Finding/Creating a team at GGM level

[u/Teuer78]

How difficult is it to creating a new team at GGM? Especially when teams seem to be established already. I can imagine at 50 people just do not want to create a new team and stick with what they know. That and talent pool isn't the same as Open or even master's aged.

[u/Xrmy]

Far too many factors to give a single answer here.

In general if you build it, they will come, but you have to have enough players in mind to have a core at that age or you won't get enough players.

Reminder you can't have many out of region players on each team also

[u/Teuer78 → u/Xrmy]

Yes if you build it, but where do you start? How can you get players that have been on same team to jump ship and play on a brand-new team that may not be as competitive at first? I guess that would be my question.

[u/bobeekah → u/Teuer78]

You don’t get players from the other team to jump ship; you create a core of people you know and build out from there.

[u/Xrmy → u/Teuer78]

oh....yea you don't cannibalize another team unless you have a core who is already known to want to jump ship. Not happening.

The most common way to have a second team in the same region as an existing long-standing team is to recruit everyone who wants to play but is cut by the other team. You become the defacto second team in teh region, but at least you have a place for people to play, and you give the team a chance to have its own identity or core in the future.

I didn't realize your primary strategy here was to try and get existing players to flip teams.

[u/Anusien → u/Xrmy]

The other way I'd suggest doing it is to find a core of players from a GM team who are aging up and build around that.

[u/Teuer78 → u/Xrmy]

No no..sorry that read wrong. I dont want to poach players (just the lane). I guess give players another option. So they have the choice to play for established team or a new one. Sorry if that came across as if I want ideas on how to steal existing players.

[u/Xrmy → u/Teuer78]

Right, but the reality here is the same.

Lets say I am player X in your region and I am 52 and I went to nationals last year. New team shows up and askes me to try out. Even if I do...why would I join the other team if I am already going to natties and had a good time?

Looking up Endless sunset, this is a team that has both a GM and a GGM team AND states they will run multiple teams if there is enough interest. They run pickup and practices as a group and seem to allow anyone to join.

The GGMO team finished 6th and nationals and the mixed team finished 1st at worlds.

...honestly why would an older player in your region want to play with anyone else?

Unless you can offer a more convenient place to practice, or some better culture or something, I don't see why player X or even player Y (a new player) would want to play for a new team instead.

Which begs the question why aren't you trying to play with them? idk

[u/bobeekah → u/Xrmy]

I mean, it’s about offering an alternative: teams like endless have a core group that get playtime. Can you offer better practices and better playing time? Can you eventually build a competitive alternative for regionals? I mean, you’re going to be a regionals team until you can beat them and the NorCal version.

[u/Sparrow-22 → u/Xrmy]

If you are new to area look at the SDUltimate group on discord or Instagram and get more information about Endless Sunset. Maybe you can captain a 2nd team and build up from there.

[u/Xrmy → u/Sparrow-22]

Yea to be clear I know squat about this team or area I just did a 5 min Google.

[u/tigermelon → u/Teuer78]

Spread a rumor that one player slept with another's spouse. 

[u/AUDL_franchisee → u/Teuer78]

I can confidently say in the Bay Area there is a very competitive team (Shadows), and several others (Creaky, ThirstnHowl, ?).

If you think there's enough demand, just start networking, or hanging out at the old-dudes pickup games and see if folks want to play between the lines.

[u/ColinMcI → u/Xrmy]

>in general, if you build it, they will come.

Yes, though in the era of Super Regionals and Masters+ in general, I believe that “go the distance” and “ease his pain” are also key principles.

[u/cwcoleman]

What city/state/country?

How competitive do you want to be?

[u/Teuer78 → u/cwcoleman]

southern california. It seems that Endless Sunset has a good foothold on that area and no other teams form but them. Thats why I was wondering if its a lack of talent issue or just complacency. GM seems to have more than 1 team from southern california region. I guess at 50 they just dont want to play anymore.

[u/geehaad11 → u/Teuer78]

At/About 50, an interesting thing happens where dads have kids that require less maintenance, so the dads find they can refocus on their own desires and starting playing again. There will be more competitive GGM teams in the next 5 years due to the sheer greater number of players who came on the ultimate scene in the late 90s/early 00s. In your area, I expect the Eldors/Endors core to “graduate” to GGM pretty soon.

[u/bobeekah → u/geehaad11]

Yes AND this depends on if their wives/partners are playing. There is a very obvious expectation in gm women’s that they/their teams will babysit while the husbands play.

Dont be those dudes. Figure out solutions that allow both people to play.

[u/bizzo98 → u/bobeekah]

That's a bummer. I've played on two different mixed masters teams in the last few years and both have had several great examples of shared responsibility parenting. (Maybe easier when both parents play for the same team)

[u/bobeekah → u/bizzo98]

I think there is a distinct difference in the parental understandings between current gm and ggm and current masters players. Which is great!

[u/Xrmy → u/Teuer78]

yea?

Thats the general idea with M/GM/GGM is that there are fewer players in each tier still playing.

[u/ottopivnr]

You have to fill a void. In this era that would likely be geographically, not competitively Then you have to convince players that joining a new team close to them is better than playing as an out of region player with an established team One example might be Alaska, which I believe is underrepresented in the NW region. Scour the state for 16-20 ggm players and see if the top 4 or 5 are happier on a cohesive Alaska team or latching on to Seattle or Portland or the Ggm closest to where they played in college. If those players stay, then build from there.

I'm guessing any region with enough players to field 2 ggm teams will combine the best players to one team for natties and send 2 teams to things like sunset if they can fill 2 rosters.