NYC Social

I’ve played in several social leagues in the city and I have to say this is by far the worst. Our team payed a lot of money to do something we could do for free since NYC Social doesn’t bother to get permits that enable us to use the playing area without the public there. We literally have kids running through our games to the point that they’ve almost been trampled. A fly ball cannot be caught at times because you’re dodging the children or the basketball game happening on «your» field.
Additionally, there is another kickball game so close to the point that the other game has players standing next to our bases. Talk about a crowded court!
It’s very unsafe, and I don’t know why I paid for this. On top of that, we have the same issues with refs other people commented on. They are inconsistent with the rules. One week you’re allowed to do something, the next week you aren’t.
The atmosphere of this is the opposite of fun, and only creates resentment when management doesn’t care at all. Their attempt at a solution was changing the time of the games in hopes that the kids will go home if it’s later. That’s done nothing to fix the solution.

I signed up a Flag Football team this past season. Our primary concern was the lack of player safety in this league.
We saw a consistent lack of calls by the refs concerning serious physical contact, some of which included opposing players puncturing players hands with metal spikes, forcefully knocking over female players who didn’t even have the ball, and dangerously pushing players in the back when they went up to catch the ball. Although the rules clearly forbid any contact, none of these were called apparently because they were deemed to be «incidental contact».
The most egregious event occurred when one of the players on the opposing team launched himself into the back of a defenseless player attempting to make a catch and then forcefully push him into the ground, causing him to hit his back, neck and head. This player was unable to get off the ground, and we had to call 911 to have an ambulance take him to an emergency room, where he had to get a CT Scan of his spine and head and was diagnosed with a concussion among other injuries.
When I reported this to the organization the following afternoon (which, by the way, I’m shocked that none of the staff on site reported this to anyone in the main office before I contacted them the following day), I was met with mild concern, and a bit of victim blaming. In fact, I was informed that I should have reported this to the office earlier. I find it interesting that they rely solely on the players to report issues concerning safety, as I thought that’s why they had staff on site, and that’s what the refs were supposed to do. Otherwise, what are we paying for?
I later found out (when I called back the next week) that all they did was talk to the ref company, and the ref company said it was due to «game flow» not malicious intent. I was then clearly notified that nothing else could be done, or would be done.
I also found it surprising that no one from the office bothered to contact me to find out how our injured player was doing. This attitude reflects a general lack of concern for player safety.
Last, I found that when the refs did make calls, that they were inconsistent. As an example, we were called for «grabbing the flag belt» in one game when our player happened to tug on an opposing players flag belt. However, in the next game, our player had his flag belt completely ripped off. When we complained, the ref said there’s no penalty and didn’t even give the player time to put his flag belt back on. No explanation was provided.
Generally the staff on site were friendly and informative, but they didn’t help much with the player safety issues. The office staff, on the other hand, was at times dismissive of our concerns, and at worst, almost rude.
I love playing football. But we’re all doing it for fun. It’s simply not fun when the rules aren’t enforced consistently and players have to worry about safety since the refs don’t do much to protect them.
We’re moving to a different league.

My main peeve with this organization is their lack of, well, organization. I signed up my company for an indoor soccer league with them and have had to deal with a number of inconveniences. The biggest of these would have to be the time our game was delayed by an hour yet we received no notification. On top of this their customer service can be a bit hard to get in touch with — especially over the phone. Their sponsored bar for our league wasn’t so great in my opinion either — you get a pitcher of beer with each game which is great but they wouldn’t let you sit at a table.
The 2 stars is just for the fact their indoor soccer league has goalies, convenient locations, and decent game times. I’d maybe give this league one more try but if I experienced as many issues this time around then nah.

When I heard they under new management I played after taking a year off. I must say that I am super excited to play with them in the future after this past season of dodgeball. Best league I have played in after playing all over NYC. Looking forward to this spring.

I’ve played in this league on and off for a couple seasons. They usually have decent locations and times. However, I never felt that the league was run as good as some comparable ones.
Recently myself and a few friends put together a a team. Some were against NYC Social for bad past experiences. I convinced them that the time and location were too perfect to pass up.
To make a long story short, 75% of our team was registered and signed up before the «early deadline». (Early deadline meaning we were taking advantage of a cheaper price, this wasn’t even the final deadline!!).
That day all of the credit cards were charged and we were informed that we lost our spot because not every subtle individual paid (keep in mind, this was before the advertised deadline) It made zero sense to us and we were all incredibly PISSED OFF. Some of us called to complain. They offered refunds but we were unable to play anywhere else because other leagues deadlines were up.
This is a terribly managed and run league. If you’re fortunate to have 12 people who are able to sign up with short notice. You’re fine to play. But we all felt incredibly disrespected by this act. We weren’t even given until early registration deadline to complete our team. Inexcusable. No one was given any notice. They said «a lot of people were upset and never dealt with this before.» Nice
EDIT: Zog sports offered opened up a few more sports in their league after hearing about this and emailed each team individually. I guess the writings on the wall with this one.

