The Untold Story of a General Manager Trying to Make It

[chavelski]

I'm laying in my bed, girlfriend snoring, can't sleep because i'm thinking of what a bad day of gaming we had today. I don't know was it just me trying to adjust in my new position as center or was it just the team that was unfocused. I don't know, it was just one of those nights. At around 2 am i hear the sound of my mail sound buzzing on the phone and i'm thinking, okay, maybe it's the goalie responding to me on NHLGamer. I'm too excited, I jump out of bed and get my phone. The mail was okay, mixed signals with the typical same response, "Sounds good, but I don't know about Lite...". It was the fifth message in two days that started of the same. Very well, I gotta stay positive so I answer politely "Sure, I understand, best of luck mate".

The clock is around 2.15am, and I'm thinking okay, I got smoked by Adetikki on draws 2-19 two nights ago so maybe ill look a game of NOR and SKY, two good guys at faceoffs, ade and rhöse. So I watch the games. Now the clock is 2.45 and I need to be at work at 6am. Okay, so I decide go to the gym, while doing gym I go through the mails I've sent to different players during the week, most of them, no response, but sure, they played in the pro division last year so they probably are better at life and don't have time to answer mails coming from a team in Lite. Different thoughts going through my head, how the hell am I supposed to keep the guys happy when I cant fill the whole roster, one of the members lives in the same city. I gotta go to his house today and try to convice him to stay, " don't worry man, just have faith, everything is going to be alright and we will fill our last roster spots and be a contender in Lite ". In somewhat of that are the words I am going to tell him today. I have to do it, this is the second time around i'm trying to get this to work and hopefully he'll buy into this. 

At around 4.30am i'm back from the gym, drink my morning coffee, I log on to NHLGamer, no notifications, argh. I post a poll in our facebook group, "Play tonight?" it says, I post it almost everyday, I just love playing sixes and the guys I got here love to do it too but I just gotta check if everybodys available tonight. 

Two weeks ago I was visiting a fellow NHLGamer that I've gotten to know, on the other side of the country with some of my ex teammates. We had a blast, the voices turned into faces and it was like you knew them even though you never seen them before, of course, you talk to someone on party for several months you get to know one another. Some of the same guys stick around, some don't, but ultimately your trying to find those that you like to be in party with, that think the same and are on the same skill level, because if they aren't you are going to feel it every time you do a mistake and that leads to a silence in the party and you just know, I fucked up and he is pissed of at me. You can do it for some time but in a longer period it is going to affect and you don't get back out of that freezer when the other one has labeled you, its raw but that is what competitiveness is all about. Some can handle it, some can't and in the long run you have to find 5 guys that brings the harmony of everyday gaming, it doesn't matter if you screw up, he is not going to think anything less of you, your still friends. 

Every time we meet a better opponent from Elite or Pro, a fire lights up in the party and everybody gets pumped up, "alright boys, we got this, come on, lets do it". Maybe somehow you get a win, but if you meet these guys 10 times, your going to win max 2 out of 10. So then the next day, we meet a less established Elite team and boom, we get smoked, everybody is feeling sad and worthless and you as a GM are saying something like, no no no, this doesn't mean anything, we just have to get back on that horse tomorrow and continue our practice. But that is the tough part, how do you get the guys motivated and not to leave the team and join some more established team?
That is the toughest task I think. There is teams that have stayed together since 2010, respect. I mean, I played the game back then but had not so ever any idea of there being competitive eashl gaming, so it saddens me sometimes to see when new people come to the scene and some people just are being rude and unpolite to them because they are "setelis" and what so ever. I can't see this being any of any benefit because aren't we all here trying to grow the game. Of course, I can't put everyone under this label because my friend, one of the nicest guys I know, a newly crowned winner of ECL Elite has been around the last six months and giving pointers day in and day out, introduced me to some new people and got my name around there. And you know what the funny part about this is? Six months ago I had no clue this guy existed. 

