1st Time Captain, Any Advice is Appreciated

MomentumGT · 08-22-2010, 07:25 PM

Hey Guys,

I've been playing USTA men's leagues for a bit now and have decided to captain a new team for the mens 4.5 doubles season in my area. Just wanted to know from past successful captains, male or female, on what to expect while captaining a team, dealing with my players, opposing players, opposing captains, and such. Thanks in advance for the advice!

-Jon

Angle Queen · 08-23-2010, 03:56 AM

See here: New Captain Tips

Good luck!!

Cindysphinx · 08-23-2010, 04:07 AM

Time for my monthly "I hate TennisOne!" rant.

I'm on two different 7.5 combo teams this summer. Both captains use TennisOne.

For each match -- regardless of whether I am in the line-up -- I get an e-mail announcing the line-up and then an e-mail reminder. If there is a line-up change, I get a notice of that also, even if it doesn't affect me. I sometimes come home to a bunch of messages from the faceless e-tennis machine, and I have to review them all just to make sure I haven't missed something.

I understand there is a way to make this stop so that players only get e-mails about matches they are playing, but neither of my captains does it this way.

spot · 08-23-2010, 06:08 AM

The biggest thing to remember is to clearly state the team goals up front. (though really I think it should be done before people sign up to play) If you are a competitive team where the best players will be in the lineup more often then you need to say that up front. if its a social team where everyone will play equally you need to stay that. If you intend to play people more that show up to practice then thats important information for people to have before the season starts.

AceKing · 08-23-2010, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Time for my monthly "I hate TennisOne!" rant.

I'm on two different 7.5 combo teams this summer. Both captains use TennisOne.

For each match -- regardless of whether I am in the line-up -- I get an e-mail announcing the line-up and then an e-mail reminder.

I disagree with Cindy. I actually like getting the emails about the lineups, even if I'm not in them. That way I know I'm not in the lineup & I can make other plans if needed. Plus, I just like to see who is playing.

Fedace · 08-23-2010, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomentumGT

Hey Guys,

I've been playing USTA men's leagues for a bit now and have decided to captain a new team for the mens 4.5 doubles season in my area. Just wanted to know from past successful captains, male or female, on what to expect while captaining a team, dealing with my players, opposing players, opposing captains, and such. Thanks in advance for the advice!

-Jon

Winers and cry Babies,,,,you will see plenty of those. and they will be much Worse than your kids. Especially with doubles partner situations.

Fedace · 08-23-2010, 06:22 AM

Send out emails by Wed night who will be in the Lineup that weekend. and have those guys send you Confirmation Email that they got the message. and if they don't confirm by Friday,,,,,,you have to either replace them or try to reach them by phone.

polski · 08-23-2010, 10:31 AM

My best advice:

Make sure everyone plays more than you

Make sure that you play with the weaker partners

If you put yourself in every match, people will complain that you only captain to play yourself. And if you put yourself with the strongest players, they will complain that their results are worse becasue of their partners. If you win & everyone else loses, they won't play for you again.

Also, have a plan in place in case your team advances to state, sectionals, etc. I usually explain that the players with the best results will have first dibs on playing time at states. Players that lost a lot in local league can come as an alternate, but shouldn't expect to play. Oh, and have that conversation face to face or over the phone...not via email or text message.

J_R_B · 08-23-2010, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polski

My best advice:

Make sure everyone plays more than you

Make sure that you play with the weaker partners

If you put yourself in every match, people will complain that you only captain to play yourself. And if you put yourself with the strongest players, they will complain that their results are worse becasue of their partners. If you win & everyone else loses, they won't play for you again.

This only applies if you are not the best player on the team. If you ARE the best, then you should play the most and play with the best partners.

MomentumGT · 08-23-2010, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J_R_B

This only applies if you are not the best player on the team. If you ARE the best, then you should play the most and play with the best partners.

I would say I'm probably the 3rd best player on the team. I do have a few 4.0's testing on how it is playing up, but if they're getting blown out I was thinking of putting them in #3 dubs or partnering them at #3 dubs with a true 4.5er on our team.

I'm a very competitive person and would 'like' to win or do well off the bat. I do have some really good players as well, but also some players playing up so the team, imo, isn't very deep and we have the minimum 8 players required.

Thanks for the help guys! I'm gonna have our scheduled 1st team practice this week to see who gels together or not. Wish me luck and if there is any more advice feel free to post.

-Jon

ark_28 · 08-23-2010, 11:29 AM

I don't know much about captaining just playing but I wish you lots of luck

bmwfool · 08-23-2010, 03:17 PM

To put it simply, remember this... captaining is a thankless job.

polski · 08-23-2010, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J_R_B

This only applies if you are not the best player on the team. If you ARE the best, then you should play the most and play with the best partners.

If you are the best player on a team that you captain, you have done a poor job of putting a team together.

J_R_B · 08-23-2010, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polski

If you are the best player on a team that you captain, you have done a poor job of putting a team together.

