New adult soccer league hoping to bring balance between competition and recreation

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“So really what I’m trying to do is trying to make it more accessible to everybody, make it so they can apply to play in the league without having a team, and then I can look at it and put them on a team.” 

Gateway North Soccer League

New adult soccer league hoping to bring balance between competition and recreation

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Hegland is also contacting nearby towns and reserves to see if there are teams from the area surrounding Prince Albert would be willing to travel into town to join in. 

When it comes to the level of competition to expect from the GNSL, Hegland’s dream is to have enough players and teams that there can be multiple divisions. That way someone who has not played soccer competitively before won’t get matched up on a team that is taking things more seriously. In fact, he sees the lack of competition levels as a reason why previous soccer leagues have not worked out. 

“Where did the divide really start? It could even just be in the fact that new players come in, they do find a team somehow, and then they realize that maybe they’re just not quite at that level that some of the other teams have been because they’ve been playing so long together. I was thinking if we had more of a fun division that people could just sign up for and come and play, that’s really where I think Prince Albert is lacking right now, is not having an option for competitive and fun.” 

Hegland has also been approaching businesses in the area to help support costs of the league and make the game even more accessible to potential players. 

“One thing I’ve been working on this last week is getting a hold of businesses as well that are looking to get in on it. So we’re talking about restaurant partners, we’re talking about physio partners in case players get injured, all sorts.” 

Right now Hegland is in the process of getting a website set up for the league including a spot for ‘free agents’ to register so that they can be placed on a team. For now, they have just opened up their Facebook page to the public.