Shuffl eboard Club team captains have plenty to do
by Barbara Gardner
LW contributor
Before I interviewed some of this year’s Friday and Tuesday league team captains, I had no idea of all the responsibilities on their pre-game checklist. I’ve been playing in the Friday morning league for about a year and a half and was surprised by the myriad of duties they must accomplish every week during league play. It is a real time commitment to the club and its mission and a sign of their devotion to the game of shuffleboard.
Jack O’Brien, a captain for three years, mentioned he must keep track of the wins, losses and averages, fill in the rostrum and rank each player before the games to place their names on the boards at the end of each lane. He clarified that they match better players with better players on a week-by-week basis.
Patti Nemnich, a new oneyear captain, explained that after the games are over, the captains playing against one another have to verify and agree on the wins and losses, and fill out a sheet containing all of the players on both teams and their scores for that day. Each week there is a visitor team responsible for cleaning up the courts after play and a host team responsible for providing refreshments. Nemnich said it helps her to remember visitor disks are yellow and host disks are black. Shel Magnuson, a captain for two years and a retired teacher, said the to-do list is much like creating a lesson plan for instruction. She added that it was really important to make sure everyone on her team is there and on time. If there are not enough players, the team has to forfeit. To ensure attendance, Magnuson texts everyone the week of play to tell them what lanes they will be playing, whether they are visitors or hosts and to inform her if they cannot come.
Carol Johnson, with four years of captain experience under her belt, exclaimed, “The preparation and paperwork become more routine with practice but it’s still a labor of love. We are hoping that the co-captains we have will step up to help.”
A special shout out is warranted for one of our captains, Sally Fowler, who is a captain for two teams and therefore does all of this twice a week.
Jan. 17 Friday morning league results: Team Jack and Team Sally tied their scores 6-6. Team Jack had no all-game winners while Team Sally allgame winners were Michelle Potter and Ellie West. Team Patti overcame Team Shel 7-5. Team Patti had no all-game winners and Team Shel had two all-game winners—Eileen Kotecki and Linda Peters.
Jan. 21 Tuesday evening league results: Team Harold beat Team Sue 7-5. Team Harold’s all-game winner was Harold Morehead and Team Sue’s two all-game winners were Sue Burkschab and Susan McKaig. Team Bob skunked Team Sally 10-2. Team Bob had an amazing five players capturing all-game winner status—Dave LaCascia, Bob Peterson, Stephanie Reagan, Jesus Sosa and Bill Yurda. Team Sally had no all-game winners.
