World Cup popularity brings more players to Woodlawn

Though the World Cup has come and gone, soccer is still the thing to do during the summer at Woodlawn Field.

Pickup games at Woodlawn have been an annual summer tradition, but this summer’s games have become especially popular.

Around 7 p.m. nearly every day of the week, groups of 15 to 40 people congregate at the field on the corner of 10th Street and Woodlawn Avenue to engage in the other kind of football, sometimes playing for as long as three hours.

Clara Garcia, a Spanish teacher at Bloomington High School North, said her two sons, Diego and Pablo, have been playing soccer since they were little. The constant crowds at the field brought them out to play as well, despite their age, she said.

“They’re 12 and 10 and really love to play,” Garcia said. “They’re smaller, but we’re still waiting for the 12-year-old to have a growth spurt, and then maybe he can match up better.”

Her brother Carlos plays in the games as well.

The games have even grown off the field. Their Facebook group, “Woodlawn Soccer,” was started recently and has a handful of members inviting people to come out and play, sometimes adding weather forecasts to the wall.

Understanding all of soccer’s rules and regulations isn’t a necessity. The style of these games isn’t much different than a game of pick-up basketball. Infractions such as hand balls or a foul are rarely called except in the most blatant instances, while offsides is entirely nonexistent.

Depending on the number of players on a given day, they might divide themselves into several separate teams or just rotate in. On days with several teams, games are usually played to two goals or around ten minutes, whichever comes first.

“It’s kind of an interesting culture they have. Rather than just play on two separate fields they all usually just play on this one in a big group,” said senior Chris Reissaus.

Reissaus said there are the usual minor tiffs, but nothing bad.

“There are certain kids who like to get into it a little, but it’s never escalated to anything big at all,” he said.

The skill sets of the players range from limited to very good. While most will tell you that they played high school soccer, some of the players are first-timers to the game.

Senior Jake Sheff said he never played soccer until he arrived at IU as a freshman.

“I had never played until I was on an intramural team my freshman year,” he said. “Now I play regularly up there, so it doesn’t matter how good you are.”

Reissaus said this is his fourth consecutive summer he’s spent time in Bloomington.  The games have always been there, he said, but not like this summer.

“There are painted lines for the first time, so we do corner kicks now. We haven’t had those in the past,” said Reissaus. “There’s been a solid group of regulars this year.”

Sheff, who has been playing at Woodlawn since last fall, echoed that sentiment.

“I would say (the World Cup) definitely helped turnout,” Sheff said. “I remember one afternoon after the US played, that was the most people I’ve ever seen up there at one time.”