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I’m sure this topic has been thrown around a time or two, but I think we’re at a point where this could be a reality.

Have any schools in the area had discussions about hosting a soccer game Friday evening before football?

Edit: I should’ve been clearer. I think this is an idea that can be carried out for special occasions, like homecoming or senior night, that will give communities a push to watch kids they don’t typically see compete and expose them to the game. With most soccer teams in the area sharing a field with their football team, this would be easier to execute than ever before. I am not proposing that Friday soccer games become the norm.

I like the idea, but no way it would happen unless the soccer game is finished 1:30 before the football game starts. Football is used to having a very long drawn out warm up

Hylander wrote: ↑Tue Aug 08, 2023 9:25 pm I’m sure this topic has been thrown around a time or two, but I think we’re at a point where this could be a reality.

Have any schools in the area had discussions about hosting a soccer game Friday evening before football?

Soccer?

goUK wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:01 pm I like the idea, but no way it would happen unless the soccer game is finished 1:30 before the football game starts. Football is used to having a very long drawn out warm up

Most high school soccer games take an hour and 40 minutes from kickoff to the final whistle. If they start at 4:00, they would be wrapped up with plenty of time left.

A lot of parents still work on Fridays. A lot of schools would have a hard time finding a bus to get the teams to games on time. Refs would be hard to get there for a 4:00 start. Soccer and football don't typically have the same crowd. Not sure this is a discussion anywhere, I've never heard anyone push for this.

transplant wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 4:21 pm A lot of parents still work on Fridays. A lot of schools would have a hard time finding a bus to get the teams to games on time. Refs would be hard to get there for a 4:00 start. Soccer and football don't typically have the same crowd. Not sure this is a discussion anywhere, I've never heard anyone push for this.

I probably should’ve been clearer. I’m not talking about regular Friday soccer matches, but rather once or twice per season events - maybe for homecoming or senior night? Showcase the soccer team and give the community a reason to come watch kids they don’t typically see compete. Expose people to a new sport. With most teams in the area now sharing a field with their football team, I’m surprised there hasn’t been much discussion yet.

Gotcha.

I don't think it would be impactful for getting football spectators interested in soccer or vice versa. They're just two very different cultures—among the adults.

I would like to see more coordination among the athletes though. Maybe soccer players volunteer to pick-up trash in the bleachers after football games and some football players serve as ball-kids or concessions for soccer games. That's the kind of thing that builds long-term community relationships. I really like seeing boys soccer players in the crowd of girls games, but I understand scheduling usually makes that impossible. ADs should be looking for opportunities to keep the kids connected... I don't know that there's much that can be done about the adults.

No! Soccer games in high school are too long now in my opinion. Add a football game to follow and it would be a very late Friday night for the traveling team.