My USTA "Captain" is SOOOOO Lame

Baxter

Baxter

Professional
1. He has never shown up for a match, three in a row now.
2. He made a deal to postpone a match with another team captain because of a regional tournament but didn't inform anyone on the team except for his brother and two or three other guys.
3. The other captain informed his team, so the balance of our team showed up like a bunch of numbnuts with nothing to do but play Austrailian doubles.
4. The match is still live on the USTA site, waiting for results.
5. Can't a Captain cancel a match on line to let the team know not to show up if he's too lazy to make a few calls?
6. I think mutiny is in order.
 
Baxter said:
1. He has never shown up for a match, three in a row now.
2. He made a deal to postpone a match with another team captain because of a regional tournament but didn't inform anyone on the team except for his brother and two or three other guys.
3. The other captain informed his team, so the balance of our team showed up like a bunch of numbnuts with nothing to do but play Austrailian doubles.
4. The match is still live on the USTA site, waiting for results.
5. Can't a Captain cancel a match on line to let the team know not to show up if he's too lazy to make a few calls?
6. I think mutiny is in order.
Click to expand...

If by 'cancel a match online' you mean change tennislink, then no. Captains do not have that capability.

If you meant sending out a mass email, well then, of course. And he should have done at least that.

Don't worry about the match still being live...you can put scores in pretty late.
 
Yeah, a disorganized or inconsiderate captain is a scourge.

In our league, the rules specifically authorize a mutiny upon a vote of a majority of the players. I say take a vote and take over!

In the meantime, you'll probably want to take the initiative and confirm that matches are still on before you start driving. That sort of thing would drive me nuts.
 
Cindysphinx said:
Yeah, a disorganized or inconsiderate captain is a scourge.

In our league, the rules specifically authorize a mutiny upon a vote of a majority of the players. I say take a vote and take over!

In the meantime, you'll probably want to take the initiative and confirm that matches are still on before you start driving. That sort of thing would drive me nuts.
Click to expand...
Ahhh... but the problem is, a lot, if not most people don't want to captain! Although most of the time captaining isn't a problem, sometimes it can get quite aggravating!
 
^^^I officially retired from captaining yesterday. It would take a *lot* to get me to do it again.
 
I've been a captain. Whenever I've taken a job that pays nothing, I've wound up feeling underpaid. I should have told complainers, 'You want to get me fired?'
 
Topaz said:
^^^I officially retired from captaining yesterday. It would take a *lot* to get me to do it again.
Click to expand...

**WHAT??**

What happened to our deal that you'd captain a DC team and we'd both play singles?

Oh, right. We never had such a deal. :)

I don't mind captaining at all. I far prefer it to being at the mercy of someone else. My 6.5 combo team practically runs itself now. We have the occasional hiccup, but I guess I've been lucky.
 
Baxter said:
1. He has never shown up for a match, three in a row now.
2. He made a deal to postpone a match with another team captain because of a regional tournament but didn't inform anyone on the team except for his brother and two or three other guys.
3. The other captain informed his team, so the balance of our team showed up like a bunch of numbnuts with nothing to do but play Austrailian doubles.
4. The match is still live on the USTA site, waiting for results.
5. Can't a Captain cancel a match on line to let the team know not to show up if he's too lazy to make a few calls?
6. I think mutiny is in order.
Click to expand...

OK, so you chalk it up to experience. One tennis season is only 3-4 months and you could likely play on other teams. Next time either step up and be the captain yourself or if the guy has a lock on the job avoid his team. It is a little tough to complain about someone doing a volunteer job.
 
Baxter said:
1. He has never shown up for a match, three in a row now.
2. He made a deal to postpone a match with another team captain because of a regional tournament but didn't inform anyone on the team except for his brother and two or three other guys.
3. The other captain informed his team, so the balance of our team showed up like a bunch of numbnuts with nothing to do but play Austrailian doubles.
4. The match is still live on the USTA site, waiting for results.
5. Can't a Captain cancel a match on line to let the team know not to show up if he's too lazy to make a few calls?
6. I think mutiny is in order.
Click to expand...

Yes he's lame. I'm surprised people here don't see it. The chump not calling (anyone besides his brother) is what seals it. Did you already pay your team fees?
 
