Welcome to the penultimate (second last) BLOG of 2010. The next, and last one won't be for another six weeks or so where I'll do some sort of break down / review after the AGM. While we're on the AGM topic, albeit briefly, I would invite you to check out the AGM tab at the top of The BLOG where we're tracking and discussing proposed changes for next year. It may not be the best way to do it, but it has spawned some interesting ideas.
On July 13th many members of the league received the following open letter from Chris Ross in our email;
Gentlemen,
This has been an exciting year for the Tottenham Oldtimers. We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary in fine fashion. Our draft was a major highlight as the League drafted a record 168 players to 14 teams with an 11 player waiting list. We worked hard in May to renovate our home diamond at Keogh Park. Our Help the Kids Play Tournament this past weekend was once again a major success with over $5000.00 raised to help under privileged youth in our Community play sports. We held an Alumni game and pig roast at this Tournament and it was such a good time that our Alumni has requested that we make this an annual event. The Oldtimers also played the Men's League in our first ever All Star game (a close 12-8 loss that we will redeem next year). We have our annual TOT Ball and Golf Tournaments to look forward to in August, and our Playoff Tournament in September.
All of these events make me proud to be the President of TOT. Unfortunately, I will not have the time to run for President in 2011 and I am announcing my intention to resign now so that the League has plenty of time to plan a succession. When I took this job in 2005, it was my intention to keep this League running smoothly and make a few minor improvements. I am proud to say that it remains the Best League that I have ever been part of. I will not be far away and will be willing to help my successor whenever he calls. Please be aware that there is a serious time commitment to the job if you are considering running for the position. Thank you for all of your support over the last 6 years.
CR
Chris Ross
President - TOT
I asked Chris shortly afterward if he would submit to doing an interview on The BLOG, which he willingly agreed to do. We agreed that it would be best to do it after the season but before the AGM. Some of you, who know Chris quite well will likely find some of the answers to be familiar, but I think that you'll find some interesting insight into the league and some perspective on what makes us unique.
I met Chris Ross this past Sunday to conduct the interview. I had a pretty firm idea of how I wanted this go….it was supposed to be me asking questions, Chris answering them and then a little side bar conversations throughout that I could use to add some “flavour”. Well, it didn’t work out quite as planned. It might have been that Randy Hipkin was there joining in and peppering Chris with questions. It might have been that there wasn’t a single person to walk into the Legion in a five hour period that Chris didn’t know and, of course, each of those led to some degree of a conversation. So it became ‘less’ interview and ‘more’ watching Chris work. And I’m here to tell you, that man can work a room.
So I find myself stuck between a traditional Question and Answer and more of a narrative. I think I’ll try and combine the two styles and see how it goes. Let’s give it a go.
First, I asked Chris for some background on the league both when he joined in 1999 and when he took over as President in 2004. I was somewhat surprised to hear that the number of teams was about the same as were the number of players. The league has always seemed to hover between 12 and 14 teams in the last dozen years. Teams and players come and go but the critical mass of numbers that are required to field a team seems to have stayed pretty constant.
Chris quickly moved from player to captain. He co-captained the two-dogs with Bruce Bullock for 4 years. While he completely enjoyed being a captain, he also moved through the various VP positions year after year.
The BLOG: Take me back to the 2004 season leading up to the AGM. What made you decide to run for the League President role?
Chris Ross: I was approached by a couple of people who thought I should run. I had also gone through all of the VP positions so there was some logical progression to it. But the more I thought about running for the position, the more I thought that I could make some minor improvements and keep the league in good shape until the next person showed up to run it.
The BLOG: So it wasn’t your intention to continue to run for a longer period of time?
Chris Ross: No, not at first anyway. In fact, for the first three years people ran against me.
The BLOG: Were they close races?
Chris Ross: I don’t know to be honest. What I remember the most about the elections in those years was when I had to leave the room while the votes were taken. I remember how awkward it felt to out in the hall with the guy you’re running against.
The BLOG: So do you think that we handle voting the best way possible?
Chris Ross: I think so. A few minutes of awkwardness is completely worthwhile if it comes with knowing that people can vote without being influenced by the people who are running. It may not be the perfect system but I definitely believe in it. Its served us well.
The BLOG: So, when you look at what has happened during your term as president, what stands out to you as major accomplishments?
Chris Ross: Personally I think we’ve done a lot. But the really important part in all of the accomplishments is that its “we” not “I”.
