SFEA (State Farm Employee Activities Association) is a company sponsored entity that sponsors a multitude of activities for employees. Everything from Archery clubs, to movie nights, to park dinners. The crown jewel of the SFEA is State Farm Park. Located at the intersection of Hamilton Rd and US-51, State Farm Park is where the majority of SFEA’s sports leagues play.
SFEA already had softball, volleyball, tennis, and basketball leagues when it was decided to start a soccer league around 2002-2003. Most likely, this was because of an influx of Generation X employees who grew up playing the beautiful game, but the true reason is lost to history. The league was formed as a 7-on-7 coed league (2 females on the field) using fields roughly the size of indoor pitches and 6×12 foot goals. No slide tackling (State Farm doesn’t want their employees to get hurt, and besides, tomorrow you may work for the guy you just slid into) and throw-ins were turned into kick-ins.
The league has fluctuated from 7 teams (10-18 players on a team) to a high of 13 teams; currently there are 8 teams with about 140 players. With few exceptions, the league is refereed by employees and employee dependents and is self-run (with guidance and funding by the SFEA). It remains a friendly Sunday league (played on Mondays) with spirited competition but an underlying camaraderie.
While the pitch hasn’t always been the most…desirable, the SFEA has made strides by installing drain tiles, rolling the fields, and, most importantly, moving the carnival equipment from PlayDay to the parking lots, thus eliminating the ruts and potholes.
An added benefit of the SFEA league is the introduction of soccer to many new players. Routinely, employees who have never kicked a ball in their lives, are introduced to the beautiful game by the cajoling (and begging when subs are needed) of their friends and coworkers, creating life-long fans of the game.
Michael Perez