Cindysphinx said:
**WHAT??**

What happened to our deal that you'd captain a DC team and we'd both play singles?

Oh, right. We never had such a deal. :)

I don't mind captaining at all. I far prefer it to being at the mercy of someone else. My 6.5 combo team practically runs itself now. We have the occasional hiccup, but I guess I've been lucky.
Click to expand...

Eight rainouts. That's what happened. And people skipping out on their match fees, making me have to run after them and nag. Meanwhile, I'm out money, which is ironic, as I'm pretty sure I'm the poorest member of the team.

I don't know, just got fed up. I'm not anybody's mom, but during tennis season, it seems like I have about 12 children. Some comments were made, as well, causing some extra drama during the season, and I had to deal with it. I'd rather be focusing on my own game then herding these sheep!

I'm also cutting down on the amount of teams, and shifting to mostly singles. We'll see how it goes, but regardless, I bet I'll be a lot less stressed out, and since the season hits at the end of the school year (which is complete and utter chaos), that is definitely something that appeals to me!
 
Topaz, I'm curious. How do people get away with skipping out on match fees? How do you guys collect in your league -- match by match?

Me, I'm an "all up front" captain. I hear some captains even "round up", meaning they make everyone kick in $10 extra dollars to cover defaults and which is refunded at the end of the season. Last season, I had 17 of 18 people pay on the first request for payment and the last person on the third request for payment. That's not too bad, I guess.
 
Cindysphinx said:
Topaz, I'm curious. How do people get away with skipping out on match fees? How do you guys collect in your league -- match by match?
.
Click to expand...

This is the outdoor league I'm talking about here...we don't put anything up front, and collect each match. Then I write the big check at the end of the season. Of course, I can't make every match, so I have to rely on other people collecting for me and then getting me the money...which they did, no problem. It was people not having money or not giving my 'collectors' the fees when I wasn't there that was the problem.
 
Topaz said:
This is the outdoor league I'm talking about here...we don't put anything up front, and collect each match. Then I write the big check at the end of the season. Of course, I can't make every match, so I have to rely on other people collecting for me and then getting me the money...which they did, no problem. It was people not having money or not giving my 'collectors' the fees when I wasn't there that was the problem.
Click to expand...

That stinks. We used to have that system in our county, but they went to a system of having all fees paid up front to the county beforehand. This means I have to put something like $1000 on my credit card and then get checks from the players. They also make me post a deposit, and they also collect for post-season play from all of the teams. I just got my refund check for the deposit and the unused post-season play fees, and it was something like $577.

Captaining around here is not for those with low credit card limits! :)
 
beernutz said:
I have been asked to captain a team and you all have helped me make up my mind about that decision.
Click to expand...

Well, I hope you will decide if you do captain a team, to do it well.

I've been lucky in that I've played for 3 great captains;
yes they had to deal w/ a lot of people wanting to play singles or not wanting singles or wanting doubles etc. However, they've done a good job of creating a team spirit though; and they've also been organized. While they haven't always "guessed" right, they do put some forethought into who's playing which lineup. Most of all, everyone has fun. We don't have too many people leaving the team.
 
Roforot said:
Well, I hope you will decide if you do captain a team, to do it well.

I've been lucky in that I've played for 3 great captains;
yes they had to deal w/ a lot of people wanting to play singles or not wanting singles or wanting doubles etc. However, they've done a good job of creating a team spirit though; and they've also been organized. While they haven't always "guessed" right, they do put some forethought into who's playing which lineup. Most of all, everyone has fun. We don't have too many people leaving the team.
Click to expand...

I have had both good and bad captains so I know the score. One bad one was very nice to me to my face and I always tried to be gung-ho for the team in return. I would show up to watch us play matches some weeks when I wasn't scheduled to play, for example and he could always count on me to be there if I said I would. One week I showed up and ended up playing when someone who said they'd be there didn't show and we won our court but still lost the match.

The first round of this leagues playoffs came around and he didn't ask me to play which was no big deal as there were better players on the team than me. Another player on the team who was playing in the tourney had an auto accident that afternoon and couldn't make it to the match so after trying unsuccessfully to contact the captain he called me and asked me to show up so we would not lose his court by default. Before I left for the courts, I tried to call the captain too but couldn't get him (cell went directly to voicemail) to ask if I should be there. So anyway I went, and we lost every court including the one the captain was playing on.

