April Showers

Well League Lifers, it's the last week of March. That means that we have some April showers in our future. On a rainy day, it's difficult to play many of the sports that were in our last post. Here are some great rainy day alternatives for some spring fun.

Racquetball

Racquetball is played with two to four people, but you can also play it by yourself. It's very fast-paced but it is a great workout.

Swimming

Swimming laps is a great way to burn a lot of calories. You can swim the classic free style stroke or be adventurous and try some others like the butterfly. If you want to get a group together, you can play games like marco polo or basketball. You could even have a good old fashioned cannonball contest.

Dodgeball

Dodgeball is a great activity to play indoors. You and your friends can make it as intense as you'd like. This is a game where you need a good number of people, but the more the merrier.

Board Games

If you're the kind of person who likes to sit around the house on a rainy day, you can still find ways to have fun. Invite your friends and family over to play some board games. You could go old school with games like Monopoly and Scrabble or you could try some new games like Apples to Apples and Catchphrase. If you don't have any board games, you can always grab a deck of cards and play the classic card games.

Rugby/Soccer

If you still want to get outside when it rains, the best thing to do is to go out and play rugby or soccer. They're great games by themselves, but it's even more fun to play them in the mud. Don't be afraid to get down and dirty and to play a little rough!

Can't Get Enough?
If you are looking for a league in any of the sports mentioned in today's blog post, go to Leaguehound.com and sign up for one in your area!

League Life Has Spring Fever

The weather has been getting warmer recently, and all of us at Leagehound have got spring fever. When it's a beautiful day outside, you can't help but want to get out there and play! Just in case you couldn't think of anything to do, we made a list of some great activities.

Lacrosse

Get a group together to play a game. It's a physical game that is great for getting rid of the stress that's built up from being cooped up all winter. If you don't have enough people or enough room for a game, grab a couple of friends and just toss the ball around for a while.

Sand Volleyball

Whether you are some place where it's warm all year round or some place where it's only warm for half the year, you'd be surprised how easy it is to find a sand court in your area. Playing in the sand is harder on your muscles so it's a great workout. The sand is also a lot softer than a gym floor so it's easier to go hard and dive for those balls.

Frolfing and Ultimate Frisbee

Frisbee sports are becoming increasingly more common these days. Frisbee Golf is a great way to play and take a walk at the same time. You can find courses on college campuses and local parks. Frolf is a great game to play if you want something that isn't too competitive. If you don't want to Frolf but you still like Frisbee, get a group of friends together for a game of Ultimate Frisbee. It's way more intense but it's a lot of fun.

Badminton and Tennis

Another great activity to work up a sweat is tennis. If tennis is too difficult, badminton is a much easier game. It requires little skill and can be played almost anywhere. You can play singles, doubles, or even play by yourself against a wall.

Softball or Baseball

One of the best things about spring is the beginning of baseball/softball season. There's nothing better than enjoying a game with a cold beer and a stadium hot dog. But playing is great too! This is even a great game to play with your family. Get everyone involved!


There are so many different activities you can do to take care of your spring fever. Let us know what activities you think are the best. If you are interested in joining leagues for these or any other sports in your area, check out Leaguehound.com!

League Life's March Madness Contest!

With March 15 right around the corner, basketball fans everywhere are strategically filling out their brackets. There are so many different systems that people use to make their picks. Some base their brackets strictly off of the records from the season. Others make their choices at random. And then there are those who use the crazy systems such as which teams have the best uniform colors or mascots. Want More March Madness Fun? Fill out your brackets and compete against LeagueHound! First Place will receive a free t-shirt! The deadline to send in your brackets is tomorrow at 6:30 PM. Go to http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/119699/invitation?key=9343551f3a889167 to sign up.

Go By the Numbers
It is easy to look at the history of the teams to make your decision. It's always a great strategy to fill out your brackets with the obvious choices. Sometimes you just can't dispute the cold hard facts. Some teams will almost always be better than others, and it's smart to use a little bit of common sense when picking who will make it to the final four. 

Get Risky
Playing it safe is always a pretty good bet when filling out your bracket, but what about those inevitable upsets that happen every year? You have to have a keen eye for which teams will exceed everyone's expectations. It is very uncommon that all number one seeds make it to the final four of the tournament. It has only happened three times: 1980, 2006, and 2011. This is evidence that it is not always so wise to make the obvious picks.

Play Favorites
One strategy that people always find themselves using is picking their favorite teams to go farther. It's tough to be unbiased towards the teams that you want to win. I always find myself putting Tennessee way beyond their skill level. While it might not be the wisest decision, you could be surprised at how far your team ends up going.

Have Fun With It

March Madness is also a time for those untrue fans of basketball to jump on the bandwagon and make a bracket. It is just so fun that everyone wants to be in on the action. Some people fill out their brackets completely at random. I have always made 2 brackets every year. The first bracket is strictly based off of the numbers, but the second is always some sort of wacky system like who has the cutest players. The funny thing is that my random wacky bracket almost always does better than my serious one. In fact, my wacky bracket has won not once- not twice- but THREE times. These guys had the best system for picking their teams last year:

It's tough to find that balance between carefully calculated and random. Most of the time you just have to make your guesses and leave it up to the march madness gods. No matter which way you cheer for your teams or fill out your brackets, March Madness is fun for everybody. Let us know what strategy YOU like to use when filling out your brackets.

The Benefits of Joining a League

Stay in Shape!
Many Americans today face a constant struggle with obesity. If you live a hectic lifestyle like many of us do, it can be very difficult to find the motivation you need to get enough exercise in. It can be easy to get more pumped about working out when you are doing something you love. What could be better motivation than playing in a league for your favorite sport?

Broaden Your Social Circle!

Joining a league is a great way to make new friends whether they are on your team or on other teams that you might face. There is much less of a feeling of competition in a league. This allows for you to see your opponents as fellow athletes who enjoy a similar sport. It is a great way to bond and form special connections with others.

Try New Things!

As kids, many of us had to go through clinics and tryouts in order to join a sports team. As an adult, you don’t have to go through all of that to join a league. If you want to try a new sport, you are more than welcome to give it a try without all of the pressure of having to perform well.

Stress Relief!

Everyone has at least a little bit of stress in their life. Playing in a league is a great way to blow of some steam at the end of a busy day. 

What Do You Think?
Let us know what you think the benefits are of being a part of a league. Share your stories with us in the comments section!

If you like what you are hearing, but you aren't part of a league yet, then visit our website LeagueHound.com to find one near you.

Welcome To League Life!

League Life is the official blog for LeagueHound.com. It is a website bringing individuals together to continue to play sports as parts of different leagues. Currently, we focus on leagues in New York and Ohio, but we are working on expanding across the country. When you visit the website, you can search for a league or tournaments for your team to join.

The main purpose of this blog is to give everyone information on the website. There will also be posts about health and nutrition for those with active lifestyles. If there is anything you are interested in reading about please let us know. Email us at leaguelife19@yahoo.com!