When I first moved to Hoboken, I used to play a lot of volleyball with a league called Spike League. I wasn’t a huge fan of the league—I didn’t meet friends like I wanted to. So I joined a dodgeball league in the city, but hated it because the games were super late (for a Hoboken resident like me) and again, I didn’t really meet anybody.

So, about a year or two after moving to Hoboken, at a networking event in some bar uptown, I met Chris Corbin who was out going bar to bar (no really!) to talk up ZogSports, which was finally coming to Hoboken. Since then, I’ve played on so many teams and met so many amazing people – I met one of my best friends there, and went to his wedding 2 years ago – along the way.

Since I was probably one of his first recruits, he was kind enough to grant me a quick interview, which you can find below. If you want to learn more, or hopefully join a team so you can take on one of mine (I’m currently playing dodgeball and kickball), visit www.zogsportsnj.org.Tell me about ZogSportsNJ. What’s it all about?

ZogSportsNJ is a co-ed Social Sports league with a charity focus. Essentially, we run intramural sports leagues (dodgeball, kickball, 2-hand touch football, indoor & outdoor soccer, bowling, etc.) for adults. All of our leagues are co-ed… we do this for two reasons 1) it’s more fun and 2) it keeps the testosterone level down. We want people to play hard and try to win, but always remember that they are there to have fun. We want people to have fun not only on the field but also off of it… so we organize happy hour after every game.

Additionally, we have a charity component which allows every team to “Play for Your Cause.” Instead of giving the winning teams a trophy that they would stick in the back of a closet, we make a donation to that teams charity of choice. Teams can play for any nonprofit organization that they would like (it could be a local charity like the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club, the Hoboken Homeless Shelter, a scholarship or memorial fund or a large national charity like the American Cancer Society). In addition to making donations to charities of the championship teams, we also reward teams that win “off the field” by making donations for teams that win awards like “best team name,” “best sportsmanship,” “best team spirit” and the highly coveted “best happy hour team.”

When did you launch in Hoboken? What sports do you guys offer? How many players and teams do you have?

We launched in Hoboken back in the winter of 2006 with a small 18 team dodgeball league (about 200 players of which you were one of). Today, we now offer leagues year round, including Dodgeball, Kickball,  2-hand touch football, indoor & outdoor soccer, bowling and basketball. During the winter season our Dodgeball league had as many as 81 teams in a single season (almost 1,000 players!) Currently we have about 600 teams per year and over 7,000 participants.

Why the charity component? How much have you given away (approximately) since starting?

Robert Herzog conceived ZogSports after his close call on 9/11. He decided to build on the tremendous human charity he witnessed post 9/11 and foster community in New York and New Jersey. Through ZogSports’ athletic, social and social action opportunities, we encourage New York and New Jersey Young Professionals to maintain perspective and a more balanced lifestyle by having fun while also giving something back to the community.

In seven years, ZogSports has donated nearly $1,000,000 to charity, of which about $150,000 has come from our NJ leagues.

How long ago did you join Zog? How did you get started?

I first got involved with ZogSports when I was living in Manhattan. I was new to the city and was looking for a way to meet new friends and have fun. I ended up organizing teams for my Alumni Association and instantly had about a dozen new friends. It was the perfect way for me as someone new to the city to meet young people who were looking to be active.

From playing and organizing teams, I then started refereeing to earn extra money. My job wasn’t paying me nearly enough so I started refereeing on a part time basis to help pay the bills. Through that I got to know Rob Herzog better. When he mentioned that he was looking to expand into New Jersey I jumped at the opportunity!

What’s the best part about working for Zog?

This is an amazing job. There are so many things that I love about it. One, we have a great culture here at Zog. We work hard, but have a very casual office which makes coming to work each day a lot of fun. Two, it’s my job to organize fun for thousands of people. What could be better than that?  My favorite part of the job is definitely seeing all of the relationships that are built on the field. Players often sign up as individuals and end up meeting some of their best friends through the league.

I know you used to ref a lot for me in seasons past… what’s a funny story you can share about reffing a game? Good or bad…

Funny reffing stories… hmm. Every game there is something that happens to make you laugh. Especially, during dodgeball where there is always at least one guy who gets hit below the belt. As for a specific funny story, I’m not sure I can think of one off of the top of my head. I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

Any marriages result from strangers meeting on teams? Or any other fun, romantic stories you might want to share?

While we aren’t a dating service, there have been nearly 40 marriages of people who met playing ZogSports (including me and my wife).

Why should people join a Zog league in Hoboken?

People should join if they are looking to have some fun with their current friends or if they are looking to meet new friends. We allow people to register three different ways… with a full team, as an individual or as a small group. We realize that not everyone has enough for a full team, so we always reserve at least a third of the league to be made up entirely of individual players or small groups of friends.

Any sports you’re hoping to add to the roster? What’s the most popular sport this summer?

In addition to bowling which we just started earlier this year, we are hoping to add outdoor soccer and softball this fall as well as a new “game” league which will feature classics like Connect Four, Jenga and more!

Anything else we should know?

One of the great things about ZogSports is that we offer something for everyone. Whether you are an ex-high school jock or someone who has never played sports you’ll have fun playing ZogSports. With all of our leagues we offer different levels of competition so that people will get what they are looking for. Our competitive leagues are for people who are looking to play hard and win… while the extremely casual leagues are designed for people that are just looking to come out, meet new friends and have fun.

  • Share/Bookmark