Later the captain chewed out my friend for calling and asking me to show up and told him I stunk in doubles. This is about half true but he still didn't have to say something like that behind my back when I was only trying to help and it was his fault for being incommunicado all afternoon before the match. I will put up with a lot of crap from team captains but I'll never play for that one again.
 
beernutz said:
I have had both good and bad captains so I know the score. One bad one was very nice to me to my face and I always tried to be gung-ho for the team in return. I would show up to watch us play matches some weeks when I wasn't scheduled to play, for example and he could always count on me to be there if I said I would. One week I showed up and ended up playing when someone who said they'd be there didn't show and we won our court but still lost the match.

The first round of this leagues playoffs came around and he didn't ask me to play which was no big deal as there were better players on the team than me. Another player on the team who was playing in the tourney had an auto accident that afternoon and couldn't make it to the match so after trying unsuccessfully to contact the captain he called me and asked me to show up so we would not lose his court by default. Before I left for the courts, I tried to call the captain too but couldn't get him (cell went directly to voicemail) to ask if I should be there. So anyway I went, and we lost every court including the one the captain was playing on.

Later the captain chewed out my friend for calling and asking me to show up and told him I stunk in doubles. This is about half true but he still didn't have to say something like that behind my back when I was only trying to help and it was his fault for being incommunicado all afternoon before the match. I will put up with a lot of crap from team captains but I'll never play for that one again.
Click to expand...

Yech. Two-faced is pretty bad. I would have thought he should have thanked you for showing up! Perhaps we can attribute that to frustration w/ losing every line!

I try not to give my captain a hard time; he sees me practice and play other people, so I let him decide where I'd play best. Still I see that he's got a lot of stress; even watching the matches are hard. In one match, he went back and forth on putting our best players on singles or in line 2 doubles. He put them in singles, and even though we won 3-2, he was lamenting that decision for the next week. I could not captain for this reason.

And then there is a lot of "I don't want line 1 or I don't want to play w/ a lefty or against the lefty..." This also requires a lot of politics and diplomacy. Even people that say they want straight talk, mean straight talk to everyone else.
 
Can I be sarcastic and say: I thought being two-faced was a requirement for being a captain. I'm only kidding....:)
 
MariaS said:
Can I be sarcastic and say: I thought being two-faced was a requirement for being a captain. I'm only kidding....:)
Click to expand...

Well, you do have to fib. You simply have to. When Suzie NoStrokes says, "How come I can't play with Excellent Partner. We got on so well together that one time we played."

You can't fire back, "Excellent Partner said she still has a backache from carrying you all over the court, and she begged me never to pair her with you again."

So you mumble something in reply. Gotta think fast . . . .
 
Thats why I like the fall time... I'm captaining singles AND combo.. but i wont have to worry about the "oh i want singles" like in Spring league since they are separate leagues.. but now i'll probably just get to hear "Why am I on THIS court (#1,2,3) I want THIS one".. ahh joys of being a captain. But honestly I love it.. I'm very organized and make sure my players know what they are doing and where they are going.. because some of them are technology challenged.
 
dgrave2 said:
Thats why I like the fall time... I'm captaining singles AND combo.. but i wont have to worry about the "oh i want singles" like in Spring league since they are separate leagues.. but now i'll probably just get to hear "Why am I on THIS court (#1,2,3) I want THIS one".. ahh joys of being a captain. But honestly I love it.. I'm very organized and make sure my players know what they are doing and where they are going.. because some of them are technology challenged.
Click to expand...

Yep, the technologically challenged ones are, well . . . a challenge. Still, if they do what they're supposed to do and take it seriously, we'll do fine.

I have one player with no sense of direction. She will set out with a set of Mapquest directions and still get herself lost. The last time this happened, she called me, even though I wasn't attending the match that night. I happened to answer my cell phone, so I talked her through it. "OK, tell me what you see. Applebees? That doesn't sound familiar. Can you see a cross-street sign? Good, good. OK, what's the next street sign. ROCKVILLE PIKE? OH MY GOD, YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY, TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!!!"

