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Table Crew: Pre-Season Warm Up

Countdown to Game One is on! How are ya feeling? Excited? Hopeful? Ready?


Or downright terrified because the parent that was in charge of all mysterious things that happen at the midline table "retired" (aka player graduated) and you're now charged with manning The Table.


Stick with me. You got this! Use this checklist to ensure the first game will roll like warm butter on hot toast. If you're reading this now and you have a week, the checklist still works. Just run double-time.


A back story

The first year I "retired" I still counted down the days to the season home-opener. I rolled into the parking lot wondering where I would sit. I had had a reserved seat for four years - Best seat at the game. Truly. That day was different, I would watch this high school team play from a completely different perspective. Rest assured, the same excitement coursed through my veins.


I strolled to the field leisurely - about 20 minutes to face-off. Just wanted to blend in, slide in and catch up with friends. I left myself plenty of time to find a "great seat."


As a high school club program in the middle of the country, we were told that we were lucky to get even this field - an ankle-breaking slab of grass (mostly mud in the Spring) behind the middle school with no bleachers, albeit a whisper of good intentions - the hills line the sides as if bleachers might sprout in the next century. No turf for you.


When the pee-wee football program let us use their scoreboard; moving from a whiteboard with dry-erasers to tiny lights 18" tall, we felt like a big-time program, despite borrowing kilowatts from a neighbor with our own extension cord. Regardless of the field logistics, the lacrosse games always turn butterflies to bats.


Extension cord?

As the field came into view, I blinked twice and adjusted my glasses. No countdown clock displayed on the scoreboard. No cones out. A lone table and two chairs hugged the midline. Teams warmed up on the field while officials performed precursory stick checks. Two frenetic parents near the table continued to tap buttons on the scoreboard controller.


I checked my watch - game to start in 18 minutes. I dropped my bag chair and headed toward the table.


Hey there! Good to see you. Anything I can do to help?

Hey, great to see you. The scoreboard isn't working. Any ideas?


You bet. Scoreboard plugged in? Where's the 200' extension cord? Controller charged?


Um. What extension cord?


Whistle! Stop play.


Home games must provide the scorekeeper and the timekeeper AND the scorebook and horn. No fudging. Not kidding.


If the Table Crew isn't ready, the home team gets a penalty - and let's test you: who serves the penalty? The in-home man!


OK, if you knew that answer, use the checklist below only as a head-nodding-yup-got-it. If you didn't know about the above penalty and readiness. Keep reading.


Whistle. Read on.


Recommendation, be overly prepared.


Weeks and days BEFORE the first game, do your own table-crew equipment check and be prepared for the last minute scramble. There will be one.


Table Crew Checklist


Two months BEFORE (Mid-December - January)

  • Order your new scorebooks (one per team (Freshman, JV, Varsity, etc)

  • Remember where you put them!

  • Verify the contact info of your Table Crew volunteers

  • Verify scoreboard operates as expected - if not, work to get it repaired

  • Ball hunt - order a dozen balls for the table bag - no greasers

One month BEFORE

  • Hold training for your Score/Timekeepers

  • Keepers should study the Game - practice "watching the game"

  • Identify & designate the Scorebooks per team

  • Find and inventory the Table Bag/Wagon/Bin equipment

    • Writing instruments (Game & Extras)

    • Horn

    • Backup Timer / Batteries

    • Current year Rulebook

    • Binder Clips (for windy days)

    • Handwarmers (Optional)

    • Insect Repellent (Optional)

    • Water for Spotter

  • Inventory the midline table equipment

    • Table(s) in working condition - Two tables together provide ample room for the opponent's scorekeeper

    • Two-three chairs in working condition - Chair for each scorekeeper and one for the timekeeper

    • Optional: square boards for under chairs, prevents sinking

    • Working scoreboard

      • Scoreboard controller & charger

      • Power supply

      • Directions on use

    • Tent / Canopy

ONE WEEK before Game 1

  • Confirm table crew schedule

  • Pack the bag - add balls & extra score sheets

DAY BEFORE Game 1

  • Check the equipment shed again

  • Check the bag again

DAY OF the GAME

  • Arrive an hour before the game start (ok, make it 45 minutes)

  • Get your table ready - Pop the tent

  • Have confidence that you're prepared


Only a few know what happens at The Table. Crazy how magical it is. Work ahead. Think ahead and keep it simple. You have a game to watch, record and enjoy.


Next year, may you find extensions of yourself, and entire crew, so you don't have the pre-game meltdown. Transfer knowledge, mentor along the way; and realistically don't presume they'll be there next year. Even the Table Crew needs heads on swivels.





 
 
 

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