[TFDA] Spring league format debate

garrett-dyer at nc.rr.com garrett-dyer at nc.rr.com
Thu Feb 21 08:44:27 EST 2008


A comment about the potential cliquishness of Spring League, if I may...

When limited to a certain number of points that the core group can be comprised of, all captains will be forced to look outside of their "clique" in order to successfully meet the point criteria.  As an example, I would point to the Savage Seven tournament;  its point-driven model successfully brings players from varying experience levels (therefore, cliques) to play together.  

While it's impossible (and unnecessary and possibly detrimental) to completely restrict a captain's tendency to pick friends, it's worth noting that this behavior is already prevalent in all of our leagues.  My guess is that you will find the same level of cliquish behavior as a result of the new Spring League formation style.

And what if you find that you ended up on a team with a clique?  Paraphrasing from a mid-80s SNL skit:  GET TO KNOW THEM!  You can still benefit from the attempt;  you'll either find that these are some super-cool people that you never knew, or you'll find that they aren't worth your time.  Either way, it's all good.

Dusty:  I didn't include the Carrboro group because I'm sure my e-mail would bounce...feel free to forward this if you like.

---- Dusty Hoefer <dustyhoefer at nc.rr.com> wrote: 

=============
I'm surprised no one has made a comment about the new Spring League 
format. Love it, hate it, indifferent? I've been talking to players at 
Winter League games, Carrboro pickup and Wednesday night pickup in 
Durham and have gotten some enthusiastic responses from tournament 
players, and some skeptical or apprehensive impressions from the more 
casual or regular league players. The objections are basically two. 
First, that the core group of players won't let the others play. 
Frankly, I don't think that's a worry. Most of the captains will have 
already captained league teams, and they know the deal: everybody plays. 
I also don't think any opposing captain would let them get away with it. 
I predict everybody will get playing time. Second, there is a worry that 
the core group will be a clique of players that only hang out with each 
other, and so the social element will be lost. I'd like to point out 
that if you play around here, you may already know people in your core, 
even if you were drafted. After all, they will tend to draft players 
whose abilities they know best. Also, about half your team will be 
draftees, so there will still be a random element. Some of the core 
players will be away at tournaments for some games, and the draftees 
will be the backbone of the team then.

So now that I've had my say, feel free to voice your opinion, just be nice.

And, if you would be interested in being in a core, instead of drafted, 
make a post to that effect and mention how many points you cost, so 
captains needing to fill out a roster know you're out there. If you want 
to form your own core, but need a little help, you might want to contact 
Troy, or post to the newsgroup for matchmaking help.

Dusty
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