Of course, everybody can't like everybody, that's life and it is always going to be like that. You can't force anyone to play with someone if they don't want to, because we all are doing this out of the love of the game and obviously you wanna get the full experience of togetherness of playing sixes with guys you enjoy being around with. I certainly do not like everybody, and I am pretty sure my finnish accent when I am trying to speak swedish annoys the shit out of some people, but you know that's life. 

I am going to make a resolution for the upcoming year, I am going to try to be more nice to people around the community no matter what skill level they are on and I wanna put out a couple of extra thank yous to players around the scene who everyday makes me glad being part of this experience. 

@Casper, @cHIIMEERa, @Kenu, @The_Alpha_Furyan, @Zalaz, @pajenc, @Bjono and those one I forgot. 

Best regards, chavelski

[Tanski87]

Thumbs up to the post. Specially the last part of it. It never cost anything for being nice to other people. I always try to be nice and polite to other people. No matter if it in this community, social media or real life. We are all just people here, skills in a simple video games does not determine that. 

I hope you get it working, as it seems you really are trying your very best. 👍

[chavelski]

43 minuuttia sitten, Tanski87 kirjoitti:

Thumbs up to the post. Specially the last part of it. It never cost anything for being nice to other people. I always try to be nice and polite to other people. No matter if it in this community, social media or real life. We are all just people here, skills in a simple video games does not determine that. 

I hope you get it working, as it seems you really are trying your very best. 👍

Thank you @Tanski87! You have always treated people here with respect and kindness and I wish you and the rest of RB all the best in the future. 

Edited December 18, 2017 by chavelski

[Jnmxxx]

When ever i feel frustraded with my own play, my team mates or what ever, i feel like little break helps. Take a week off and dont force it, chill with your gf and try not to think NHL. Dont over think stuff. After all, this is just an video game.

[FreddeSwede]

Great post! Merry Christmas. 🌹❤️

[Kenu]

This is certainly one of the best, if not the best and most truthful post I have read on our forums. You certainly hit the nail with many points about how it can be hard to join a new community, how the people you play with make the biggest difference and how important it is for the established community to welcome new members with open arms and make people feel welcome. "Treat other people like you want to be treated" is a cliché, but I couldn't agree with it more.

You also describe the everyday life of playing what is "just a game" quite perfectly. Not everyone takes it as seriously (and that's also perfectly fine), but for those of us who do, I'm sure resonate with your story above.

Thank you for this post and the value you bring to this community.

[I_Alex28_I]

Rumour: Who the fuck was this sexy goalie and will he Come ?

Edited December 18, 2017 by xMrazek

[ICappeI]

This was some really nice words from you, it makes me really happy to read this. A big thank you Chavveboii!

And thank you for your dedication to the community. We all need to have the same way of thinking as you do if we want the community to grow! 

 

 

[ICappeI]

1 hour ago, Jnmxxx said:

When ever i feel frustraded with my own play, my team mates or what ever, i feel like little break helps. Take a week off and dont force it, chill with your gf and try not to think NHL. Dont over think stuff. After all, this is just an video game.

You forgot your rum Jimi! That’s the major key why it was so fun playing summer cup with me 

[l-Furyan-l]

Great read - you've got a gift for storytelling! If I might be bold enough to offer some advice, try and be as patient as you can. It'll take time to get to the level of play it sounds like you want to be on, there is no way around that. Trust that your teammates want to win and improve just as much as you do and one day you'll find yourself in the very place you are aiming for.

Thanks for the kind words as well. Excited to keep following the journey of this "GM trying to make it"!  

[cHIIMEERa]

4 hours ago, chavelski said:

I'm laying in my bed, girlfriend snoring,

No one can prepare you for snoring girilfriends, it comes like a swift wind. However, take comfort in knowing that you're not alone in this. My deepest condolences to you and your family <3

Great post man, i second @The_Alpha_Furyan with the storytelling part!

