Anyone playing 7.5 combo this season?

[jayserinos99]

Anyone playing 7.5 combo this season? What should I expect if I'm the 4.0? I'm also a first time captain and I hope to run a fun and competitive team.

[OrangePower]

Originally Posted by jayserinos99

Anyone playing 7.5 combo this season? What should I expect if I'm the 4.0? I'm also a first time captain and I hope to run a fun and competitive team.

Good luck with the plunge into captaining!

Running a team that is both fun AND competitive is hard. To get the best results, you would want to play your strongest players as much as possible. But that is hard to balance with the 'fun' aspect of giving everyone enough playing time, especially in combo where there are only 6 people playing in each match.

The key is to be upfront with your team about what your goals and priorities are as a team, so that they know what to expect, especially should you make it to playoffs.

[jayserinos99]

Originally Posted by OrangePower

Good luck with the plunge into captaining!

Running a team that is both fun AND competitive is hard. To get the best results, you would want to play your strongest players as much as possible. But that is hard to balance with the 'fun' aspect of giving everyone enough playing time, especially in combo where there are only 6 people playing in each match.

The key is to be upfront with your team about what your goals and priorities are as a team, so that they know what to expect, especially should you make it to playoffs.

People have been telling me I'm crazy for captaining, just because of all of the headaches and drama. I hope that my first meeting with the team will realize what my goals are, and not just lip service.

Actually, there's one guy that just registered out of the blue without consulting me and I'm leaning toward de-rostering him just because of that "fun" part, which from what I've seen, he doesn't do.

I'm also limiting the roster to around 12-14 players, with hopefully having more 3.5s than 4.0s to have everyone get at least 3-4 matches. I just hope that everyone's up for playing quite a bit.

[beernutz]

I'm playing on a 7.5 combo as a 3.5 for the first time and its been a blast. Our second match was against a 4.5 club pro and his 3.0 partner who'd been bumped early season to 3.5. Our third match was against two opponents who both got early season bumps so we were effectively playing an 8.5 team. It has been a great experience for me to play against much better players. I think you've got the right idea about limiting your roster to give people more playing time. We've got a ridiculous amount of 3.5s at our club currently due to a large number of bump ups and bump downs so that I think one team has like 18 players and the other 10 or 12. That's crazy imo.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by jayserinos99

People have been telling me I'm crazy for captaining, just because of all of the headaches and drama. I hope that my first meeting with the team will realize what my goals are, and not just lip service.

Actually, there's one guy that just registered out of the blue without consulting me and I'm leaning toward de-rostering him just because of that "fun" part, which from what I've seen, he doesn't do.

I'm also limiting the roster to around 12-14 players, with hopefully having more 3.5s than 4.0s to have everyone get at least 3-4 matches. I just hope that everyone's up for playing quite a bit.

Yes, if a stranger turns up on your roster you need to do something. I would go hit with him and see if he is up to scratch. If not, he walks the plank, 'cause he wasn't invited.

Once you have your roster, send an email asking how much people want to play and whether they have any travel or work commitments on the horizon. Sometimes you can find out in advance of a shortage, and it is easiest to address that now by increasing the roster.

Good luck!!

[athiker]

Originally Posted by jayserinos99

Anyone playing 7.5 combo this season? What should I expect if I'm the 4.0? I'm also a first time captain and I hope to run a fun and competitive team.

Expect the 3.5 to be a less consistent version of you with a weaker, maybe a lot weaker, 2nd serve. I would either ask them what side they prefer...ad or deuce, b/c it may make a difference or tell them where they are playing if you know their strengths and weaknesses from watching them.

My return of serve is the weakest part of my game in doubles so I like the ad side. I can't seem to pull a serve across and away from a rightie poacher at the net as well as I can hit an inside out forehand away from the backhand volley of the net guy from the ad side. Often in doubles an up the middle serve is used to to limit the returner's angles. If I'm on the deuce side that's to my backhand, if I'm on the ad side that's to my forehand. If the other player can consistently hit a kicker out wide to my backhand, that's the only time I'm in trouble on the ad side.

Expect to be the one controlling strategy and adjustments on the court. The 3.5 is trying to focus on hitting their best shots against at least one opponent who is better than him. Thinking about the overall strategy will probably be up to you.

[jayserinos99]

So the local flight has 12 teams and starts in the second week of September. We'll be playing during Thanksgiving week unfortunately and it's an away match (actually only have 5 home matches, 6 away matches). Captains, what are your thoughts on holiday tennis?

[jayserinos99]

Originally Posted by OrangePower

....

Orange, why do I get the feeling I know you from somewhere?

[jayserinos99]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Yes, if a stranger turns up on your roster you need to do something. I would go hit with him and see if he is up to scratch. If not, he walks the plank, 'cause he wasn't invited.

Once you have your roster, send an email asking how much people want to play and whether they have any travel or work commitments on the horizon. Sometimes you can find out in advance of a shortage, and it is easiest to address that now by increasing the roster.

Good luck!!

He's not a stranger, he ran the 4.0 team last year and tried to recruit me, to which I declined since I was playing 4.5. Anyway, my teammates convinced me to give him a shot, I know he's not a strong 4.0, but this is more of a fun than competitive team and I want to limit the roster to maximize playing time.

[jayserinos99]

Originally Posted by athiker

Expect the 3.5 to be a less consistent version of you with a weaker, maybe a lot weaker, 2nd serve. I would either ask them what side they prefer...ad or deuce, b/c it may make a difference or tell them where they are playing if you know their strengths and weaknesses from watching them.

My return of serve is the weakest part of my game in doubles so I like the ad side. I can't seem to pull a serve across and away from a rightie poacher at the net as well as I can hit an inside out forehand away from the backhand volley of the net guy from the ad side. Often in doubles an up the middle serve is used to to limit the returner's angles. If I'm on the deuce side that's to my backhand, if I'm on the ad side that's to my forehand. If the other player can consistently hit a kicker out wide to my backhand, that's the only time I'm in trouble on the ad side.

Expect to be the one controlling strategy and adjustments on the court. The 3.5 is trying to focus on hitting their best shots against at least one opponent who is better than him. Thinking about the overall strategy will probably be up to you.

Out of all of this, my main concern is the 'controlling strategy and adjustments'. I hope people don't take it too far and reprimand their partners because they're not following a plan. At 3.5, it's a struggle to get the ball back, let alone do something with it.