ASIDE: Granted, what Chris says is true and I completely know where he’s coming from. However, I’ve read the constitution and it clearly states “The President is considered to be a member of all approved committees.” So really, whether his role is direct or indirect, there are a number of things that happened under Chris’s watch that either MADE happen or ALLOWED to happen. This was probably the most interesting part of the conversation as Chris was very obviously caught between pride for the league and what it has managed to accomplish as a collective and his nature to down play his direct contribution. When pressed here is what Chris had to say about changes to the league during his term.
Chris Ross: There is obviously a lot to be really proud of. One of the things that has probably changed the most is around communication. When I started as president there were no monthly captains meetings. I think that alone has changed the way get information out to our league members. Previously it was sort of hit and miss. Now with the captains meetings, we get the important messages to the captains no less than monthly and they can take that info back to their teams right away. Even that has evolved over the years too. If something is too urgent to wait for a captains meeting we can do an email blast either to the captains or directly to all league members. There are few people without email nowadays so getting info out can be very quick and organized. The same is true for the captains communicating with their teams. It wasn’t long ago that it was only phone calls. Now it’s a blend of phone calls, emails, even text messages. There are a lot more options and we are just moving with the times.
Still on communication, another huge undertaking was the league website. That idea came from Rob Farah and if I remember it wasn’t a unanimous decision to spend the money on it, but it was a good idea and its been through a few generations of improvements over the past few years. And its use has changed too over the years. I think the latest version developed by Steve Ross has taken it to another level again. The feedback that I’ve had has been incredible.
A couple of other things that really stick out for me are the Help The Kids Play Tournament and the improvements that we did at Keogh Park this year. Help The Kids is really important because it represents who we are as a league and in a way so do the improvements at Keogh. The park upgrade was driven by the old timers in a large part either paid for or fund raised by our League. While part of that is self-serving, the park is public and is used by everyone. We made it a better place for ourselves but also for kids and the women’s leagues.
The BLOG: You mentioned Help The Kids Tournament. That is something that I’ve had a pull toward as well. Do you see that changing at all?
Chris Ross: Without being vague, I’d say yes and no. The no part is that I’m pretty confident that it won’t change just to have change. The yes part is that we have extremely motivated and intelligent people running the Help The Kids who have and will continue to look at any idea that will improve the weekend or the programme overall. This year we introduced an alumni game which brought back many former league members and it was met with overwhelming support and many calls for it to be held annually. I’ve had numerous calls and emails from people who heard about it after the fact and want to be involved in the next one. That event plus adding the all-star game between our league and the young timers was also a huge hit. So the answer is that we won’t be afraid to try new things and we’ll continue to tweak parts of the program that are already working in an effort to make them even better.
The BLOG: Okay, we’ve had lots of talk about good things….what about disappointments. Is there any aspect of the role where you had hoped to make a bigger impact?
Chris Ross: I think the thing that bothers me the most is our Annual General Meeting. I’ve really tried to emphasize this with captains and have them drill it down to our members, but it hasn’t really worked. In fairness, the turnout from the captains has been great, but it hasn’t trickled down to the membership. I think when I started we were getting 40-50 people for the AGM and last year we didn’t have much more than that. It bothers me because this league is only as strong as our members and I know from talking to people over the years that there are tons of ideas and lots of energy, but the time to bring those ideas up is at the AGM. If we could get over 60 people for this year’s AGM I would feel like we’re heading in the right direction.
The BLOG: Six years at the helm is a long run. What do you think your legacy will be?
Chris Ross: Ha! I’ll be the president who couldn’t get the lights on!
The BLOG: Funny....but seriously, what will people take away from the Chris Ross era?
Chris Ross: Its hard to say. I only have my perspective, but I would hope that people would remember things like online registration, the improvements at Keogh that we talked about, all the work that was done on the 25th anniversary season, how the banquet has evolved, standardizing the bats for each team, the introduction of rookie night and overall communication.
The BLOG: Who would you consider to be a mentor?
Chris Ross: Actually one guy who helped me understand the way the league operates was Bill Jonkman who’s team I was on as a rookie. He was great with me. As far as someone who has given me good advice on the leadership side of things, I think Ed Hopkins has been an invaluable resource. He has a knack of giving you information and advice before you even realize that you need it. He’s been a true mentor and an inspiration.
The BLOG: Why did you pick now to resign as President?
Chris Ross: The time was right personally and for the league. I have changes in my children’s sports schedules and I want to be more involved in that. I need that time back. Also, I think the league is good shape with people who are capable and motivated to be in leadership positions.
