I had concerns, and I know I still do. But last week, as my teammates and I started another semester of classes, I met up with a couple of the vets and had a meeting. It took awhile to get everything out, but we laid it all down on the table. The Sugar Gliders are ready to have 2 teams, especially as we’ve taken on 2 more recruits, adding our numbers up to 30. Over the break, I had a really hard time trying to figure out how to go about doing this. I feel that as captain, I’ve already made too many mistakes and I don’t want to make anymore. But I was a bit of dork, and listed out all the possible ways we could have an X and Y team and slowly transition to an A and B team as Sectionals (or College Conferences or whatever they’re calling it now) approaches. In my neurotic manner, I carefully folded and ripped up 28 little pieces of paper and wrote every girl’s name down, with little letters in the corner, signifying which positions each one was willing and wanting to play. I took those little bits of paper and spent 15 minutes rearranging them, pairing girls up with who I thought matched their position interests. And somehow, X and Y were born.
At the meeting, I showed those vets the rosters, telling them of how X and Y would still practice together, and A and B would be based off attendance but mainly skill level. I also mentioned the need to build up the program for next year. Three of our vets have come back from their study abroad trips and I know it’s been a bit of a pleasant surprise for them to see these changes and these numbers. But I think it was most important to hear their feedback as they’ll be the ones running this team next year after I graduate. They were supportive. All of them. And I needed to hear it from them before I mentioned it to the rest of the team and set the plan for X and Y, A and B.
Saturday, we had a ridiculously long meeting, which was mainly my fault, but also the fault of the guacamole, man-dip, and popcorn that had been made. We talked about upcoming tournaments, and of course, the transitions. As much as it bothers me personally to have to split us into two, I’m really proud of the girls, especially the rookies, for understanding our need to do this. I’m not quite sure what the thoughts on A and B were, but again, I think the entire team knows why it needs to be done. I guess a part of me expected a great uproar since having A and B teams seem to go against a lot of what Hendrix Ultimate has stood for. We’ve always been about including everyone and inviting everyone to play and go to tournaments, regardless of skill level. And now it seems like we’re going against some of that.
At the meeting, I did something a little different with them. After reading one of the other blogs on the blogroll, I decided that we needed to set up team ground rules, team goals, and individual goals. So, I gave them a notecard and asked them to write down 2-3 realistic goals that they wanted to set for themselves this upcoming semester. And, if they so desired, they were invited to share them with me. We also discussed team ground rules and team goals. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve recently felt that I no longer truly know what this team wants as a whole and in the long run. So I asked. I told them that we could go as far as we wanted. But that going far means putting in a lot of work. If we want to do well at College Whatever (I’m not doing myself any favors by not knowing the damn thing’s name), we have to know what all that entails. It means working out regularly and giving our all at practices. It means throwing outside of practice. It means showing up to practice not on time, but early. It means a lot of things.
We set up goals of impressing other teams as we slowly grow and develop. We want to start winning a game at every tournament. We want to push ourselves. And we want to be proud of our work and improvement. Although the last one wasn’t said directly by anyone, after the meeting, I couldn’t help but sense that this was a general thought of the team. And I’m really proud of these girls. Even if my yelling doesn’t always show it.
First women’s practice tomorrow. I’m excited.