"Question of the Day"

[mozeek]

How do other leagues handle "ROAD WARRIORS" ?

Just interested in some feedback.....

Sometimes I feel as though I am beating my head against a wall.....

Why is there such a "LACK OF RESPECT" for others Time and effort put into trying to "RUN A LEAGUE" ??????

AND FOR LEAGUEMATES TIME ??????

PLEASE FELLOW COACHES OF THE FORUM.....EVEN SOME COMMISSIONERS FEEDBACK......WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

THIS FEELS LIKE A FULL TIME JOB...... EVEN LIKE A BILL COLLECTOR?????

[styx]

road warriors are only required to report to league games once a month,to get in as many games as the can to complete thier schedule on time,im not the commish and dont choose to be,i respect you guys ,you work your tails off, hope this helps alittle ,plus i cant stand a coach who signs up never shows.

[Reginald Rutledge]

some Morgan.

You know Morgan, I have seen every type of coach there is to see as they have passed through my home. I know the personalities, the idiosyncracies, and the motives.

For many years, I would just let it go, as far as behavior from guys. I think many thought "Well, he needs us to have a league" and they thought that's why I was nice. That is so far from right as I can play alone for the rest of my life with thousands of teams and will not think anything of it. It is well known that when I opened my house to MF'er, they were free to eat our food, go in our refrigerator, watch our TVs, and many even spent the night at my home. My wife will tell you, she was the same. My wife would bend over backwards for "the game", hauling guys to and fro the airports, being as accommodating of a hostess as she could.

A few years ago, I knew I was done when an incident happened involving a coach that went to jail. It was somehow assumed that I should take the lead role in bailing him out. At that point, I was forever done with leagues.

I have had coaches come to my house and out of frustration, bang on my wall. Well, you know he can never stay at my house any more. I've seen it all. Coaches knew to get me out of my game, argue (which they knew I hated). No time for that. I have had coaches who would arrive on a Thursday and thought you were suppose to cater your life around them.

The only reason I felt that hospitality was so important was two reasons:
1) That's how I was raised being from the Deep South and raised in a close-knit family, and
2) It was an honor to have guys willing to travel so far to be a part of what I was doing.

I held this belief for 15 years. I would have thought if I do this for people, they would in turn, pass it forward. They would teach others the game and create leagues in their home state. They would show others the same hospitality.

Oh yes, what you experience is a thankless job! To me, it's the one of the worst jobs in MF. Call it old age or grumpiness, but I just have no interest in leagues anymore! When you put on a show or run a league, you can never play to your full potential. You've got too many things and too many people to worry about!

Now, you can continue to have Road Warriors. That will come with a challenge or you can just make your league regional. Either way, not only do the Road Warriors not abide by the rules, the ones locally may have issues too.

So creating the happy medium is the trick. One thing you do not want to do is neglect your family (in any way).You've got enough to deal with family issues than hearing a MF Diva complain. Let that MF Diva go home and start up a league. Chances are, they will not, because they don't want to take on that type of responsibility. In their words, "They just wanna play".

Reg

[Michigan Joe]

Morgan,
I believe its a reality check. Travelling to play is near impossible for both cost and time's sake (for me time is the killer). People WANT to do it, but the reality is that leagues are much easier when it is local...the problem most facd is the lack of "numbers" for a local league. Heck, add on for you that the shootout rules need a ref and the time commitment is enormous. I really think tournament style is much more suitable to travelling to play. Having said that I am very committed to the Mid Ohio league struture and that is mainly because I do enjoy the league aspect and this league fits my personality very well so I am willing to make that committment. Also, as a "road warrior" per say, I feel I have a plan to successfully play my games and that involves a few major outings for games follwed by some various matchups against coaches who are closer geographically to me. Bottom line, road warriors bite can easily bite off more than they can reasonably chew and many times it makes no practical sense to travel that far to play.

Alternate format to league play...
Instead of pure league play, one thing we are doing in Chicago now is having kind of a "heavy weight tile mixed with Stanley Cup" trophy for the champion of each of our Game dates. The games are set up as a 3 possession round robin format and we call it "king of the hill". For example, since I won the round robin in our first meeting last Saturday I get to take home the trophy, but next meeting someone else will likely step up and win and then they will get the trophey. Playing the game with friends for a very prideful trophey, open to all that want to join us. The trophey is a football and is labeled "Chicago Miniature football: King of the Hill". This format allows us to be less rigid about who shows up, how often we can meet, etc., etc. and just lets us get back to the basics of enjoying the times we do get together and playing for our local trophy. We also feel it will let new combers join easier with less upfront committment, and we will always be welcoming of others in the region to come join us when we set our next game date.
Joe

[artlax]

Sounds like a great set-up.

[Shabby J]

Shootout rules requiring refs is a HUGE misconception that I have heard quite a bit.

We play out here without refs all the time. One mans the stat board, the other mans the play and game clock, the defense is always responsible for running the pass clock.

Sure, having refs always makes the game better relieving both coaches of these duties.

We play without refs for most regular season games, but always use refs when we have coaches on byes or when they are critical play-off games, championship games etc...we always structure these critical games so there are refs, but two coaches can play shootout rules with stats and time keeping rather easily.

We do it all the time.

[artlax]

eliminated refs and changed the time format - works much better. A "ref" is brought in when an extra set of eyes is needed.

And regarding road warriors or coaches or league mates in general it is as Morgan stated - all about respect - for your fellow coaches and the fact that their time is just as valuable as yours.

[Reginald Rutledge]

What another one of those misconceptions on the Shootout Rules!

It would be nice having the ref but games can definitely be played without the refs. It just makes you a better player as you become more aware and focused.

[The Rookie]

I like the idea of not haveing to have ref's all the time.
When there are no refs it makes me be more honest. Don't take me wrong here but if we have a ref I like them to make the calls and run the rules of the game.

[Coach K-LO]

Thanks Moe for the return of "Question of the Day".

Now from my point of view, it is all about Commitment to those who you have chosen to support for this hobby-sport. As a "outsider" of a league, you have been given the honor of competing with the guys "in" the league. They did not have to take your loot....

... But it is the commitment that you make to particapate. Members are holding you accountable for your peice of the whole.

When you were granted membership, you were expected to be available for action a set number of visits to completed the season. You are also required to make scheduled "game days" to fellowship and play games. That is why we are doing this, right??

I have played in the NEFL-Philly for 3 yrs and counting... have completed my seasons and have been plays away from winning it all because of my commitment to play.

I plan to do the same thing with the Mid-Ohio League! I really like playing with these guys alot. I love the fact that if your team looks less than pretty, it better play way better than they look.... I like that, all teams looking good a.k.a Eye-candy. The rules are very user-friendly and allows for some pounding in the running game and possible fumbles on any play by any defender is GREAT WAY TO PLAY..... so I plan to give them all of my commitment to complete this season by scheduling my travel to play and get the other road warriors to show up (and schedule their travels too) so that we all benefit from each other's commitment to play........


k-lo