Not if your team wins, too.

polski · 08-24-2010, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J_R_B

Not if your team wins, too.

The best players never captain, in my experience. If they did, they would pick up players better than them.

J_R_B · 08-24-2010, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polski

The best players never captain, in my experience. If they did, they would pick up players better than them.

What if they are the best players at that level? Those people can't be captains?

polski · 08-24-2010, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J_R_B

What if they are the best players at that level? Those people can't be captains?

They can, but they normally don't. Why would they put up with the hassle of captaining if a dozen people are already asking them to join teams?

Option A - Play a lot for someone else, no other work required
Option B - Make sure everyone plays & then you play, do a lot of other BS work

You are telling me that if given the choice you would choose B?

brad1730 · 08-24-2010, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J_R_B

What if they are the best players at that level? Those people can't be captains?

Sure they can be captains, but in my experience they are usually the older guys with more time on their hands.

spot · 08-24-2010, 04:36 AM

polski- to me its more like this:

Option A- Do it myself and do it right. Then just accept that not everyone will agree with my decisions.
Option B- play for someone else and have to live with all sorts of stupid decisions.

Cindysphinx · 08-24-2010, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AceKing

I disagree with Cindy. I actually like getting the emails about the lineups, even if I'm not in them. That way I know I'm not in the lineup & I can make other plans if needed. Plus, I just like to see who is playing.

I understand.

My method allows everyone to see the line-ups, as they are always available for viewing. Reminders only go to those who are playing, who must confirm or I will investigate. And line-up changes only go to those directly affected.

I'll give you an example of where TennisOne is weak. One of my captains set the line-ups well in advance. This meant I came home one day to a blizzard of messages notifying me of line-ups, including messages changing line-ups from previous line-ups. I dutifully sat down and scrolled through each of these messages to make sure I wasn't listed, trying to remember to hit "confirm" each time and put each date in my calendar. This process was complicated, and it would have been easy to make a mistake.

Then the next time you hear anything about a match is when you receive a reminder, which looks exactly like every other Tennisone communication. You don't confirm when you get the reminder, *so the captain has no way to know whether you got it.* If the player spaces out, has left town on a vacation, has had a death in the family, is drowning in e-mail because of a work emergency, has lost computer access . . . there are lots of ways a player can miss that reminder. And if that happens, there may be a no-show.

I think a better way is that you issue line-ups in a spreadsheet format, so players can easily spot their own name. Then you issue an e-mail reminder to the players who are playing two days before the match. If a player doesn't reply, you get on the phone and see if there is a problem. I have caught many problems this way and we've never had a default because someone didn't know she was playing or forgot she was in the line-up or went out of town on an emergency.

It's fine to use TennisOne, of course. It's just that a lot of people use it by default without considering its considerable weaknesses.

08-22-2010, 07:25 PM	#1
MomentumGT Semi-Pro Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 598	1st Time Captain, Any Advice is Appreciated Hey Guys, I've been playing USTA men's leagues for a bit now and have decided to captain a new team for the mens 4.5 doubles season in my area. Just wanted to know from past successful captains, male or female, on what to expect while captaining a team, dealing with my players, opposing players, opposing captains, and such. Thanks in advance for the advice! -Jon __________________ http://www.momentumgt.com/

08-23-2010, 03:56 AM	#2
Angle Queen Semi-Pro Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: On the deuce side, looking to come in Posts: 774	See here: New Captain Tips Good luck!! __________________ A 3.5 masquerading around with a 4.0 mask on.

08-23-2010, 06:08 AM	#4
spot Hall Of Fame Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 2,170	The biggest thing to remember is to clearly state the team goals up front. (though really I think it should be done before people sign up to play) If you are a competitive team where the best players will be in the lineup more often then you need to say that up front. if its a social team where everyone will play equally you need to stay that. If you intend to play people more that show up to practice then thats important information for people to have before the season starts. Last edited by spot : 08-23-2010 at 06:28 AM.

08-23-2010, 10:31 AM	#8
polski Semi-Pro Join Date: May 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 633	My best advice: Make sure everyone plays more than you Make sure that you play with the weaker partners If you put yourself in every match, people will complain that you only captain to play yourself. And if you put yourself with the strongest players, they will complain that their results are worse becasue of their partners. If you win & everyone else loses, they won't play for you again. Also, have a plan in place in case your team advances to state, sectionals, etc. I usually explain that the players with the best results will have first dibs on playing time at states. Players that lost a lot in local league can come as an alternate, but shouldn't expect to play. Oh, and have that conversation face to face or over the phone...not via email or text message. __________________ Technifibre TFight 320 VO2 Max x 3 Mantis Comfort Synthetic 16 @ 60

08-24-2010, 04:36 AM	#19
spot Hall Of Fame Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 2,170	polski- to me its more like this: Option A- Do it myself and do it right. Then just accept that not everyone will agree with my decisions. Option B- play for someone else and have to live with all sorts of stupid decisions. Last edited by spot : 08-24-2010 at 05:37 AM.