Not worth the money. I played in several leagues and the quality has gone down year on year.
They are also trying to bribe people with free leagues for good Unilocal reviews.
The referees for the soccer leagues clearly have no idea what soccer is.
The social aspect is severely lacking as the bar specials that they advertise are frequently not accurate. In fact most of the bars have no idea that they are supposed to be offering specials to the extent that participants from our league had to arrange for a different bar to host the teams.
If you want to play soccer, try urban soccer, nyc soccer, zog, nyc soccer collective or virtually any other league as they are all superior in terms of organization, quality of refereeing, social aspects, etc.
And in the winter league they force you to play on pitches that have feet of snow impacted on them, which leads to multiple injuries.
They also never pay attention to customer complaints.
In short, they are so bad that I am not playing in any winter leagues with them despite having a 50% off voucher.

I have played with NYC Social for a number of years (enough to warrant more than a free season). I had sworn off playing with them unless it was for free, or I pay $ 125 MAX since that was the price for a long time. Many people told me that they use to have a bus that takes you to the bar from the field which I’ve never seen. Some of the locations are sketchy and quite the commute. I have accepted this and played anyway, because in all honesty it was fun. I’ve met some great people within the social sports network over this time.
The price hikes are ridiculous in my eyes. I’ve been the captain of a flag football team for a few seasons, and it is difficult to justify the price per player versus team roster minimums. I can break it down for some who may not understand… every team requires 12 minimum on a roster. At this point you are expected to pay $ 175\player. It drives down from there… 14 players = $ 150, 16 players =$ 125 this is the most one team can have capped. Now in this scenario you have 7 people on the field… meaning for you to pay any reasonable amount you need more players, which in turn means u get less play time. So you really have to cough up the cash if u want a little bit more time on the field. Other leagues I’ve played in cost less, and give you wayyyy more play time.
When I asked about the price increase, I was told that it was for the lights. Excuse me? I have to pay more because of the night lights? That doesn’t seem right, and after speaking with individuals from other leagues they confirmed that it seemed off.
In all fairness from when I started to now the ref’s have increased in quality. So I will give them a star for that. Some I would care not to deal with, but for the most part they are approachable and cool on the sidelines.
Now my experience with the office… I am at the point where I feel as if only 1 person works in the office. No matter which phone extension I dial I always get the same person. That person always seems as if he is just done with the job. They are not willing to accommodate veteran players, unless they cannot fill enough roster slots (then you can negotiate). I have also witnessed emails from the person who runs the league and another long time player… who at the end of the exchange was kicked out of the league for voicing his honest opinion. Really?
The people who work the fields are good people. I always have a good time with my interactions with them, but they cannot carry the league on their back.
After reading the email about NYCSS’ attempt to bribe customers I am actually impressed. They managed to look even worse than they already do. Something I didn’t think was possible.
Will I ever play again in this league? Not at the prices they demand. I can go elsewhere for better quality. It’s sort of sad to watch them decline they way they are, because I used to really enjoy playing in NYCSS. They just made it easier and easier not to go back.

Such fun times and a great way to meet new people in the city. Highly recommended!
I signed up to play dodgeball and being British I had never played before only ever seeing it in the movie. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly — I can’t fault them. The game is fun and the bar is even more fun! A great social and welcoming vibe!

A lot of anger about this organization, and their request for positive reviews. I guess the Internet never wants to miss a good opportunity for outrage.
This fall was my first season with them (playing indoor volleyball), but my experience has been nothing but positive. Our games have been well-​officiated, start on time, and the play is competitive but friendly. If yours is one of the minority of teams that fails to make the playoffs, you get offered a friendly scrimmage that week, which is cool.
It’s been a great experience and I’ve already signed up for the winter session and recruited friends to join.
My only minor gripe is with the courts — the gym is tight, so there’s walls and a stage just behind the back lines, which limits area available for service. The ceilings could also be higher, they come into play a bit more than I like. But hey, it’s a fun league — I can deal. If you’re a super-​serious volleyballer, maybe this is a dealbreaker, I don’t know.

