Realized my Sunday basketball group has 8 people but only 4 show up anymore

I used to have a solid group of 8 guys who'd meet every Sunday at the rec center in Phoenix. Now it's down to me and maybe 3 others, everyone else just ghosts or says they're "too busy" - what do you do when your adult friend group just fizzles out like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.diana2d ago

The whole "too busy" thing is honestly just code for making new priorities, which stings but it's pretty normal once people hit their 30s. Maybe try shifting the time earlier or later in the day, sometimes a simple change like that can get a couple people back who still want to play but not at the same old slot. If that doesn't work, just put a post on the rec center board or a local facebook group to fill those empty spots with fresh players who actually want to be there.

samward2d ago

Respectfully disagree @davis.diana, sometimes people really are just slammed.

jenny_jackson2d ago

Oh man, THAT hits hard. I've been on both sides of this and it's tricky. Changing the time slot definitely works sometimes, I've seen groups shift from 7pm to 6pm and suddenly three people who were "too busy" showed up again. But honestly, the rec center board idea is your best bet - those flyers reach people who are actively looking for something to do, unlike Facebook groups where posts get buried in five minutes.