Squash Team "Politics"
Published: 02 May 2006 - 22:37 by BizarreCo
Updated: 03 May 2006 - 18:57
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Does anyone else have a load of "politics" going on in their squash club? The team and club that I play for has a few distinct elements:
- The competitive people who want to get on with it and think that they can beat everybody (and tell people all the time!)
- The old "stallwarts" who refuse to play challenges and refuse to give up their team places for better (younger!) players.
- The people who are happy to let better players go ahead of them in the ranking, but will be damned if someone worse is getting an easy ride.
I consider myself to be in the third category, but we have an interesting dilema. I join (the long established) team ranking around 18 months ago. 5 people per team and the rankings already in, the league rules state that I must be added to the BOTTOM of the rankings list. This means that whatever team I played for, I had to play at 5 from the Sept to the Xmas.
When Xmas came they re-ordered the list, and I was given a rightful place at number 5 (although I could have been at 4 if I'd have pushed for it!). Constantly I've had bickering from the guy ranked at 6 who argued that the place was his and that I shouldn't have got it..... so I played him for it and beat him 3 times in a row.
End of story? NOT A CHANCE! He then went on to tell everyone how I'd "choke" under pressure of a real match with a referee and how he'd beat me (and the number 4) anytime he wanted to. So we played again WITH A REF. I beat him again - easily!
Now is it end of story? NOT A CHANCE! Due to an injury which put me out 1 week before the next league started (for around 3 weeks), he took my team place AND the number 4 spot without any challenge to me or the number 4! So I played him again (27-3 this time!), but still this wasn't good enough (at this point the original number 4 had quit the team in protest!). Come the start of the next season the awkward guy was injured - so I turned the tables and took his place (with loads of protest from him AND others!).
So now here's the problem. We start the next league in two days. The guy (we'll call him Mr Nasty) had in the mean time challenged and beat the number 3 (we'll call him mr sleepy) for the number 3 spot. Everyone knows that mr sleepy is so sleepy on court that he loses matches when he isn't interested. With the season start fast approaching, mr sleepy wants his place back and has challenged mr nasty. After two hammerings dished out, mr sleepy was about to get the 3 spot back. Until that was, I beat Mr Nasty first and got the 3 spot for myself!
So, Nasty beats sleepy, I beat nasty and sleepy will (probably) beat me. How do we sort this mess out? Does anyone have some sound advice on a solution? (unless of course I beat sleepy!).
This mess has me confused!
ADZ
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From BizarreCo - 03 May 2006 - 18:57
From Bolgy - 03 May 2006 - 09:57
At the end of the season there should be some sort of team comitee at the club that would decide the order. If you're pumping this guy for three points, I don't see how he has a leg to stand on.
From rippa rit - 03 May 2006 - 08:19 - Updated: 03 May 2006 - 08:21
Biz - obviously you have to beat Sleepy. To do that you have to play the game like Nasty (not like Biz prefers to play). My advice is:
- Go and watch a match between Nasty and Sleepy. Note the following aspects of Nasty's game, eg
- the type of serves
- the percentage of long and short shots played
- how Nasty dominates the play
- look for weaknesses in Sleepy
- then set about developing your game so you too can change your tactics to suit as required.
- It is about you adapting your game to upset the opponent's game.
Few questions:
- What averages do these guys have over a season
- Who wins in the semis/finals
- Who wins all season and then bombs out on the semis/finals
Good luck - here is a link to our tactical section which might help you "train up".
There are favourites, stacking, string pullers, in every club, not only in squash.
If you keep winning you will not have a problem...winners are grinners.
From missing_record1 - 03 May 2006 - 05:27
From vitty - 02 May 2006 - 23:35
1) difference of the sets
(i.e. Mr.Nasty 3:5, Mr.Sleepy 5:2, ADZ 3:3 - the sequence is: Sleepy, ADZ, Nasty)
2) better position in the last round
3) a draw
Obviously I hope you´ll beat Mr.Sleepy anyway ! Good luck and keep us informed about this "politics"!
Vitty
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Well, Sadly it all went wrong!
For some reason I couldn't get myself into the game. My serves were either very loose or sometimes out! Unforced errors came through like I was playing for them. Both of us seemed to hit nicks off the most random shots going! The towelling grip became like an oil slick and ultimately I played like an idiot!
Final result:
8/10 9/4 9/5 7/9 7/9 Coming back from 2/7 down in the fifth did not help me feel better!
My consolation in all this is that he really is a better player than me, and what was more depressing is that he's trying to model his game on mine and doing a better job of it than me!
But it is said that "Imitation is the best form of flattery" and considering how laid back and sleepy this guy is most of the time, he has broke 2 rackets against me in temper (he doesn't like playing against my game style very much!).
When all is said and done Sleepy is at 3, I'm at 4 and Nasty is at 5. That really is where things should be for now.
Rippa, thanks for the list of things to look for in the matches between Sleepy and Nasty, but none of that really counts as it's not Nasty that wins, more Sleepy that loses. He simply doesn't engage in the match. The problem is that recently he's started going for the win against me from the first point - as he should! When I'm firing on all cylinders you could toss a coin to get the winner, but the moment I have an "off-day" I end up losing 3-2 or 3-1.
Never mind. Our summer season doesn't count for much and I have 20 weeks to go before the winter starts!
Coming back to the politics aspect....... If you have a club ranking list which includes juniors (17 y/o's). Should they be granted the abilty to jump up more than 3 places at a time given the burst they seem to improve in?
In our club we have a few clear groups of players.
a) Top 4 (County standard)
b) Next 3 (High club standard)
c) Next 3 (Good-to-high club standard / veteran county)
d) Next 4 (Good club standard)
e) Next 5 (Club standard)
f) Junior A
g) Next 2 (Lower club standard)
h) Next 3 (Ladies players)
i) Junior B
End of List!!
Now realistically within 6 months, Junior A will be of a high enough standard to play in section (b) with Junior B being good enough to play in section (c) or (d). As the summer is not really counted for anything (a lot of players don't even play for the team in the summer!) I recommended that it would be a good chance to let the juniors play higher up to gain experience.
Experience lead to higher standard.
But I have been told that they cannot be allowed to gain higher level experience until they are of a better standard (which one of them already is!). Catch 22 anyone?!?!?!?
Does anyone else think that this is a really poor way to encourage junior development?
ADZ
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