Chicago NPPL: TBD

Hey kids. It's still Monday--but just barely. It was a long weekend and a busy day today. Got home around 3am and I need my beauty sleep. I'ma dividing my comments on the event between team-related observations and general event comments because some of my general comments will not be particularly complementary and I want to (hope to) separate the two given how poorly the team played.
Most of what I think about our performance isn't for public consumption, not because I would unleash a tirade of curses (although it's tempting) but because the core of any team is the unity and camaraderie based, in part, on trust--a trust that is violated if it isn't kept private. Within those limitations none of what follows is an excuse. There are no excuses. A team succeeds or fails together. So far this season we are struggling.
Most teams (and most competitors) spend the majority of their careers reaching for the top, trying to be the best. Most don't succeed. The lack of ultimate success makes (and keeps) a player (and a team) hungry. It keeps them loose 'cus they have nothing to lose. But once a player or a team have been to the top it changes everything.
The first thing I told the team this year was that the only thing harder than winning a championship is repeating. Every competitor has the desire, the hunger. Not every competitor stays hungry after being successful or has the fortitude to continue to succeed when that success is expected. Expectation can be a burden.
For us 7-man is the more difficult transition which is perhaps ironic considering the level of success we enjoyed last season but it's true. Team chemistry and player roles matter more in 7-man than in the format formerly known as xball. Our roster is necessarily different this year but the talent to be successful is still there. We haven't forgotten how to play, we just need to adjust to the new reality. To relax, love to play, play hard, have fun and believe. Nothing to it.