The birds are chirping, the weather is perfect, and you need an activity to get you outside and active! Spring is the time to organize a community sports activity! There is no better reason than perfect weather to get your community together for a fun activity?

Studies show that most people are inactive because they have do not have fun exercising or they are unsure what activity to participate in. A community sports team or competition is a great way to get on the move!

Below you will find the necessary steps to get your neighbors up and active through team sports!

1. Recruit project leaders: Contact your friends, family members, and neighbors to find out who would be interested in helping you plan and execute the project.
2. Identify your space: Does your neighborhood have an open public space that you could use? If your neighborhood does not, contact your local school to use their field.
3. Define a project plan and timeline: Define your goals and schedule for the project. Decide whether or not you would like to collect donations or you will charge for admission. Determine your space size and how many participants it can hold.
4. Recruit other volunteers and assign roles: Maximize your participants’ skills after you have your leaders assigned. Make sure you have a manager, a designer, and sports equipment.
5. Promote: Use your team to develop and promote and print fliers, email, obtain newspaper advertisements, and engage social media in order to mobilize your network of participants and volunteers. Use all necessary sources to get the word out about the event.
6. Execute the plan: Once you have your teammates and managers begin practicing and playing games! Break the ice with your teammates by hosting a BBQ, picnic, or social. Make sure your teammates feel comfortable with each other to ensure a successful team makeup. Learn from you mistakes and successes to build upon success.
7. Reflect and recognize: Once your season of team action is over reflect upon the successes and weaknesses of the past season. Record what can be improved upon and what worked for future sports seasons.

Forming a sports team is a great way to start the process of neighboring in your community. Whether you form a little league baseball team or an adult swim team it is a great way to be social with your community members, while improving overall health through being active.

How has your community bonded through active competition? Share with us in the comments below, we would love to hear about it!