By james art Basics, traditions, football and social networks: This is the journey of Dos Girls One Schlupp, Durham’s most social team
Keen to discover more about one of Durham’s best social football teams, I strolled down to the hallowed grass of the Collingwood crumb on a typical Monday evening to meet the infamous ‘Dos Girls, One Schlupp’ before their weekly five-a-side matches. For anyone unfamiliar with the reference, ‘dos’ is Collingwood’s terminology for two, ‘Schlup’ is a nod to Geoffrey Schlup, a Ghanaian international footballer who plays his game at Crystal Palace, and the less said, the the better the historical use of conventionally more famous words on either side of ‘girls’ and ‘one’.
Who are Dos Girls, One Schlupp?
The Schlupp’s are a group of third year students from Collingwood who play social football together every Monday night in an organized but casual tournament. There’s a wide range of abilities, from university standard footballers to rugby boys who haven’t played football since primary school, but the ultimate goal is just to have a good time together. The Schlupp’s were founded by Henry Lees, who gathered a handful of friends from various social circles at the start of freshman year with the intention of gathering good football and good social contacts.
Dom Wood, Adam Lee and Josh Krahe
With founder Henry now on a year abroad in France, along with three other early team members, Schlupp’s roster has grown over the past two years – now it’s just Dom Wood, Josh Krahe and Adam Lee who have been there from the start . Schlupp’s game in trademark blue; although they do not have an official team, no other racing team is expected to wear their established colour. After the Monday night games, they visit the Stag’s Head, where they have their own corner – again, this corner predictably named after the icon that is Jeffrey Schlupp.
Schlupp’s corner at the Stag’s Head, with most of the current squad
How good are they at soccer? And how does their league work?
Schlup celebrates a goal
Although on-field performance is perhaps less of a priority than off-field performance, the Schlupp’s have some pedigree in the Collingwood pet-a-side system. After Josh’s last-gasp goal in the semi-finals, Schlupp’s reached last season’s cup final, narrowly losing out to their biggest rivals, Wood Merchants. Most of the boys play in the top two divisions of college football, and the addition of rugby players Ethan “The Beerman” Berman and Felix “Big Daddy” Leckie also allowed for an element of physical dominance.
Typically two fifteen-minute games are played each Monday, the first few weeks of the season determine which stream the teams fall into. A loss doesn’t equal elimination at this stage, but it does mean there’s less money up for grabs when it comes to knockouts. The teams in the top bracket played for £150 in last year’s final – in other words, a very healthy division.
The injured James ‘Jevans’ Evans, now taking on more of a managerial role, described Schlupp’s style of play: “It depends on the opponent, but it’s very Brexitball to a large extent – we have a policy that if you make a mistake, re subbed off.
“This means everyone gets a good amount of playing time as mistakes are common.”
Dom Wood also added: “We also like to shoot low and hard, that’s the best way to score in the smaller five-a-side goals.”
What about the social side of the club?
The Schlupp celebrate their season at a year-end dinner
The Schlupps have a strong but very inclusive drinking culture – one member of the team doesn’t drink alcohol and still participates just as much as everyone else. Schlupp’s have the occasional post-match pints, but really tend to show up at individual club socials. Sticking with the theme of blue, the year-end dinner saw most team members consume only blue-colored alcohol (White Ace, Blue VK, Blue Woodgate). James said: “We’re all friends, but a lot of us are from slightly different friend groups, if that makes sense? It’s a really nice way for us to bond with a lot of guys that we wouldn’t know well enough otherwise.”
Also, towards the end of the post-match pints, the Schlupp traditionally take part in ‘story time’ where everyone tells funny stories from their lives throughout the week. James described this tradition as: “We really don’t know what half the team has been doing for the past week, so it’s quite healthy and has been described as therapeutic before.”
The implications of Schlupp’s social conversation
The end-of-year dinner was billed as the best dinner of the year, but it wasn’t without a bit of chaos. Under the impression he had received three free pizzas at Paddy’s, one Schlup woke up to find £34 mysteriously missing from his bank account. Another ended up throwing up blue liquid (that must be a first for sure) and the rest of the boys were very proud that he stuck to the Schlupp colors after making sure he got home safely.
What does the future look like for Schlupp’s?
With the majority of guys set to graduate this summer, Schlupp’s numbers will inevitably be lower next season. However, the return of those on internships and years abroad, plus several members pursuing four-year degrees, means Schlupp’s legacy will live on for another year.
Dos Girls, One Sip (2023/24). Image includes those over the years: Billy Hutchings, Tom Glaister, Tom Hay and Henry Lees
A group of girls who are friends of Schlupp’s, known as the Goal Diggers, have recently joined the league. With claims that one of their players previously played for QPR, they could provide a challenge to several teams and are a very welcome addition to the league. Just like Schlupp’s, it’s an opportunity for them to meet and bond at an organized time during the week and take a break from the stress of a Durham degree.