at Cabernet. Adults will share their lives and build their families with Cabernet being a catalyst to many of those memories. In many cases, Cabernet has been the genesis to bringing families together and shaping friendships.
In every case, exciting memories will be and have been made. While originally soccer is what brought everyone to Cabernet; exercise, friendship, laughter and enjoyment is ultimately what is taken away.
I want to share with you one specific example of something that became clear months ago. Awareness will help ensure that it does not deteriorate the culture and product so many seek. I hope you will see what I am about to share so clearly that you have the same “ah ha” moment I had.
Please — take a few minutes and read the following
Adult soccer — defined by two cultures:
- Competitive — playing to win while getting exercise
- Recreational — social networking while exercising — winning is nice too
While these two cultures seem innocent enough, when the two get mixed, the outcomes can be substantially diminished for each group. Both groups are equally valuable, as they contribute so much to the culture of Cabernet. As the founders and managers of Cabernet, at the forefront of our minds is ensuring that the purity and clarity of the two groups remains a solid foundation. Funny enough, both groups look at the allure of the other, sometimes wanting, sometime thinking the grass (exceptionally cool turf in our case) may be greener in that league. Most of the time, participants do not realize what it is about the league they are in that makes it the experience they actually really want and seek until it is too late.
At Cabernet, the common scenario that plays out looks a lot like this. A recreational team decides that they want to add the ingredient of more seasoned players — players with higher levels of skill because they want to “win” the league championship. “I want the championship shirt!” They have grown tired of being “recreational”, they want the win, and they want the “ringers” that will help them get that “win”. Now the other teams see this and then they add a player that can get them back to equal with the new team that is “stacked”. And so on and so on… The team gets more skilled, the recreation and social networking gives way to a more serious competition, intensity and the new anxiety of wanting the “win”. The team grows in size, the original players who were showing up to hang out with their friends and get exercise, are now seeing less playing time — even feeling guilty for taking their shift on the field knowing that “more talented” players are waiting on the bench. Before you know it, the social networking community of laughter and casual conversation has become a competitive environment filled with sharp language, aggressive play and the primary reward for the game being the outcome. In the event of a loss, fingers point at each other and even sometimes the referee gets the one finger salute. The experience of playing matters less. This begins the process of players one by one “having things to do”. They start missing games here and there, and eventually just vanish. By about the 6th game of the season, you look down the bench, and the cheerful praise has stopped and the focus has turned to making calls for the referee, yelling instruction to your teammates and talking about how to neutralize the other team’s best player. In the end, the championship has been won, the community has been lost and time with your “friends” has vanished.
On the flip side, you have the highly competitive players on a team that wants to win. These teams usually have many players with skill, but at times they either are not clicking with their total team play or just need a couple more strong players on their team. Sometimes they have that “one guy/gal” who seems to think they need to dribble and hold the ball most of the time because they are that “good”. Usually the rest of the team mumbles under their breath something about this “Pele” while realizing that if the player just passed the ball, the team may actually win the game. After frustration builds, these teams or individual players want to drop down into more recreational leagues because they want the win and can be more “competitive” in a “recreational” league. And so drops the “competitive” person or team into the world of the social “first” people playing soccer as a means to hang out, talk and exercise.
Further differentiating these two groups is the way they utilize the facility. Highly competitive players usually play 2+ nights a week. These players show up right as the games start, usually running past the front desk. To most of them, soccer is like an hour long aerobic class; they show up, do what they do, then leave for the next game or event. While some of these competitive players stay and socialize, many play for the challenge of matching their skills against their competitors. Most of them want to win, but winning is not always the prize. They look for highly competitive soccer where they can play together. These players can at times become frustrated with lesser skilled players who may not understand the game the same way they do or may not be able to physically perform to the level of the game. Frustrations can run high when silly mistakes are made by anyone but themselves. Even within the team, you may end up with the “us” and the “them” because of differences in how they see the game.
If you watch the groups, which we get the benefit of seeing each week, you can really see what I am talking about.
Purely recreational players show up with their teammates, excited for the game and equally excited to socialize. They almost always stop and check in at the front desk. Prior to the game, these players sit in groups and talk about their day as excitement builds for their game. Don’t get me wrong, recreational players want to win, but that does not determine if their night was successful. Most are happy with a cool move on the ball or a funny moment in the game.
In every scenario of adult soccer, one of the coolest things to see is the children of the players with there faces pressed up against the glass watching their parents playing soccer. For those without kids, your friends’ kids are watching. I wonder what they are thinking as they watch their parents “play” the “game”.
The point of this long winded story is quite simple. If you are a recreational player or group, be happy and enjoy the game and the league. If you are a competitive player or group, be happy and enjoy the game and the league. Remember that no matter what, it is just soccer. That is reality. A positive experience, good memories, passion and different levels of athletic achievement are awesome things to embrace. Diversity is an incredible thing, don’t screw it up. Respect the different levels of soccer, place yourself appropriately in a league and in every instance please be respectful of each other. Lastly, always offer encouragement. Most players cannot remember the soccer moves you did or scores from last week, but I assure you that your character is remembered forever.
Again — It is just soccer. It is just a game. It is the “beautiful” game. Please continue to enjoy Cabernet Indoor Sports and thank you for your support.