How to organize a ball hockey league, step by step

To organize a ball hockey league, book a gym for the whole season first, then settle the format, the price and the rules before you recruit players and subs. After that, every week comes down to three jobs: confirm who's playing, fill in the scoresheet and keep the stats. You can do it all with a spreadsheet and emails, or with a league tool like Notre Ligue.

I run the SMBHL, a Sunday morning ball hockey league that plays in gyms in Laval. Four teams, redrafted every season, about a hundred players once you count the subs, mixed level, 16 and up. Here are the steps in the order I do them.

Key takeaways

• The gym decides everything: book it before you talk about anything else.
• Settle the format, the price and the rules before registration opens.
• Your sub list matters as much as your regular players.
• Every week: attendance, the scoresheet, the stats.

Where do you start when organizing a ball hockey league?

With the gym. Without a fixed time slot for the whole season, nothing else holds. Before you sign, ask for the exact dates, the holidays and what's provided on site.

In the SMBHL, two games run at the same time in two gyms, at 10:30 and then at 11:30. I book the gym about a month before the season.

What format should you choose?

Decide it once, before registration: the number of teams, players per team, game length, number of weeks and playoffs.

We have four teams of one goalie and eight skaters. We play 4-on-4, plus goalies. A team needs at least a goalie and five skaters to avoid playing short. Each team plays two games every Sunday, and a game is two 25-minute periods. The fall season has 13 weeks of games, then the playoffs, and a winter season follows. Playoffs are on the last Sunday: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 in the first time slot, then the final and the consolation game in the second.

What equipment do you need?

Balls, two nets per playing surface, goalie gear, and jerseys or pinnies in one colour per team. Our teams are called Red, Blue, White and Black, which settles the jersey question.

In the SMBHL, we play with an orange ball, indoors on a gym floor. The nets are supplied by the gym, and the league owns goalie gear and lends it.

How much should you charge for a season?

Add up the gym rental, the equipment you'll replace and a small cushion, then divide by the number of regular players. Set a per-game price for subs too. For the math, read how to price your rec league registration. In our league, it's $170 a season, $85 for goalies, and subs pay $5 per game played.

How do you recruit players and subs?

Start with last season's players, then ask each of them to bring one more. Keep a separate sub list with each person's position, goalie or skater. To build that list and make it work, read how to find subs for your league.

How do you make balanced teams?

Even teams keep everyone around until the end of the season. In the SMBHL, we redraft the teams every season. Players sign up individually and are drafted onto teams. Ideally the captains draft. Some seasons I've built the teams with AI instead, from the season's stats.

How do you build the schedule?

Each team should face the others about the same number of times, without meeting the same opponent three weeks in a row, and the playoffs should be on the schedule from day one. For the method, read how to build your season schedule.

What rules should you write before the first game?

Put them on one page and send it to everyone before week one: required equipment, stick height, contact, penalties, and what happens when a team is short. In the SMBHL, the main rules are: no slapshots, sticks below the waist, no body contact.

What do you do every week?

Three things. Before the game, ask who's playing, with a deadline, and call subs if you're short. During the game, one person fills in the scoresheet. Afterwards, someone enters the score, goals and assists. If you want stats without retyping everything, see Notre Ligue's scoresheets.

And at the end of the season?

Play the playoffs, hand out the awards, settle the balances and ask who's coming back. In the SMBHL, awards go out at the end of every season, from the top scorer to the best goalie. And book next season's gym now.

The season at a glance

What to have ready before the first game

• The gym booked for every date, playoffs included.
• The format decided: teams, players per team, game length, playoffs.
• The price set, with a payment deadline.
• Balls, nets, goalie gear and jerseys.
• The rules written down and sent to everyone.
• The list of regular players and the list of subs, with an email address for each.
• The teams and the schedule for the whole season.
• One person to fill in the scoresheet.

Doing it by hand

A spreadsheet is enough for a small league: one tab for players, one for the schedule, one for payments, one for stats. Every week you email the players, note the answers, call subs and copy the scoresheet. It works, as long as you have the time and only one person keeps the file.

With Notre Ligue

Notre Ligue builds the season's schedule, playoffs included. Players get the request by email and answer from the link, with no account and no app. When a team is short, your subs are invited automatically, in waves. The scoresheet prints with the players' names and a QR code, and a photo replaces typing in the stats. It's free under 15 regular players, then $9.99 CAD a month up to 50 players and $19.99 CAD up to 100, before taxes, with 2 months free and no card.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between ball hockey and floor hockey?

Both are played without skates. In Quebec, people often say "hockey cosom" for floor hockey in a gym and ball hockey for a game outdoors or on a dek, but plenty of gym leagues, mine included, call it ball hockey.

How many players do you need for a league?

Enough to fill every team, plus a sub list. For example, four teams of one goalie and eight skaters need 36 regular players, not counting the subs.

How far ahead should you book the gym?

At least a month before the season, earlier if you want your pick of time slots. I book mine about a month ahead.

Do you need a referee?

It depends on your league. In the SMBHL, no referees: players call their own penalties. Without a referee, the rules have to be written down and known to everyone before the first game.