This is an extract from the Spring 2004 Newsletter.

The Club Captain

Did you realise that the planning for the winter’s matches can start a year before the event?

What’s involved?

Well, it’s at that stage that we have to decide how many teams we want to enter in the various leagues. Do we want to increase the number of teams? In which competition? Who will be captain? Who will want to play?

Who makes those decisions you may well ask? The answer is that the team captain’s meet formally twice a year (usually March and September) under the chairmanship of the Club Captain to discuss those issues and more.

What else is discussed? The meeting is also an opportunity to review the ”season” just completed and to plan for the coming one. This will involve the captains in reporting on their teams’ performance (What went well, what could have been done better) and letting their colleagues know which team members have improved and may deserve consideration for a higher team squad.

We will also discuss the success or otherwise of new initiatives. For example:

• The Monday night practices – should we continue?
   
• Should the format remain the same?
   
• Should the match fee stay at £2-50?
   
• Should we continue with the posting of team results on the club notice boards?

In fact anything to do with teams, matches and match play.

Team Captains

Of course the team captains too have numerous things to plan, to anticipate and to organise before the first ball can be served in anger. These might include:

• Liaison with the Match Secretary and Club Captain as early as possible re the coming season’s fixtures
   
• Understanding the rules applicable to the league the team is playing in (player eligibility, communications, wet weather rearrangements)
   
• Confirming each match with the opposing captain
   
• Handling the paperwork (result cards, match records, finances etc.)
   

Team Players

So what do you do if you want to become a team player?

What should you do if you are a team player?