Should we have a confidential draft to choose teams, or should we allow teams to organize themselves?

The governing board agrees with the two-thirds of respondents who believe we should have a draft for the fall. This is a young league and we expect many new people to join the existing ranks. We would like to see spring league members and new members form friendships and learn from each other. However, we also recognize that people want to play on teams with their friends. To that end, we are increasing the number of people who may choose to play on each other’s teams from two to three. Two (or three) people will be drafted on the same team as long as all of them write each other’s names on their registration forms. In future seasons, we may allow teams to form themselves (or stay together as a team) while incorporating new players via a draft.

In any competitive sport, conflict will inevitably arise. What feedback would you give about how league leadership handled conflict within the league?

Before the season began and all through the season, the board spent a great deal of time trying to ensure that conflict on and off the field was handled in an appropriate manner. We recognized that football is a competitive sport with a good deal of physical contact and that problems might arise. We also understood that given the fact this was a start-up league and we were shorthanded that several people had to take on multiple roles, some of which might lead to a conflict of interest, perceived or otherwise.

Some conflicts did arise – between teams, between individuals, between captains and referees. And in most cases, they were settled amicably and the games ran extremely smoothly as did all our social events.

Nonetheless, some respondents believe that league leadership failed to a degree in handling some of the more public conflicts, that “violations were not enforced” and that the board “did not do a good job in communicating with the league on why certain decisions had been made and what the rationale was behind it.” Also, “discipline was too lax given some of the players’ unsportsmanlike conduct. Violations and outbursts that disrupted the enjoyment of the league for other players and even threatened the safety of players and refs on the field were forgiven too easily.”

We take these concerns extremely seriously. Nothing is more important to us than your safety. Our number one goal is to make sure everyone is comfortable on and off the playing field and that we provide every possible element to ensure that safety.

That said, we hope you know that we handled the situations in question in what we believed at the time was the proper manner. We listened to the parties involved and put a great deal of thought into our evaluations and recommendations for how the situations should be resolved. Penalties were imposed; the people responsible for the aforementioned outbursts were severely reprimanded and they expressed great contrition.

At the time, we believed it was appropriate to handle these matters privately. However, we completely agree that we could have been more open and clear in our communication to the rest of the league about matters that were, essentially, public. In the future, we will be communicating all issues surrounding public matters such as on-field outbursts and aggression to everyone in the league.

Jerseys or Tee-shirts

Jerseys seem to be preferred, so we will most likely have jerseys this fall.

Referees

While most people thought the officiating in the spring season was acceptable, we do want to improve this aspect of the games. We are presently looking for independent officials who will act as head referees. If you have any suggestions for how to best accomplish this, please contact Mike Colgrove at mtcolgrove@aol.com.

Selecting Captains

We agree with the majority of you that everyone who wants to be a captain should be given the chance. In the rare cases that someone is deemed inappropriate to take on the role, the board will handle that privately. Any concerns about volunteer captains should be voiced to board members well before the season starts.

Competitiveness

We agree with the majority of you that the level of competition the spring league was suitable. We do feel that there could have, and should have, been fewer hostile incidents, and we will be working with captains and referees to make sure that this is the case in the fall and subsequent seasons.

In response to some of your other comments:

“We need a better field.”

This is easier said than done. The New York City Parks Dept. is a bureaucratic mess that puts newly formed adult leagues last on its list of priorities. Still, through the Hudson River Park Trust, we have secured space on the beautiful Astro-grass fields at Pier 40 and Chelsea Waterside Park. We are awaiting word on more fields from the Parks Dept.

“Different Divisions, one recreational, one competitive”

We agree that, in an ideal world, we would have two divisions. However, we believe we are not large enough to do that yet. For the fall league, we will still have one division, incorporating all skill levels. For players who wish to improve their skills, we are planning to offer practice clinics during the course of the season.

“I think the award nominations or final awards should be opened to the entire league, rather than league officers.”

In the spring, officers and captains determined the nominations and winners, but your point is well taken and we will incorporate your suggestion for the fall league.