The Way We Play – Regular Session Dynamic
Posted by rajiv on 7 January 2009
Our regular sessions have developed a dynamic of their own – we play 5 v 5 for one hour flat out, from 9 pm to 10 pm on work days, without substitutes.
Most other groups have a small pool of regulars, and play just once or twice a week. As long as they have 10 to 15, the game goes on. We can cap our numbers at 10 per session, because anyone who comes in later has the choice of playing on other days.
With 10 to 15 playing over one or two hours, either with 2 teams and rolling substitutions or three teams, players spend a lot of time waiting, either for everyone to turn up, or for their turn to play.
To me, that’s a lot of wasted time. We faced some of those issues when we used to play at Bukit Timah campus. I don’t mind playing that way once in a while, but not on a regular basis. We all have various demands on our time – work, family, social commitments, travel and other activities, so spending two hours a week on football can be a bit of a luxury. That’s one reason I keep our regular sessions at one, short-sharp, hour. If everyone comes on time, we play flat out for one hour, and then the game is over.
Starting at 9 pm allows everyone to get to the venue early.
One hour flat out also means we get a good work out in that one hour, without a lot of stops and starts. The only “rest” we get is when we go in goal.
Hopefully, playing regularly also improves our footballing abilities, especially the aspects of our game that are lacking.
Any mixed sessions or non-regular sessions can develop their own dynamic.
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rajiv said
Franco, to bring the discussion back here, I’m personally not keen on playing with 3 teams over 2 hours. I have a number of things on my plate, so setting aside 2 hours is hard for me personally, especially if a significant amount of time is spent waiting for your team to have their turn.
It might be okay at the weekend, but this weekend is tight for me, especially since we also have the 11-a-side game on Saturday.
If we’re to play 2 hours, I’d rather treat it as two separate sessions, and if anyone is keen to play both sessions, they should be prepared to play 2 hours flat out. If it’s an ad hoc session against a team that doesn’t play regularly, that team can have rolling substitutes, so can be 5 v 5+1 in in either or both sessions.
Anyone is free to use the blog to organize a session with a different dynamic, including 3 teams playing futsal over two hours, or an 11-a-side game.
rajiv said
I ask everyone to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for each session, so that we can start sharply at the hour, and play a full hour.
The time before the start of the session can be used to warm up, and select team captains.
My concern about 8 pm starts is that people get held up in the office, and are then late.
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rajiv said
Late-coming is very rare at our sessions, but it does happen from time to time, notwithstanding the following passage in the introductory part of “Current Schedule” page.
In order to enhance punctuality, from this week onwards, I will put the session down as starting from 10 minutes earlier, in place of the aforesaid passage.
As I pointed out before, a lot of groups that book two-hour sessions, say from 8 to 10 pm, turn up at 8.15 pm, start at 8.20 pm, and finish on or before 10 pm, with rolling substitutions or three teams taking turns, so a lot of wasted time for everyone.
By starting sharply at 9 pm and playing flat out to 10 pm, you save yourself an hour and S$8 – both time and money. In order to work, everyone needs to be at the session 10 minutes beforehand, at least to warm up, and if you are playing with people you haven’t met before, to meet them.
Therefore, from now on, I will treat the 10 minutes as part of the session, that is, the session is from 8.50 to 10 pm.
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rajiv said
To quote Kevin, 3 teams of 5 playing over 2 hours is “fine for a non-competitive run-out”.
Not something we’d want to have regularly though, I think.