Full disclosure: Much like Jay R. below, I received an email today from NYC Social attempting to incentivize me (or bribing, frankly) to write them a good review on Unilocal,which is likely what has precipitated most of the positive reviews coming out today (and even those people could only bring themselves to drop 4 stars). The email portrayed NYC Social as being the victim of «online bullying» on Unilocal,which I find in terribly poor taste, but also inaccurate since the recent poor reviews I read were both legitimate and accurate. I was not going to rate them one way or the other, but I feel compelled to counteract their attempts to move the Unilocal needle in their favor and because I found the tack they took pretty absurd.
This is not cyber bullying. This is an honest review from someone who played NYC Social and found it to be not worth the money. It is certainly not better than its current Unilocal rating reflects. I also have many friends who have played NYC Social independently of me and also feel it to be unsatisfactory.
First off, I have been in NYC post-​college for over 8 years now and played in social sports leagues throughout — mainly ZogSports, but also NYC Social, Big City, and various soccer leagues. This is by far the thing I choose to spend my free time on, so I care plenty about finding social, fun, and competitive leagues. It is important to me that these sports leagues are well run, well officiated, and filled with cool people who show up to play and make the experience fun. I primarily play through ZogSports, and while I have issues from time to time, the organization is run extremely well and the quality of experience is top notch.
In terms of my experience with NYC Social, I played 1 ultimate frisbee league on Roosevelt Island (which was a $ 7 league for their 7^th anniversary) and 1 outdoor soccer league at Chelsea Park. These were both several years back and I have had zero inclination to ever sign up for an NYC Social league again.
For frisbee, it was only a 4-​week league and we were placed onto teams as individuals. Out of the 4 weeks, I think there was only 1 where enough people on my team showed up to play, so we ended up just playing pickup basically. I can understand that happening since it was such a cheap league, but it made the whole thing pointless. I did enjoy the time spent at the official bar after our games and the people I met were cool. It is worth noting that frisbee requires no refereeing and basically runs itself — I just did Zog frisbee and the entire thing was run by 1 employee and 1 ref, and it was excellent.
For soccer, the problems were manifest and multiple. This time I signed up with a few friends and we got placed on a team. I don’t believe there was a particular way to choose a difficulty level (i.e., more or less casual), so I ended up on a team with a number of people who had never played before. That’s fine, but it was the least of the issues. The field setup was not great — we played 6 on 6 on a very small field with tiny goals, but also we played at night and the lights they brought in were pretty lackluster. The biggest issue — which comes up time and again in these reviews — is that the refereeing was frequently abysmal. There was one ref who cared and was engaged, but the rest were worse than just reffing the game ourselves. They barely said anything, showed minimal understanding of the rules, and could basically be ignored. Again, the social scene at the bar after games was solid, but after this league I resolved never again to sign up for NYC Social.
I love social sports. You can get social sports from NYC Social, but you can get better social sports through other organizations in NYC. I see no compelling reason to choose NYC Social.

I’ve played flag football and soccer with NYCSocial and they are the only ones to offer free stuff for good Unilocal Reviews. For that I thank you.
Mickey

Every social sports league in the city has a niche, and their pros and cons.
Overall, NYC Social has a good balance of social fun and competitiveness.
Professionally organized and run.
A great way to meet people and get some exercise in the process.

Heard of NYC Social when I was looking for a activity after work. I am no athlete but I like to have fun and meet people and I did that just by watching a game.
They host multiple sports at an affordable price and in NYC that says a lot. I’ve made a lot of friends from adult recreational sports and for kickball NYC Social is home.

Sure I got drenched playing flip cup at Libation after kickball. Yeah, you practically have to wear disposable clothing and fight through a gauntlet of flag football players at Crime Scene. Occasionally, you have regrets when you crawl home after 2 and need to get to work by 8. So what if our Thursday night kickball league got booted from the elementary school near Delancey because the old lady on the 5^th floor complained of noise after 8. Maybe the volleyball courts off of Houston are a bit small and the balls have to be played off the ceiling. On the far side, near the stage, you practically have to serve out of a doorway!
Despite all that, NYCSS will always have a fond place in my heart. After a dozen or so seasons, medals in dodge ball and kickball, 2 or 3 bar champ medals & commemorative glasses, a pic in the NY Times, and a myriad of half-​drunken memories – it was really quite a fun ride. Such great teammates, refs, organizers, friends!
To top it off, I met and married a girl from the opposing Spikemasters team. Now, with a beautiful baby girl nearly two years old, how can I ever regret my happy time with NYC Social? Who knows, give me a freebie and I might just come back for another round or two or three!