Im sure you're going to end up being a proud GM of a team eventually. It's clearly a passion of yours   #Squadgoals

Edited December 18, 2017 by cHIIMEERa

[Tanski87]

33 minuuttia sitten, The_Alpha_Furyan kirjoitti:

 If I might be bold enough to offer some advice, try and be as patient as you can. It'll take time to get to the level of play it sounds like you want to be on, there is no way around that. Trust that your teammates want to win and improve just as much as you do and one day you'll find yourself in the very place you are aiming for.

This. 👍 

And not getting upset for bad nights. Everyone has them, even the very best teams. No matter how bad you feel as nothing works out, try to keep yourself calm and cheer up the morale. 

I have pretty hot temperament, and I do hate losing. Hate it. And im always tired. Three little kids does the trick. 😁 It would be easy to burst out frustration when things just dont go like you want them to. Still, you just keep yourself calm as possible and öet your frustration go and boost the morale of others. I cant always do this, but I try. 😁

Most important is to get a squad that you and others enjoy to play with, even at the bad nights. 

This is just yada yada yada, but I like this subject. 😉

[OGjahajaha]

Great post. 

Something I'm sure many of us players agree on is that the GM/captain gets way too little credit. Trying to scramble together a lineup of 6 guys with different schedules is hard enough, but then you have to match the schedules with your opponent on top of that. I'm surely not envious of that assignment. Not only scheduling, but trying to keep all the guys happy and finding the proper roles for everyone is a huge hassle as well.

What I wanted to say is hats off to all GMs/Captains. This league wouldn't work without the 98 capable captains (and their assistants).

[ahonaattorii]

Yeah great post! Finding/building good home is not easy. These feelings are well known for many who are building or trying to find a new team. There is so many things you have to make match.

My personal rank of things to consider building new team

1. Matching Schedules

2. Matching goals( what everyone wants from game )

3. Matching on ice chemistry

4. Matching personal chemistry

5. Skills

These are the things that i value. It`s allmost impossible to find six dudes who click in all these things and even if all clicks u need hell of a lot of work, trust and considereration to keep everyone happy and returning to play...

And tip to all not captains playing the game: Even that captain seems like a rock, asking every day for games and cheers everyone up, in time it may start to feel like a one way street  ... U can all individually show some enthusiasm and ask for games and such... 

And cheer up @chavelski u will find missing puzzles to your allready good roster. And greetings to all Pro/elite dudes who avoid Lite like canser and just laugh at it... There are good games in Lite! Ok, there are few teams just having fun and playing around but there were many great Lite teams this year and im sure next year is going to be even tougher. Many Lite teams would have kicked some Pro teams in Play-off series im sure of it... Or maybe thats exactly what some pro dudes are scared of and thats why avoiding it... losing to some Lite noobs...

[Groppman]

Respect Chavelski!

[Bjono]

Much love chavve 

[I_Alex28_I]

Maybe big Chavboy gets some help ?

[chavelski]

Thank you all of your massive response, I feel very humbled to get such a big crowd reading the topic. Shows once again how awesome this community can be!

[AndreasNo]

It's hard to be a GM. I've spent  countless hours on drop in trying to find new players and with alot of patience and luck I managed to get Free From Rodents started and introduced to EHL back in the days.

Getting a mix of experienced players and new players that you can teach to play as you want often is a great way to get the team going and in the same time giving some new guys the opportunity to get in to the community.

Time is the key to success.

With time and luck you can find players like @Casper. 

Keeping them in your team though can prove to be difficult😉

[J-Foppa]

Great post @chavelski

I understand your thoughts and feelings pretty well. When we (Norpee, Zejiro86, seaberg86 and me, joined by Normark a month later) started Drunken Rebels back in 2011 we encountered similar "problems". Trying to get better players to our team. Heck even trying to sign up for EHL only to get turned down with "didnt think you guys were serious". Got told a lot during the first year how much we sucked (actually same guys keep telling us 7 years later we still suck).

We disbanded once during the first year and finally merged with Nephenzy and Smutto and later changing name to Synergy. 

My advice is one you already seem to comprehend. Turn down any player you wont feel fit the group. Doing this might not win you titles but you will last longer and have more fun with the game. But yeah Its always a struggle to be GM and keep everybody happy.

Good luck!