Starting your School Foosball Club
If your school already has a school-based foosball program that’s GREAT!
We'd like to hear about it. Contact Us at foosballclubsusa@gmail.com.
Your next step might be to connect with other schools who either have a program, or who are attempting to get one started. Foosball Clubs USA would love to hear your story and share it with others. So, head on over to our Blog page to share with others how your program got started and / or how it operates.
Most of you are here because your school doesn’t have a foosball program and you want ideas for how to get one started. The information below is for you.
The First Steps
There's no ONE WAY to get any program started in a school district, especially one as unique as foosball. However, we think the suggestions and steps we’ve provided below will help you get started.
After reading through these suggestions, contact us to discuss your particular situation and plans. We want to help others get their own foosball club started.
Make a Proposal - Hey, you don’t know until you ask. Maybe you’re in a significant enough position in your school where you could make a proposal, or offer an idea as a ‘concept’, without needing to have many details in place first.
Your district might already have a perceived need that a foosball program could be a solution to. If so, speak up. You might be given the green light to explore your idea further, but now with some official support.
However, in most cases you’ll want to demonstrate a need / desire for an established program before making a proposal. Better to not ask yet, than ask and be told NO.
Identify a Key Person - We can’t emphasize enough how vital this detail is. Having a key ‘mover and shaker’ in your district is the most important ingredient in launching your program. This person may or may not be a foosball player. However, this key person must be dedicated to finding a way to make a foosball club or team a reality.
In most school districts you will be starting a foosball program from scratch. It’s not like your school HAS a foosball program and they’re just looking to staff it, or expand it. The sport of foosball provides many benefits to the overall goals of the school, but you, or your Key Person, will need to communicate these benefits, to the right people, and in a convincing way. (see our Why Foosball section)
Therefore, you might need to take some small incremental steps while introducing foosball to your district, before making a proposal for a full-blown school-based program.
Your Key Person should be an individual in your district who is in a good position to navigate your particular school and identify the best opportunities for promoting foosball in your district.
It may be that there are a few individuals in your district who could act as a committee for introducing foosball to your school. An active committee of dedicated members, especially if they play foosball, could be beneficial to your effort. However, there still should be one key person taking the lead to ensure that your efforts stay focused.
Suggested Strategies and Events
Just Provide a Table ‘Unofficially’ - John O’Brien, who founded Foosball Clubs USA, is a Technology Education teacher who simply brought in one of his own tables and set it up in ‘break room’ area of his large classroom / workshop. Students would play on this table during lunch time, after school, and sometimes even before school started. Mr. O’Brien was willing to supervise these times of play, and provided instruction in game play and technique.
Donate a Table - Perhaps your school has a 'recreation room' or 'student lounge' where a foosball table could be set up. Once the students demonstrate an interest, then you can move on to other strategies. And they WILL be interested!
School “Field Days” or “Game Days”- Schools sometimes organize fun days for their students when a variety of games and activities are made available for students to sign up and play. Offer to bring in a foosball table, (or two, three) and arrange for knowledgeable supervision of this activity.
Hold a Tournament - It’s fairly easy to hold a one day, free tournament at your school. This could be held on a Saturday, a vacation day, or even during the summer.
In order to keep the event moving, you’ll want to make arrangements for at least one table for every 4-5 players signed up for the tournament. Check out our Rules section to be sure you’re running things according to International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) rules.
Finding Tables – if you’re holding a foosball tournament for the purpose of generating interest in playing foosball, then simply ‘holding the event’ is the most important detail. It would be nice to have everyone playing on the same type of quality tables at your tournament, however, it’s not essential. Introduce the game now, and secure matching quality tables later.
Securing the Tournament Site – Be sure to hold the tournament at one of the school buildings. This is important since you’re trying to form a school-based foosball program.
Often, you’ll need to submit a Facility Use Form with you district, as a means of securing the space in one of your district’s buildings. It’s best to ‘informally’ clear the event with your building administrator first, to make sure there are no other school events scheduled that would interfere, either with the space you want to use, or with your student population you hope to attract.
Publicize Your Events -The benefit of holding school-sponsored, or at least school-approved events, is that school resources, such as PA announcements, bulletin boards, school website … etc, are all available to you for publicizing the event.
Enrichment and After School Programs
After School Enrichment programs offer to provide a foosball activity as part of an existing school Enrichment, After School, or Latch Key type program. Often, these after school or enrichment programs are funded by state or federal grants. Find out who in your district coordinates these types of programs and see if they would like a new activity. Before you propose offering an after school or enrichment type program, be sure to review our ‘Why Foosball’ section.
Generally, instructors who teach classes, as part of an After School Program, are paid an hourly rate. After school program will have their own unique schedule and structure. Therefore, there is no one way to organize and run an Foosball Activity as part of your After School Program. If you have the opportunity to propose a Foosball Activity for your school's After School Program, and would like to discuss possible scenarios, please contact to set up a time to talk things over on the phone, or Skype. Email us at foosballclubsusa@gmail.com.
Challenges
Introducing a foosball table and / or program to your school does present some unique challenges. Here are just a few.
Location - Where are these tables going to be housed, played, and stored when not in use?
Timing and Access to Tables - When will the tables be played on, and who has access to them? Are the balls to be left in the tables. If not, are they managed by a supervising staff member, or may students sign them out?
Supervision- Does supervision need to be provided for every time the tables are played on? If so, who will provide this supervision? If not, what occasions will students be allowed to play on the tables without supervision, and how do you ensure the tables are not misused?
Even if you don’t have the answers yourself, you’ll get a better reception if you at least understand the potential difficulties and are prepared to help look for solutions.
Foosball Club
A formal school club is a significant mark of recognition and stability within the context of a school district. Formal clubs always require approval from the building administration, and often require approval from the Board of Education.
Clubs fall under rules of accountability; however, they also bring privileges and benefits not available to non-club events / activities.
Club Advisors : Paid or Unpaid – Every school club must have a faculty advisor. This advisor position might come with a stipend, or it may not. In order to launch your first Foosball Club, the advisor might need to be willing to serve as an unpaid advisor for a season.
Club Program Activities - During this program students will:
- Learn the rules of competitive foosball.
- Be instructed in the basic techniques used in playing the game of foosball skillfully.
- Develop an understanding of the differing styles and strategies of play.
- Learn to play both individually and with a partner.
- Study and learn from watching professional foosball competition via steaming video, and / or DVD.
- Play lots and lots of foosball.
- Participate in local ‘in-house’ organized by their school.
- Maintain the school foosball tables in good working order.
- Participate in interscholastic foosball competition, if it can be arranged.
- Travel as a club / team to regional tournaments organized by larger foosball organizations and promoters.
Foosball Team
A Foosball Team would have many of the features of a Foosball Club. However, a school team has a significantly more established status in a school district. A Foosball Club might compete against Foosball Clubs from other districts, and / or travel to regional tournaments together. This is good, but, it is still not at the level of a school Foosball Team.
For the purpose of this handbook, a school Foosball Team would be attached to and operating under the supervision of the school Athletic Director, would have a paid coach, and would compete in a schedule of interscholastic matches and competitions, sanctioned by a sports governing body, such as the National Association of High School Sports (NFHS), and in accordance with well established rules, determined by some sanctioning body for the sport of foosball, such as the International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF).
It is the goal of Foosball Clubs USA to help establish school Foosball Teams at the local, county, state, and national levels, wherever possible.
CLICK above to Read about the history and development of the North Rose-Wolcott School Foosball Program. Get ideas. Get inspired!