I’ve played on NYC Social teams (soccer, dodgeball and volleyball) for over three years. The field locations are varying and convenient, and the times of the leagues are as well. Also, the prices are reasonable, and in line with other recreational sports leagues. Moreover, their registration process is simpler than the other leagues, with their new leagueapps platform on their website.
The best thing about NYC Social, which stands out from other social sports leagues, is their responsiveness to players. Sure, I have complained about the quality of refereeing before, but every complaint is responded to in a timely manner, and the refs with a lot of complaints are removed and replaced.

Great people, superb beach volleyball venue. My only 2 complaints were
a. too many teams in the league which sometimes had us playing late into the night like till 10:30, many of us have jobs in the morning to wake up to. Suggest less teams or more nights made available.
b. the age demographic average could be better (i.e. 35 not 25).
The registration process was a breeze.

NYC social is incredibly shady and difficult to deal with:
First they gave away free seasons to many teams at the end of the the spring seasons of ITWP for bar champs, winners, etc. while this sounds awesome, it was not because as a result, they jacked up the cost of the sport for everyone to cover the lost revenue…
Then they moved up the deadline to register for inner tube water polo two weeks and with little notice so people had not yet registered. That was probably because it got ridiculously expensive. They claimed low numbers and canceled the season but then continued to send emails about partial seasons for other sports.
Then when we as a league tried to work with NYC social to bring it back and be flexible but they dodged out questions and gave non-​committal answers. We held out going to another organization in the hopes water polo would be back. It’s not.
Finally, NYC social CHANGED the expiration date of our free season as to make us use it in the fall season, though there was no polo. Then they said end of the year, even though in writing we had they expired in May.
Overall, the ITWP faithful have tried to work with the organization with no results. Many headaches. I’m so over NYC social.
Ps. Thanks for the email reminding me to put in words my frustrations and let others know how shady you guys are… Someone’s getting fired…

NYC Social Sports has the worst customer service/​safety precautions I’ve ever seen. Two years in a row we’ve had torrential downpours for our semi-​final and final soccer games and it was a safety hazard to play in.
The first year, one teammate BROKE HIS ANKLE in the semi-​final game and they originally offered him a free season… As if he’d be playing in the near future?
This year, we had terrible weather and I’m surprised none of my teammates have gotten pneumonia yet. We had to sit out in the rain after our 7:00pm game, while the 7:45pm game was played and wait for our Finals game. Of which we didn’t play like ourselves because we were hesitating and falling everywhere, due to the rain and slippery turf.
Absolutely miserable. After numerous second chances to change, I’m taking my team to another league.

Exercise, meet new people and top it off with beer pong?!? Ummm,. YES!
I’ve done 3 seasons with NYC Social so far, and they are fantastic. You pick when you want to play, show up, lose your voice yelling friendly obscenities to the opposing team, and then all hang out at a bar with awesome drink specials and bond.
I’ll play season after season!

I don’t know why NYC Social is getting a bad rap! They have a great schedule, great field locations, are easy to work with… only have had positive experiences! Sometimes yeah the refs aren’t the greatest but this isn’t professional sports, not every ref can be perfect.
I would definitely recommend using them!
And in response to the negative reviewers saying that NYC Social is emailing people, that is true. The subject line is «People Hate Us On Unilocal.» But, it’s because people take out their anger and frustrations on Unilocal,I didn’t think to post yeah this league has done everything they told me they would do. Had a good season, the end. But I am definitely writing now in support of them because they deserve it.

Extremely displeased about the fact that I just received an email bribing me to leave a 4 or 5 star review. so while they’ve directed me to leave a review, i’ll let you know what i actually think. NYC Social always manages to frustrate me in one way or another. They continue getting more expensive, for no reason. The season said there were a certain number of games, and then when we started they cut out about 4 or 5 of those games from the season. If there is a rain day, they pile multiple games into one evening forcing games to start at 5pm (which is difficult for most full time workers). they got in trouble for leasing a field on the lower east side because they didnt have the correct permits and we were forced to move the season all the way to Roosevelt island. The bars are only fun because we go with our team /​friends, nyc social has nothing to do with that. they wait until the last minute to let you know if a game is rained out — so you’ll rush out of work and get to the field and the ref will be standing there saying the game is off. They also try to pack the teams with as many players as are willing to pay, and theyll add as many teams as they possibly can to the roster. so we ended up have many weeks where we dont play any games since they had too many teams and the others teams needed to play.
overall, zog sports or other social sport leagues are the way to go if you are looking for a fun thing to do

