A Team Player

A 22-year human resources manager with the administrative office of the courts for the five-county 20th judicial circuit, Suhar edged her way into soccer through her two children, who played as youngsters. When one of her son's teachers told her about the adult league, Suhar decided to give it a try, despite having no experience beyond the sidelines.

"I didn't know the first thing about it. I didn't know how to kick the ball," she says.

But with a team of experienced as well as fellow neophyte players, plus guidance from her daughter and the team's coach, Suhar quickly picked it up. She jumped feet-first into the weekly practices and monthly women's league games in Naples and North Fort Myers.

"It's a great mixture of people and professions and personalities," says Suhar, who claims her teammates, as much as the sport itself, make the league so appealing to her. "It's the people, it's the exercise, it's the challenge. It's just fun."

The team doesn't assign regular positions; each player rotates. And there is no regular season; they play year-round.

"We're not planning on going to the World Cup or anything," Suhar says of her team, who call themselves the Desperate Housewives. "It's just a bunch of women who enjoy getting out and doing something for ourselves."