Commissioner's Season 16 Message
I wanted to update everyone on a couple of things as we head into the new season:
1) Start Time - Based on survey responses, we will be starting at 9:00. 12 out of 22 respondents requested 9:00 and the next highest was vote was for 8:45 and only 4 people voted for that. Understand that a 9:00 start means cleats on, warmed up, ready to play and dividing teams. Dividing teams fairly is a critical aspect to a fun game. Showing up late makes it hard to do that because we don't know if someone is late or not showing. This is particularly an issue if we only expect 14 people.
2) Game Size - Also based on survey responses, it is clear that the preferred game size is 8 on 8. Second is 7 on 7. Therefore, I will be managing the invite list to try to get 8 on 8 games. If we are a little short one week or if someone has to leave early, we still have 7 on 7. If we get a couple too many, we get 9 on 9. Of course we will occasionally have 20 people show up, and I don't want any of you to think I don't want you playing. I'm just saying that I am going to be careful about when we add guys to the list with a couple of exceptions so that we can try to keep games at the size that the vast majority of players indicated they prefer.
3) Game Location - I like the Round Rock fields because they offer a lot of options and we've only had an issue there one time which is pretty good (we used to have issues at McNeil a couple times a year before they kicked us off). However, the location is much worse for a number of our players who live South, particularly those who live South and West. So I'm willing to try other locations. Leo suggested Canyon Vista Middle School at 8434 Spicewood Springs Road (like a mile East of 183). It seems to have potential but I'm hoping someone can go check it out one evening to make sure its field is not locked like Westview's was. There is also a backup field within reasonable distance at Westwood HS. My main reason for starting with Canyon Vista is that it looks a bit more isolated. If these fields don't work out, we can always go back to RR again.
4) Play-by-Play/Stats - I'm greatly reducing the stats I track. I currently spend 6 or more hours a week on a game I get to play about 3 hours. Even with the automation I've built, it's just too much work and I'm not willing to track every little thing any more. I am going to continue tracking some stats but play-by-play is gone as is yardage except for punting yards since there are relatively few punts in a game. Here is what I plan to track and post by player involved in the play:
TDs
Picks/Turnovers
Sacks/stops for loss
Explosive Plays (over 20 yards on play)
1st Downs (ball carrier)
Defensed Passes (defender)
Punt Yardage
Win/Loss
I will consider tracking other stats that people suggest that do not require tracking nearly every single play (i.e. I'm not doing yardage and I'm not tracking every throw/completion). These stats will also be available for the season as a whole as in prior years and you'll be able to compare them to prior year totals for the categories that overlap.
Hopefully this won't affect people's enjoyment of the game.
I'm really looking forward to the beginning of the season on Saturday and spending the next 9 months chasing you all down (except Keith - I'd really like to find someone else to do that :)
