Brisbane Ultimate Strategic Plan (BUSP) - New Player Friendly

So folks (including the Lord of the stately Brisbane Ultimate Blog mansion) are starting to work on the Brisbane Ultimate Strategic Plan 2011-2013. The process is going to be something like a small group doing some thinking and writing together, before putting a draft document out for everyone to consider and provide feedback on, probably via a meeting of something.

To help smooth some of this, occasionally there'll be some posting here on the blog, being as it is a central point for many members of the "chattering classes" of Brisbane Ultimate. So today, a ramble about the importance of new players and what we could be our strategies for getting more and managing them better.

One important thing to keep in mind - the BUSP is not going to change things tomorrow. Some things included in the BUSP may occur at the start of next year, others may be agreed to be good ideas but deferred until 2013. The timing of change is one of our key strategic issues, after all!

Strategic Direction – Making All Leagues ‘New Player Friendly’

There is regularly talk about how to integrate new players into Brisbane Ultimate. Its taken as an article of faith that we want new people to join our sport, and we generally do a good job of this, if in a fairly ad hoc manner.

Thinking about how we integrate new players is frequently tied up with how to manage ‘beginners’. I’m keen to separate out these ideas, as discussions about ‘beginners’ lead us to a belief in the need for beginner leagues run by kind hearted experienced players, which is valid but only takes us in one direction.

At the least, the problem with a concept of a ‘beginner league’ falls over when the beginner league goes into a second season and most people who’ve gotten used to playing at that place and time aren’t beginners any more!

‘New players’ thus includes ensuring we welcome people who are familiar with Ultimate and new to Brisbane. As Ultimate continues to gain wider recognition world-wide, and as people continue to come and go from Brisbane, this will be a growing flow of players. We need to be new player focused to ensure these people come and play Ultimate with us, rather than taking up other options competing for their time in their new home.

My thinking in terms of strategic plan 2011-2013 is that we endeavour to define how all Leagues in Brisbane can be "new player friendly". If we establish this, then we have something that we can try to do consistently across the different places and times to play in Brisbane, as well as carry from season to season.

I also say that by ‘all Leagues being new player friendly’ I include BPL or any ‘elite’ League. The difference between BPL and other Leagues is that the LD puts emphasis on whether new players are welcome onto Captains. A BPL Captain could decide to take on a rank beginner (and in practice may well do that if they have a superb athlete who they think they can train up quickly). In contrast, in our ‘non-elite’ Leagues, efforts are make by LDs in cooperation with Captains to ensure that all new players can find a place on an existing team, or if numbers require it, new teams will be set up specifically to accommodate new players, often with leadership support from spirited experienced players.

So, to be new player friendly all Leagues could (and please remember, I propose these as general directions, not iron-clad orders):

· Program at least one night before the start of each season’s fixtures, where new players are specifically encouraged to attend.

This allows new players to have a no obligation taste, find the fields and get a feel for the League, learn to play, to find a team, etc etc. It gives existing players an easy way to introduce friends etc to the League. (Even an elite league would benefit from this, as players from could give playing at a higher level a go.)

This week (ideally two really) also helps LDs and Captains to get the season and their teams together, and returning players to get going again.

Leagues can do this how they want. Some might run it on a team basis – ie training nights. Some might run specific ‘Learn to Play’ if there are experienced players/coaches willing to teach. Some might run pickup at least so there’s an opportunity to turn up and have a go.

I also say 'program' in that if one of these nights is rained out, it isn't 'replayed' - its just too bad and fixtures should still start on time.

[a strategic alternative might be to not do this, but instead make a much bigger effort to use and support ‘pickup games’ to fulfil this avenue]

· Have the establishment of multiple divisions as a long term goal for any League

I guess it’s a given that all Leagues seek to grow, and that they will if necessary seek multiple locations to support this growth (or at least, this would be discussed in other parts of the strategic plan). Multiple divisions multiply the entry points for new players. They also strengthen retention of players, as players get to play at a level that suits them – they get a more consistent experience from week to week, and can aspire to improve and move up. Multiple divisions also seem to be easier to manage than a single big one.

A rule of thumb for Brisbane Ultimate could be that any competition that achieves 8 or more reliable teams should get cracking on planning to split into two divisions. Equally, if we have two competitions on the same night and within a reasonable distance of each other, then once they achieve a certain collective size, we should encourage them to merge and ‘divisionise’ themselves.

· All League seasons should start around the same time of year

Aside from the obvious of being able to do a single promotional effort, and also making it straight forward for individuals to move between Leagues. Leagues starting around the same time helps new players get into the League that’s right for them. [this assumes a separate discussion that agrees that LDs cooperate to plan the year together across all of Brisbane]

· Look to have more and shorter seasons, rather than fewer longer ones

There is great benefit for LDs to have longer seasons. A large part of your admin effort goes to getting the season started, teams sorted etc etc. Ongoing players like longer seasons too, as they want routine rather than the non-routine of seasons finishing and starting. Frequently they also express the desire to ‘play every team’ for social or competitive reasons.

But, the start of the season is the best time for new players to join. So increasing the number of starts will increase the opportunities for new players. Draws can be constructed to manage this.

Shorter seasons also tend to be cheaper in pure dollar teams (although not necessarily value for money due to slight loss of economy of scale). A 16 week season might cost $160, where a 6 week season costs $60. Which one is more appealing to a new player?

· Leagues should have mechanisms so that new players can join during the season

As the sport gets more competitive, so too do Captains and players want to see consistency in rosters etc through the season. But, to be welcoming to new players, we need to have mechanisms that allow these people to join during a season. The nature of this should vary of course depending on each League’s circumstances – eg an elite League might have an LD acting as an impartial drafter, who allocates new players to specific teams based on their sense of ‘balance’. Another League may leave it to Captains to recruit as they wish during seasons (typically people bringing along their mates), based on what this means for their individual team’s ‘time on the field’ and so forth. There could also be fee reductions etc for the new player and/or a team that takes them on. What is important is that new players are not turned away.


I'll conclude by reminding that the above is only one train of thought in terms of the BUSP, and the ideas here need to be compared to others and decisions made (the most important thing in doing a strategic plan is that you make hard decisions and commit to sticking to them for the next three years). So for example in saying "have more and shorter seasons" to make it easier for new players, we would have to balance that against a desire to have "round robin + finals seasons" to support competitive play, "only one or two seasons" to reduce administrative load, and so forth.

Anyway, ramble out. Comment lines are open - minds are also open to all ideas!