DÉJÀ VU?

Boasters League round 2~~

It feels like I’ve seen this before. The standings are taking on an eerie similarity of the previous season with “Winky-Dinks”, “Butter Nutz”, “Mongoose”, and “Paddy’s Dropshots” (different team name from last year, but same captain) occupying the top four spots. In this day and age of salary caps, where the total expenditure of all the teams in the Boasters League is identical – that is, zero – why are the same teams dominating once again? (Let’s not discount “Vivio’s” on that list, who seem to enjoy coming from behind and sit 5^th.)

I guess I will let the team captains figure it out, but here is a hint to the ones who find themselves outside the top 4-5 positions: Communicate. Keep in contact with your players. Encourage them. Remind them to turn up on Wednesdays. It’s no secret that the teams that collect bonus points and play their matches are the ones leading the way.

It was a another great social evening in the club despite the fact that we did everything we could to stop you entering the court area with the lobby being blocked off and the elevator not working! But people still found their way to the courts and the beer. Most teams did pretty well picking up at least 18 points for round 2 – except “The Kampai Warriors” who only scrounged together 9. Already they have their backs against the wall as they have the ‘bye’ next week as well to contend with.

Tough, close matches were order of the day. None closer than Stu Neufeld’s (“Mongoose”) 15-14 in the 3^rd, 2-1 win over Patrick Petz (“Paddy’s Dropshots”). Nothing like a sudden-death rally to determine the outcome. Bob Rogers (“Butter Nutz”) struggled to stand upright after his 2-1 win over the speedy Jordan Ellis (“Winky-Dinks”) as he cursed under his breath at Jordan’s retrieval ability. On the other side of his mouth, he was thanking him for the work-out and helping with his fitness regimen.

New member Matthew Yee (“Wardogs”) won his first ever match 2-1 against another new member Julia Dillon (“The Kampai Warriors”). Both are just starting the game (have been playing less than 3 months) and it’s great to see them getting into it competitively straight away. Another couple of rookies beat up on each other well – Mike Nihem (“Paddy’s Dropshots”) took Nick Ioannou (“Mongoose”) 2-1.

As I mentioned, it’s wonderful to see many people here on league night enjoying each other’s company. Make sure you also enjoy each other’s squash game and get your matches done. Do not let them pile up. You’ll regret it. Captains make sure you speak to your team. Players – listen to your captain. If your captain isn’t talking, then step up and be the voice. Either way, team cohesion works. The standings prove that.