The BLOG: With that in mind…you sent your resignation at 11:00 at night. I had visions of you sitting at your computer with the letter drafted and the cursor hovering over the ‘send’ button. What was your first emotion when you finally hit send?
Chris Ross: Relief!
The BLOG: Why relief?
Chris Ross: Because I completed what I said I would do. The time spent in this role can’t be understated. Not that I haven’t fully enjoyed it, but my commitment to the league was my guilty pleasure from a time standpoint and I need to recapture that time. There is relief in knowing that the league will be in good shape, that I’ll be able to show up for games as a player and that I’ll be at my son’s soccer games instead of captains meetings, committee meetings and fielding countless emails.
The BLOG: One thing I was hoping to talk about a little bit is what I see as two converging philosophies of the league. One is all about respecting the ‘older’ players. We have quite a few players who are 30 years older than rookies and in many respects they are the life-blood of the league. The other part is how quickly rookies are accepted and integrated into the league which I think is something that we’ve both experienced.
Chris Ross: I think I know what you mean. I think this is something that sets us apart from any other league I’ve seen or heard of and I think it starts with our ratings and draft. I won’t pretend that our ratings are perfect, there will always be minor disagreements, but overall they are pretty damned good. Because of that balance, no team gets ‘stuck’ with a player that can’t contribute. Not any more so than any other team, so there is no disadvantage. Also, no team has the ability or opportunity to ‘load up’ on strong players. So we start with balance, but the beauty of it is that a number 11 or a number 12 (or a number 1 or 2 for that matter) are only that number on draft day. The day after the draft they are just an equal member of the team that they are on for that season. When you look at the rosters on the website you’ll see that the players are listed alphabetically and not by their rating. Also, I think the captains do a great job of showing that it takes all twelve guys to have a good team and the best captains know that only part of the game takes place on the diamond. The camaraderie that we have on our teams is what really drives league and makes everyone a part of things. Camaraderie doesn’t have an age, a batting average or a rating.
The BLOG: Give me one thing that you’ve learned in this role.
Chris Ross: I think the biggest thing is that no one is bigger than the league. I suppose I always knew that, but you see it different in this position. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do in your ‘everyday’ walk of life you are as equal as everyone else.
The BLOG: As we sit here, we’re 40 days away from a new President being elected. What advice would you give to him?
Chris Ross: I think the biggest thing is to listen to people. Find advocates and supporters because that’s important but you have to listen to everyone. Some of the best ideas come from the least likely sources. Keep communicating. If you stop communicating you’ll never be able to turn it back on when you really need it. Also, you had better have a thick skin. You’ll hear a lot of feedback that you won’t like. You need to take it for its worth and move on.
The BLOG: Finally Chris, if the league had a mission statement that you tried to hold yourself to, what would it be?
Chris Ross: I’m not sure if it’s a mission statement, more a mandate that I’ve tried to follow. I think the President and by extension, the executive, have to make sure that we have the right number of teams any given year, ensure that we are a league that remains open and popular for players of all talents and abilities, make sure that we continue to have all teams make the playoffs and to keep the league affordable for its members.
Closing: Meeting with Chris for the afternoon wasn't exactly what I expected. In my experience he's come across as a little bit of a 'larger than life' gregarious guy who has a sharp wit and isn't afraid to poke fun at people or take a wise crack back in return. What I saw this day was the same guy, but also some other characteristics. I saw a person who is beyond passionate about the league. Countless times Chris used phrases like "no one is bigger than the League" or "this league will outlast all of us" that speak to his belief in our league as an institution.
I also saw a man who demonstrated one of the most important leadership characteristics (in my opinion) which is effective delegation. No one person can go it alone. Thinking you can is foolhardy and trying to would be disastrous. Delegating is tough because giving a person the responsibility to do something does not change who is ultimately accountable for the work being done. The person who does the delegating is still and always on the hook. It is a real demonstration of trust.
The trust is rewarded on the back end with recognition. Chris brought up names like Kevin Boston, Ed Hopkins, Rob Farah, Steve Ross, Jeff Dancey, Randy Hipkin, James Taylor, Jim Mannell, Clayton Campbell, Tony Mrasek, Wayne Caldwell and Ed Vonda as just a few of the people that had helped along the way. The list continued to grow with each topic that was brought up. This shows that he didn't keep going back to the same resources time and again when he needed help. Instead, he would go to the person who be best suited and therefore most effective in fulfilling the task.
The afternoon with Chris was fun! I'm sure there will be many more to come in the clubhouse after games in the 2011 season.
Thanks Chris for all that you've done for our league.
Doug Dwyer
