When I received the email from Sherilyn asking me to write some words on being the Captain of a dart team, I thought it would be easy. You know, like a word association game - you say "Team Captain", I say "mentally deranged," we go grab a frosty beverage and that's the end of that. But then I got to thinking - what is a Team Captain? I mean other than being the most thankless job since the days of the mine Canary (and even THEY didn't have to worry about which of their fellow canaries could hit a double at 11:30PM after 4 quadruple shots of Jagermeister), what does it really MEAN? More importantly, what does it take to be successful at the job, provided you're the guy stuck without a chair when the music stops playing?

The role of dart Team Captain is like no other job in sport that I can think of. At first, I would have compared it with that of a manager of a baseball team - a backwoods, rookie league, dysfunctional baseball team sure, but the analogy seemed apropos until you realize that, though similar, the Captain fills roles that would make even Lou Piniella blush. Let's face it, once the lineup card's done, all Lou has to do is pace the dugout and spit once in a while to save face. Yeah, the final decisions may rest with him, but he has staff to help him through the tough ones, unlike our friendly Team Captain. Not to mention that the guys who play for Lou are professionals who collect their gigantic salaries regardless if they see action in a game or not, whereas our dart players actually pay to play the game - a good sum too, if you count the beverage expense that traditionally comes along with a fun night at darts! Can you imagine - and I mean really stop for a minute and imagine this: The Cubs are in first place by ½ game going into the final game of the season. A win, and they clinch the division. They've got a one-run lead going into the bottom of the 9th. Time to bring in the closer. Lou picks up the phone, makes a call to the pen and the guy who answers says: "Kerry? Kerry Wood? No, sorry, Kerry's not available right now. Yeah, he passed out on the bench an hour ago. Must've been that last shot of Wild Turkey that did him in. I can give you Joey the Rookie though, HE'S only had one and he's ready to go!" Imagine the different shades of red and purple that would cross old Lou's face, not to mention the heart failure in all of Cubdom! Yeah, that's farfetched and would never happen in major league baseball, but I've personally seen it happen to a WCD Captain going into the 9th game in the final week of open league.

It's not just managing the other players on the dart team that the Captain has to contend with. We haven't even touched on the fact that the Captain generally wants to PLAY too - not just manage the team, which opens up a whole new can of worms! (The last player/manager in baseball was Pete Rose by the way, and we all know what that stress did to him - very fitting to a darts article, though I've yet to find a bookie who'll take bets on Gambler's VS. Family Bar in division 7!) I've been the Captain of a WCD team since 2000, in addition to being league President. (I have a huge masochistic streak.) I've been lucky and have generally had competitive teams that are very understanding of how I structure the lineup, yet even with that kind of team I had an issue in the playoffs last season. It was a top 4 match, and we were down to the final point of the night. I had been playing well all evening, and I decided to play myself over one of the other players on my team who had also been shooting pretty well. I don't generally do this, in fact if anything I tend to play myself less than everyone else to make sure that all of my players get good playing time. This case was purely a judgment call, and it was mine to make, yet the player whom I elected not to shoot came up to me before the point and said, "If you lose this, I'm off the team next season!" Yeah, no pressure there, and of course we lost that point; he was true to his word, and is now playing for another team in our division, which only served to motivate our team that much more.

The bottom line here is that the role of Team Captain is not just one of manager, but also player, friend, secretary, waitress and psychiatrist. To be good at the job a Captain needs to know which "hat" to wear at any given point in time. There are a few key components I've identified that I think are key to being a successful Captain:

1) A willingness to sacrifice. No one wants to play for a team where the Captain plays himself 4 times a night and everyone else gets 1 or 2 games. There will be weeks where you play yourself once and someone else plays 3 times. In the end, it's good for the team's morale and mentality to show them that you have the team's interests in mind ahead of your own.

2) A sensitivity to the feelings of others. No I'm not talking chick-flick-and-puppies sensitive here, but you need to be able to sense when your players may be unhappy with a decision so that you can address it before it festers and creates a problem on the team.

3) Good communication. Sometimes all it takes is a short conversation with a player who feels slighted to get them to understand the lineup decision you made for a game. Something like, "Jack, I know you wanted that game, but I felt that Andy and Tom were the better choice because they always pick each other up. I'll get you into another game or make it up next week." Often, this is enough to avoid any tension, as long as you KEEP YOUR WORD. Don't promise something to a player and then not deliver it. It takes away all credibility.

4) The ability to manage expectations. Have a little meeting before the first week of the season, or better yet before the team gets scheduled for play. Explain your expectations for the team, and get feedback from your players. Are you there strictly to have fun and socialize? Is your focus going to be winning the division? Are you going to play all players equally, or will some players get more playing time than others? (This last one is especially important if you have a wide range of talent levels on your team.) All of these are valid, and none is "better" than another, but you need to make sure that all of your players are on the same page and your goals are clearly defined or you will fail to accomplish any of them.

5) The confidence to make a decision. "Captain by Committee" doesn't generally work. Definitely seek input from your players if you are wavering on a lineup decision as it helps them feel connected and that they have a voice. However, at the end of the day, the decision rests with you. Once you've made the decision, fill out the lineup sheet and that's the end of that. Move on and watch the game.

6) Administrative skills. Nothing hurts a team more than losing points to penalty because the fees weren't paid or paperwork turned in on time. The end responsibility for getting things done on time lies with the Captain. If you don't want to take on that responsibility, don't be Captain of a team.

7) A thick skin. No matter what you do, you will never make all of your players happy all of the time. I've tried, and it only stresses you out because it's impossible. If you do all of the above things well, you will definitely minimize dissention on your team. Unfortunately, sometimes a player will just be having a bad day and nothing you can do will make him or her happy. They may even criticize your ability. If you can't communicate with them in a productive manner, just give up and walk away. Chances are things will be back to normal by the next week.

Finally and most importantly, every good Captain I've met understands that, at the end of the day, darts is a hobby for the vast majority of us. Most of us aren't professionals and never will be; we simply want to go out each week, have a good time, throw some darts and spend time with our friends. If you allow yourself to lose a friendship because of your role as dart Team Captain, it's probably time to stop being a Captain and let someone else take the reins.

As President of a large dart league, I want to express my thanks to those people that decide to be Captains. Without them, the league wouldn't run, and we need to be appreciative of all that they do for their teams. To those that have never been a Captain, I would urge you to give it a try. You may find that you have the talent for it, and the feeling that comes with Captaining a team that wins a championship is one of the best feelings in all of darts.

Good luck and shoot well,

-Pete