Tottenham Oldtimers Slo-Pitch League

And So We Begin.....

Well folks, come Monday at 7:00pm it will have been 214 days since the last TOT games was played.  And I have to be honest, it took me a LONG time to figure that out, because calendar math is almost has hard as clock math!

There has been a small army of volunteers getting everything ready for opening day and for a successful season.  Hopefully our early season injuries are lessened by the terrific shape that the fields are in!

And while our new website (I'll stop calling it "new" in another month) won't impact the play on the field, it will change player expectations on updates; both the look & feel and the frequency.  This is good news for everyone.  There will also be a poll on the site fairly regularly.  The poll will be mostly about current stuff and things that we can improve.  But it will also be used to try and understand the player experience.  Considering that we launched a couple of weeks ago and didn't publicize the poll anywhere, we had 39 of 180 players respond to our first question.  So its already proving to be another communication source to hear people's opinions and it will only continue to grow.  

Now lets look at that last poll.  We asked what teams you saw finishing in the top 6.  I guess it was worded funny because you can only make one vote and it seems logical that people would vote for who they thought would finish first, no? Regardless, here are the top 6 teams as voted by the TOT Players.  

1.  Dusty Cleats - with 25.6% of the vote and the only team to reach double digits in votes.  

2.  Rusty Rebels - with 10.3% of the vote

2.  Tap Masters - also at 10.3% of the vote

2.  Dodge City Rounders - also at 10.3% 

5.  Sons Of Pitches - at 7.7% of the vote and

5.  Dog Catchers - also with 7.7% of the vote.  

Interestingly, the only team to get zero votes was the Gruesome Devils which, in my mind, makes them the odds on favour to go undefeated, win the league and win the playoffs.  They'll probably win the HTKP, August tournament, the Beer Cup and the Keg along the way too.  If history means anything, four of the predicted teams will do really well and there will be a couple of surprises.  We'll see.  

Communications

This site offers us an opportunity to venture into a new world of quick and easy communications.  If you want to participate in that (as some have already), you'll need to create an account.  If you look at the top of this page you'll see a tab that says "my account"

Click on "my account" and it will bring you to this screen. 

Once you click "create a new account" you'll be brought a screen that asks for your email address, name, postal code (don't know why), and for you to create your own password.  You only have to do this once and then you're set up.  

Being setup allows for captains (and the league) to contact you with email or txt alerts that you sign up for.  Its important to note that you CAN NOT be added to a notification list by a captain.  You must register yourself and you can't do that without an account.  

Another cool feature is that, once you register your account, you can sign yourself up for automated alerts based on your schedule.  The website will actually send you a notification 24 hours in advance of your game.  That is cool.  Like, Fonzie cool.    

Blogging

What????  I thought we were finally done with that?

Well.....sort of.  Lets look at what the google dictionary defines as a BLOG:  "a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style."  

Conversational?  Informal?  Small group or individual?  If it had also said, "easily identified by bad spelling and grammar" it would pretty much be the very definition of me!  By virtue of the definition and my incessant need to communicate what is often trivial information this "welcome page" is a de facto BLOG.  I'll try to keep it up-to-date throughout the year with current events and news and notes.  I want it to be informative and fun but it won't be anything like the BLOG that I used to write.  No poking fun at people.  Doyle and Chiasson are safe.  

For now.  

But that's not where the BLOGging ends.  Or, I should say, its not where it has to end.  If you look at the side panel on the left you'll see a bunch of links.  

If you were to click on the Inglorious Batsters tab, you will see a welcome message from the captains to their team.  Their intent is have a running review of their season.  Brief updates on their game results, recognize cool plays and funny moments etc.  This website gives us the ability to create up to 16 more of these tabs so there is more than enough for every team to have their own.  If, as a player, this is something that is of interest to you, I'd suggest that you talk to your captains and offer your time to manage it.  All you need is working knowledge of MicroSoft Word to maintain it.  However, despite the fact that its less work than it used to be, its still a commitment.   Also, its up to the captains as to whether or not they want to exploit this. 

Coventry Update

And our last look at Coventry in pictures, and thanks again to Gina Heisz who took time out all week to keep us informed of the progress at our park.  

Working on the grading at C1

C1 - Outfield is rolled and looks great, the warning track is being worked on too

C2 - Pretty much done except for marking the plate location....it looks fantastic!

C2 - The cut out actually goes straight rather than angled when it gets to the foul line.  Its a good look.  And the step between the infield and outfield is gone!

C3 - A thing of beauty.  Plate is in, field is groomed and balanced

C3 - A view of the groomed and graded warning track.  

That's all I've got for now.....Play Ball!!!!