Source
r/ultimate•
benderkw

Team commitment issues

Looking for some advice here. My ultimate team has commitment issues, and by that I mean, people don't come to games. We have 16 or 17 people on the roster and for most games only 8 or 9 show up. We play in a competitive tier in our league, and without subs we are getting destroyed. We play well and can at least compete with the top teams when we have enough players to avoid exhaustion. Does anybody have any advice to help me convince my teammates to come out and play?

Posted Jun 7, 2012, 4:21 PM UTC

59
grizz281•

This is for summer league?

Send an email out asking why people aren't showing up, but don't make it sound accusatory. No one likes a slave driver summer league teammate. Plus, they could be busy with work or something. Other than that, there's not much you can do without coming off as a dick.

3
areinetLifelong beginner•

Without knowing all the details I have two pieces of advice for you...

1). You should be carrying at least 3 times the number of people on your roster than you need to field. So, if you are playing co-ed and have to field 5/2, your roster should have at least 15 men and 6 women. And even that might be a tad low.

2). Get Organized. I don't really know the specifics other than what you mentioned, but serious organization can go a really long way toward encouraging your team. Send out an email about 5 days before every game announcing the game details and bringing lots of positive vibe. After the game, send out a recap email of the game calling out especially awesome plays and again lots of enthusiasm. Make the people who didn't go jealous of those who did go. Be encouraging.

Also, as a shameless self plug... I wrote a big article for WAFC (DC's Ultimate organization) about how to captain a team that might have some additional insights for you. Not everyone always agrees, but being informed can be helpful. Check it out at http://www.wafc.org/about/captaining

Good luck.

2
thatwasntveryraven•

Also, try to go out for a beer after the game. Send an email to the whole team saying something like "Great game tonight! We're heading to McClaren's for a celebratory pint!"

Then people will be more likely to show, IMO.

1
areinetLifelong beginner•

Psst... That's in the article too. :)

1
NaughtyNautilus•

Let everyone know what the situation is. My college team instated a rule for the last two years that says that if a member misses a practice and doesn't email the team, we run a 20yd shuttle. If you miss practice without a team notification we run a 50 yd ladder by 10 yd increments. It seems cruel and too intense sometimes, but for our small roster it got those reliable players in shape enough to play without the people who miss practice. We went to nationals with our tiny team (14) and didn't do horribly. Seems mean, but effective.

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
Xylarax•

If you don't have anything like it checkout team cowboy or rostermanager as ways to push a culture of early notification. These tools seem to help a lot of teams (not just ultimate) with attendance and organization issues. How long have you had these issues? If you track it, talk to the individuals who show up less than 50% of the time.

1
[deleted]•

Bring food. And beer for post-game.

1
benderkwOP•

Thanks for all the insight everyone!

1