Made In Houston

Sorry for the comparison, but I can’t be the only one that thinks Freeman resembles Elton John.   Yes, it was  7:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, too early to be drunk.  Maybe a little hung over, but still. 

Like Elton, Freeman has been kicking out the hits to Dallas’s dismay.  Hits like:

Goodbye Nationals Road (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road)

Dallas In The Wind (Candle In The Wind)

The Lying King (The Lion King)

Don’t Let Sectionals Go Down on Me (Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me)

Tiny Poacher (Tiny Dancer)

Rocket Man  ….and I think it’s going to be a long, long time…

The One

The list could go on.  But you have to admit, year after year, he puts out the hits at 4.0 to keep Dallas from Sectionals.

So what is it about Freeman and Houston that breeds such success?

I think Murray nailed it back in April on his post Apocalypse Now.  It is hard to beat an adversary when you don't know from where he will be attacking.

While a legend, he is not machine and subject to err.  At least that was my thoughts from the first glance at things.  It was my understanding that Freeman was to take both 4.5 and 4.0 this weekend.  When I saw the loss to Amarillo, I initially thought he might be human and made a mistake with his line-ups.  But to another blogger's point, and upon further review of his roster, he just got beat, even with his core line up that made the trip.  I mean come on, besides a great George Strait strong, what is Amarillo known for??   To Amarillo’s credit, they made it all the way and took the title.  So much for a kink in Freeman's armor, except for just not having enough fire power this year at 4.5.  Unfortunately at 4.0, the competition was weaker than the depth of his entire squad, and he could afford to alternate players in flight play at will.  On Sunday, he unleashed his best, giving Dallas a tough go. 

Sometimes I think that when you have depth on a roster, it can actually be more of a curse than a blessing.  I think Dallas 4.5 has fallen to this trap.  Why?  Because with depth as a captain, you believe you have liberty to go with alternate line-ups on what you might think is your “not so tough” competition.  At the end of the day, you have your top 8, and putting in anything less can be detrimental.

Surprisingly, we saw this at 4.0 this weekend on the Dallas side with an unlikely move by  Somabut, discounting Corpus Christi and not going with their best 8.  Sunday morning was theirs for the taking, only needing to secure a few lines.  Bob is not one to make mistakes, but hate to say it, this weekend he did. 

While I know this thread is on 4.0 and Houston’s success,  the first point to make is roster size.  If I look at the king of Nationals, it is none other than Bender.  Bender sticks with his top 8 players, and may have a 9^th and 10^th.  That is it.  No tough decisions to make.  Play your best, all the time.  For him it has paid off.  More than you would like to acknowledge or know.   I know that is 3.5 and not 4.0 or 4.5, but I would think the principal would even be more so important at the higher levels.  Look at Amarillo's roster - 14 players.  The difference in winning and losing at the higher levels is a razor thin margin.  I would think it would be tough going with anything less than your top players 100% of the time.

At 4.0, Freeman had 18 on his roster, and 19 on his 4.5 roster.  He has had smaller rosters in the past, and a few years with larger ones.   At 4.5, Dallas had 26 on their roster, Fort Worth had 25, and Dallas Wild 22.  Some players are on more than one roster.  How can you be fully committed to a team when you are on multiple rosters in the same league?? 

While I am not a 4.5 nor know the vast majority of the 4.5 players, I have been privy to Dallas tennis for over the past 5 years, and have played on a few Tri-level teams (Sectionals twice, Nationals once) and have gotten to know a few of the players.  In glancing at these 3 rosters, I see 3-4 guys from each roster that should be playing together on the same team.   My question is, why has our 4.5 become so segmented?  Could that be one of our frailties? Houston's best come together.  Dallas's best seem to split up and compete against each other. 

Second, have guys that are fully committed – all the way to the end.  Whether it is regular league play, Tri-level or Combo, I can’t tell you how many times I hear a captain complain that his all-star can't make the trip to Sectionals or Nationals.  If your goal is Nats, only sign guys who have cleared their schedule for all dates, and are fully committed to being there.  It appears that every time we hear about Freeman having “this player” or “that player” they are there on the court playing, not MIA. 

Thirdly, you need players who respect each other’s game, and have checked their ego at the door and come to support each other.  Based on the comments and bashing I see on this blog, it seems Dallas falls short in this area as well.  Freeman also seems to attract all the top self-rates.  While a couple of singles ringers is definitely in the recipe for success, you also have to have players that are true teammates, on and off the court.   It is team tennis.  And teams win, not individual players.   

I’m not sure of the other ingredients for Freeman’s success, but he definitely has clearly established himself as a captain for players to come play for, and somehow manages to keep all of his players in check.  I do see he has a core group of players that have played for him multiple years, at both 4.0 and 4.5, and back and forth.  As I mentioned before, Dallas has that at 4.5, but has become segmented with the top players playing for different teams and different captains, depending on the year. 

From there, I have to revert to Murray’s most recent post, as I think he was spot on, especially at the 4.0 level.    So many times I see great players play on a team, only to get bumped up and lost at the next level.  As a captain, you constantly need to be identifying these guys and trying to get them corralled together.  Unfortunately, half of our post season 4.0 players are playing 4.5, and until they realize the brutal truth, Dallas 4.0 will suffer.

All that being said, I do have to acknowledge our Dallas teams, as they are always representing the City well at Sectionals, and typically making the Semis or Finals of every Sectional event.  It is just the refinement of a few small crucial things that separate us from Houston.  Freeman and his players have figured it out.  Can we find a way as a tennis community to do the same for our City ??