As an actual league: 5 stars! Fun time!
But, today they just tried to BRIBE us for positive reviews on Unilocal.They offered to give us free stuff if we sent a link to them about the positive review we left. Super scandalous! XD

Lots of hate on NYC Social lately on Unilocal… what’s the deal?!?
Is it the BEST sports league? NO! But they don’t market themselves as a première sports league, they are intended as a SOCIAL league in which to get out, meet people, be active and have fun. And that’s what they deliver!
I can only speak for the volleyball league, but I have never had an issue with a missing ref. Some refs are better than others, but that’s the case in professional sports too…
In terms of the league’s level of play — its variable. I myself can play at a higher level (and do in another league) but I enjoy the positive attitude of most participants. I do feel the pricing is a little high for the amount of play you get in indoor volleyball (rosters of 14 make it tough to get a groove going). But the people I’ve played with for the most part have all been awesome individuals that I’ve been glad to get to know!
The league coordinators were super prompt and helpful in a matter that was our mistake, and rectified it professionally and efficiently. I would not hesitate to recommend their league to friends looking to get out and have fun!

It’s true. they bribe people to leave good reviews…
«People hate us on Unilocal.»
«Have you ever had fun playing in our Leagues? Like, 4 or 5-​star fun? Great! Please tell the world.
Every positive Unilocal review posted for NYC Social between now and November 30^th will be rewarded with one free entry into our 4^th Quarter Showdown Tournament.»
This along with their insanely aggressive marketing tactics are pathetic.
NYC Social
85 Delancey
New York, NY 10 002

YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT GOES ON IN THIS LEAGUE.
I’ve played soccer in this league for years. It wasn’t until I dropped in on a friend’s Gotham Soccer League game that I was able to see just how terrible this league is. When NYC Social refs do show up, which is rare, they are brand new, and they don’t know the rules of the one of the most simple games on the face of the earth.
Last week we played yet another ref-​less game, in a semi final nonetheless, so naturally the competitive nature was high. We were left to call our own game, and late in the second half, I was tackled from behind by someone who should’ve already had been red-​carded. I injured my wrist and neck when I fell. A bench-​clearing brawl broke out, and not a soul was there to stop it.
But wait there’s more– I was ready to let bygones be bygones if the league were to reach out to us in an effort to retroactively rectify the situation, maybe with a refund or at least an apology but NYC Social couldn’t care less. In an effort to reach out to the exec staff to make them aware of what happened, the NYC Social CEO, Amy Short told us to, «relax.»
I’m livid to say the least, and I don’t know what else to do besides leave a crabby Unilocal review. PLEASE SPARE YOURSELVES and go with ZogSports, Gotham Soccer League, or literally any other option in the area for recreational sporting.

2 years ago, I would’ve never thought I would be writing this negative review. NYC Social, a casual, fun, co-​ed recreational sports league has really taken a turn for the worse.
I play in one of the soccer leagues and have been a member consistently over the past 2 years, playing every season they’ve had to offer, indoor — outdoor, all year round.
My team and I have had exponentially growing complaints and issues with the league ranging from the reffing (or lack thereof), to the delayed games (due to staff arriving late), and general lack of customer service. We all PAY to play!
The staff has had to ‘ref’ several of our games due to referees not showing up as scheduled, which have led to chaos to say the least. They come ill-​prepared without enough equipment or extra whistles, thereby leaving them inadequately prepared to ref a game.
Yesterday evening during our Mon/​Thurs playoffs was a great example of why I personally will never play with NYC Social again. It was our semi-​final game, and like clockwork, no ref for our 7:45 game. The competitiveness and lack of organization, led to our two teams arguing and outright brawling, due to having to make our own calls and downright dirty fouls that went uncalled by the staff. The staff that was there at the field was at a loss of what to do. They had to «call» the office to determine how they should handle the situation. The ref from the other game, came over, threw basically everyone out of the game (by giving red cards) and claimed to have saw the whole thing, while reffing another game.
We pay a lot of money to play in this league, costs that have risen drastically by season, and my team has stood by this nonsense for season after season. We’re a social group who just wants to be active, have fun and play soccer. Week after week, issue after issue it becomes more difficult to just have a game with no problems.
I’d highly recommend playing in another league.