Game Three

Going into this game I knew we were down niche players, so other players would be playing out of position the entire time. I for one was going to have to play defense, and that is anything but my specialty.  After a super hard first half, we were lucky to keep them tied at 0-0. And then it happened. Three goals in less than 6 minutes were scored by the other team, and an on-field argument between the goalie and the other co-captain. Yes, an on-field argument between teammates. It was so heated that inappropriate words were exchanged and someone was told “Get off the field; I don’t want you playing for us”. The argument ended, because I ran back there split them up and told them both the chill. Of course lingering words continued throughout the match and post-game activities. I on the other hand was barraged with text messages all night long. I went to bed with a headache and woke up not feeling too refreshed. Maybe it was the 103 degree game, but I think it was actually the horrible on-field experience.

Lesson: Be a good teammate, defuse high risk situations and stay away from the he said he said. The hardest part of being in a “leadership” position is managing personalities and working around conflicting styles. My main concern during the whole incident was two-fold: 1) how do I end this now, and 2) how can I continue to motivate the team after they witnessed that? For me it was as simple as making them play positions farther away from each other, as well as curving some of the stress that my co-captain is facing by stepping up and being more vocal. Never during the incident or after did I ever claim that I knew what was exactly said. I saw certain actions and heard certain words being used, but that is nitty gritty. Even at post-game activities, one of the two parties involved continued to say one-liners about the other party. Lucky for me, everyone else on the team was ready to move on, so I never really had to say something to counter. While talks have occurred about disciplinary action, I think it is as simple as just returning to the fact that this is just a recreational week night summer soccer league. Maybe in the work place this wouldn’t be so easy and action would have to be taken, but on the pitch that type of anger should just motivate you to play harder. Maybe next week we can win and be 2-2, instead of 1-2!

Team Draft

Never in my life did I imagine that a recreational summer league would have a team draft or think I would be on the selecting end of said draft. Armed with just a list of players, preferred positions, and self-ranked skill level, my co-captain and I set out on trying to create our “dream team” (we even made a depth chart that was color coded). At the draft we felt confident in our abilities to draft well, but that feeling faded soon after the third round. We were the sixth pick position (out of ten teams) and it became apparent that anyone that was picking in the middle of the pack didn’t have any real advantage. With such a large gap between our third round pick and fourth round pick, other teams started selecting our players hidden within the depth chart. Then it happened, my co-captain panicked. Instead of us talking out our next move or figuring out what position we really needed next, my co-captain looked at the pictorial handout of the player in the draft. After he set the paper down he shouted out a name. He turned to me and said “This guy is good, amazing center mid.” I trusted him. The rest of the draft went smoothly and the trade period allowed us to pick up players we knew and would rather hang out with than play with. I left the draft feeling secure in the idea that our team could finish top three. The next day I got bad news. My co-captain told me our fourth round pick wasn’t who he thought it was and now we don’t have a true center mid. Great! I know he felt bad and now all we could do was roll with the punches.

Lesson: As a team leader, make sure you do your research and everyone on your team has a role. The people who compose teams are one of the major determining factors of that team’s success or failure. In the critical roles, it is even more important to employ individuals that have a skill set that will not only benefit the project, but also encourage other teammates to succeed. Building a team is no easy task, but building a team on “I think” and “maybe” is dangerous.

First Game

Going to the first game I was nervous. Just not nervous, but stomach cramps nervous. Being thought of as a “leader” was nerve-racking. Once I got to the game, I realized how stressful this could be. Who needs a jersey? Who doesn’t have their name badges? Who need to be introduced to who? Who is sitting by themselves and needs to be added to the fold? Who is here? What jersey number is x? What’s the line up? All these questions and more raced through my head as I acted cool and calm answering people’s questions and trying to make everyone feel a part of the team. Moments before the game, my other co-captain blanked on positions and names. Lucky for me, I’m so OCD about being organized and had memorized the line up. After a close win, there were still things to be done. Did everyone have a good time? Did everyone generally get along? Is anyone injured and need help? Did I get all the stats right? Again, as all these questions raced through my head I had to just act cool and calm congratulating everyone on our victory. But it didn’t hit me I was seen as “leader” until everyone had left, but one player. I saw him sitting there and asked him about the game. He didn’t seem happy and kept saying what he could had done better, but I knew there was more. So the next morning I e-mailed him telling him he could talk to me about any team related issues. We had a long conversation about personalities and team interactions, and that is when I realized that I had so many hats to wears.

Lesson: Always be confident in your abilities, always be prepared, and always listen to others. As nervous as I was, I knew I was prepared and from that came confidence. Even times when I had three questions coming at me, I just answered them to the best of my abilities and full of confidence. However, the truth is a title doesn’t make you a leader. It’s your way of going about thing and interacting with your team that does. And for me, it is putting my team in front of myself that I most attribute to the team’s amazing start.

Below is the list of task items that must be (or optionally) done by the start or during the first semester. To be honest, when I first saw the list I was a little overwhelmed. Then I thought of some great advice I was once given by an old trusted professor.

“Always look at a to-do list as follows: Things you can mark off because they don’t apply; things that you don’t have to do because it won’t change the outcome; things you can do now to have that sudden rush of accomplishment; and things that will take planning, but can be done.”

So that’s what I did, and this is what I have left to do! Shots and Math, sounds like everyone’s idea of a great time, right?