Future of VOTS

So I announced my resignation 3 months ago as VOTS president, but I'm still in office. That will need to change, as I'm close to starting, in honor of Derek Bell, Operation Shutdown.

So where does the organization/community go from here? I think part of my frustration/burn out was the result of spending more time thinking about doing things than actually doing them. Yes, I made sure leagues and NYF happened, there were fields for pickup and so on, but those were all established duties--I was essentially a caretaker. The value add was pretty low--ultimate hasn't really spread geographically or been introduced to youth groups because of me/VOTS. Tournament participation is lower as well--despite increased interest in Sprawl & Ironwood. My personal feeling is there is a malaise in the community, but that could entirely be my projection of my own lack of enthusiasm for playing/organizing.

So then it becomes a matter of why expand and grow? Well, the main reason is the larger the pool of players, the more likely you have more better/serious players, which makes competitive scrimmages and tournament teams easier to form. And, heck a bigger league. I think most people would be in favor of that. They play ultimate, they like ultimate, so they'd like to see more people play ultimate. And it means more to win a bigger league.

So then let's expand league to get more people playing. But... that means different times. Different locations. And this change is viewed as a negative. A common comment I've received is "i really like when league was all on one night". yeah, that's great--but that's at odds with growth.

So there's two issues in the community that are not complementary: togetherness (one community) and growth (more people playing and more geographic diversity). What is the approach to take?

The set up for this spring league may set the tone for the future. I think the best means to achieve growth is to establish multiple 8 team leagues. Get an 8-team Tempe league. 8-team league at Cap Basin. Support efforts to get an 8-team west side league going (which would take some time). and so on.

The second main goal is greater efforts in developing youth ultimate. This is kind of sore point in that I never did get around to addressing this, but it is what will make the community more vibrant. But this isn't a one-person or even small group job, because a number of people will need to be committed to be available as coaches, advisors, etc.

The third goal for the future is a change in the leadership model. Less Keith and Jills and more Jots. The community is so familiar with one person being in charge that it makes that position seem to daunting. Contrast that with the role Jot plays--takes care of Sunday open play & is the video guy for NYF. Jot has carved out his niche, finds it manageable and is in charge. So more Jots need to be found--people willing to do a couple of things--not everything--and do them well and do them responsibly. That spreads the burden, gives more people ownership in the community, and makes it easier to do more.

But why I resigned wasn't the lack of ideas, it was a lack of initiative to get started and loss of purpose of why something like this needs to happen.

Why do you support the health and growth of ultimate in Greater Phoenix?
What are you willing to do help that along?