She arrived just before the warm-up. Thankfully, she planned on arriving 30 minutes ahead like I ask of all players, so she had time to get lost. So it's all good.

Oh, and she won her match!
 
Cindysphinx said:
Yep, the technologically challenged ones are, well . . . a challenge. Still, if they do what they're supposed to do and take it seriously, we'll do fine.

I have one player with no sense of direction. She will set out with a set of Mapquest directions and still get herself lost. The last time this happened, she called me, even though I wasn't attending the match that night. I happened to answer my cell phone, so I talked her through it. "OK, tell me what you see. Applebees? That doesn't sound familiar. Can you see a cross-street sign? Good, good. OK, what's the next street sign. ROCKVILLE PIKE? OH MY GOD, YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY, TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!!!"

She arrived just before the warm-up. Thankfully, she planned on arriving 30 minutes ahead like I ask of all players, so she had time to get lost. So it's all good.

Oh, and she won her match!
Click to expand...

Hey, I get lost in my closet. And it's a small closet. :oops:
 
My whole team got lost one time going to a match. Mapquest directions were definately wrong. By the way, street names and configurations change sometimes and Mapquest and your GPS may not be able to help you or can it? I don't have one. I'm cheap :)
 
I finally broke down and bought a comprehensive street map for our entire metro area. Yes, Mapquest can be wrong. I don't have a GPS and don't want to spend the $$$ to buy one for the couple of times a year I might need it.

My main concern is traffic back-ups on the Beltway. I need to be able to get off the Beltway and map out an alternate route. Now, thanks to my $40 handy dandy street map, I could do that.
 
It does not matter if the job pay's 0 or 1,000.00 per match, he took a job knowing it pay's nothing and should be there and call ALL the team if a match is cancelled. If you take a job no matter what it is and what it pay's you should do your best at it and with gas at almost 4.00 a gallon and have team members drive to a match that has been cancelled it just stupid
 
I've captained several teams and I love it. I don't get what's so hard about calling your team mates to let them know a match is cancelled/rescheduled. I had to do that just this past Saturday and it took me all of 10 minutes to call everybody and then send a quick email out to the whole team.

The real key to captaining though is organization. All of my players get a schedule at the beginning of the year, they send it back to me marking what dates they for sure can not play and what matches they really want to play in. I also ask them to note any preferences they have (for ex. ad side in doubles). Once I get all of this back I load everything into a spreadsheet so I can keep track throughout the season. I have all of our records and everything on that sheet.

Then one week before the match I send out an email with a tentative lineup and a request to let me know immediately if you can not play and if you are not in the lineup if you would be available if needed.

Has always worked for me, I've never had to forfeit a court and my players always thank me for doing a good job and being so organized.
 
OP here. No confirmation call. I'll have to assume the match is canceled again. I'll call the opposing team captain tomorrow and find out what's going on.

Pathetic.
 
^^^ it is pathetic. i hate playing for captains like this.

just take over the team man. you make the roster. you make the calls. you tell the guys where and when to show up. don't ask him for permission. just do it. when he questions why you are undermining him, ask, "who else was gonna do it? certainly not you!" if you show everyone on the team that you can be relied on, you will earn their trust and the captain will realize that his "services" are no longer needed. then boot him off the team next year!
 
I bet most captains have "player stories" too. The weakest players always demand to play #1 Singles. Players blow off matches too.
 
you know... i cant help but check threads like these.. because i'm a captain.. and just praying that its not one of my players complaining about me. hahaha.
 
^^^LOL, me, too, though I'm slowly getting out of the captain role so that I can concentrate on my own game more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Unforced Terrors
The Tale of Captain Hook - a USTA story
2
Replies
60
Views
3K
Unforced Terrors
Unforced Terrors
Unforced Terrors
The Continued Woes of Captain Hook - a USTA Story
Replies
6
Views
723
Unforced Terrors
Unforced Terrors
M
USTA Captain Ban
2
Replies
52
Views
3K
cks
cks
J
Captains, would you default this match?
2
Replies
61
Views
3K
badmice2
badmice2
B
Any experience with roster change after match has started? (USTA)
Replies
27
Views
3K
GatorTennis
GatorTennis
Back
Top