One of my dear teammates has the misfortune to have to collect match fees from other mates on the team for me. Six matches in a row.
The pay records on Metro
This Manhattan mixed 7.0 team is my largest, and also the team that I had the most online payments:
17 out of 60 (my math is terrible – I paid 66 instead of 60; one mate paid after I satisfied the season = 67 match fees in the account)
When I captained my first team in 2009, I did send out the note telling the mates where to pay and when was the deadline. Only one veteran paid 6, out of 66. I should not complain because the percentage is improving over the years.
Each league runs differently. The Metro winter teams need to be paid in full by a deadline (usually a month after it starts); the summer teams pay to the club directly where it plays, like the Long Island winter. (I never played on the LI summer team.)
My very first season on the job: Queens 7.0 mixed 2010
There must be a reason that the Metro winter needs us to pay it in full while the season is just under way. Because it will take them four months to issue a refund (canceled court, over payment ..) without an explanation. As if fiduciary doesn’t exist.
My current team: Manhattan 7.0 mixed 2013
It’s during my third captains’ meeting, when I learned that most captains/teams made the players to pay online, before the deadline. One of the captains said to me,
“Irene, don’t be shy about asking them to pay, this is a business.”
I never thought this as a business. But after many seasons and teams, I began to feel the burden of ‘reminders’ and ‘instructions’ when no one listens -:). It may still seem fun to the mates but at times, it certainly feels like a work for me. What’s the button says?
Work is for people who don’t play tennis.
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