An Open Letter to the VHL

[Plate 386]

 

" I lost the reason I was here in the first place."

 

Hello everyone. 

My name is Plate. I am a former league member, with two players selected in the 1st round. One of them was a bust that we don't talk about. I also worked as an AGM for your Yukon Rush a long time ago. In addition, I managed team world in the WJC, obtaining a bronze in the process. Outside of management and the VHL, I wrote for the VSN for several seasons. Some of my media spots are of the best statistical work done in the league. My players have also been assistant captains across many different leagues. There is a lot of experience and tenure underneath my cap.

Unfortunately, I was prone to a not uncommon problem around here. Burnout, turnover, and a lack of motivation meant that my TPE earnings fell through for a while on my most recent success story, Markus Schauer. There were some problems that I had in the league. My player wasn't good enough to be in the VHL at the time, but in the same coin was too good to play in the VHLM. The locker room that I was a part of lost several active members in a rebuild. And overall, my experience became a chore. Writing media spots only to try and cap out every week. 

I lost the reason I was here in the first place. 

Whether it was getting flamed by @Renomitsu, being hassled to get more TPE by @Esso2264    , Talking about spreadsheets with @rjfryman, or simply reminiscing about days of the Halifax 21st with @McWolf  I have since rediscovered the passion of joining a stupid forum based hockey league. Before we get into that - I want to discuss some goals for myself and my player. To keep me grounded and more sure of the future. I don't need to max earn and try every week to do my best. And that being here with a player and having fun is much more important than seeing a number 12 every week. 

 

The Alternative Active Method

I tend to want to be here every day. That burns me out quickly. So I'm going to try a method that I've been using for a while now that helps me stay interested but gives me enough time to want to be alone. Two days on, one day off, three days on, one day off. It is the alternative active method. Tomorrow you won't see me in any locker rooms or making forum posts. It will be a day off, as yesterday and today I was active. However, from Friday to Sunday, I will be active. Then, I'll take a break on Monday. Scheduling time for something that I know I'm going to want to put a lot of time into makes it so that I can stomach how much time I allocate to it on a weekday. 

 

TPE is Just a Number

I will never be the highest TPE player in the league. I don't have to be. And neither do you. Maxing out every week is entirely unnecessary to have a competitive player. Again, I'm here not to make the best player ever existed. I see a 12 or claiming welfare a week, or anything doesn't matter if I'm not active in the locker room, which is more important than just numbers on a screen. Being present and serving the community as a productive member is what matters. 

No Spreadsheets

I have probably spent 100+ hours on spreadsheets for the VHL in my free time. It's a problem. I swear that I will NOT create spreadsheets for the VHL from this day forth. Not for fantasy, not for personal use, not for teams, nothing. While I made some  articles with them, it was not worth the time. I much would rather have stayed active longer than making them. Hopefully, others feel that way as well. When I'm more settled in or in a management position in the future, maybe I dabble into the occasional spreadsheet, but that won't be for another few seasons. 
 

That brings us back to my discovery. Why I was in the league in the first place. When I first discovered this forum with my cousin @SirRupertBarnes, the idea was that he and I would be on the same team and compete together—just a fun little side hobby. Our tenure with the Halifax 21st is some of the most memorable hockey simming I've ever been involved with. That and my small stint with Moscow, thank you to @Spartan for never giving up on me then. Because as you can tell by now, there were many reasons I failed my activity. But kept coming back. 

It was never to be as active as possible.

It was never to have the most TPE. 

It was never about the spreadsheets. 

It was about you guys. That's the reason why I kept wanting to come back. The VHL is blessed to have such a thorough and collective community. There are also friends. I have good friends, close people, and beautiful memories. I wish to make more. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for welcoming me as I return into the fold into an unprecedented era of VHL hockey. That of which I am very excited to be a part of. I hope that the end of the scoring era will blossom into something more competitive and exciting for all. 

This place would be nothing without the fantastic work of its commissioners, GMs, and community, who strive every day to add and make it just a bit better step by step. Shoutout to the VSN, who do INCREDIBLE work as the league's premier source for news. The amount of work they put into their articles is insane, guys, seriously. 

Cheers to another run, 

- Plate

Edit: Spartan, I dislike you very much. I needed 21 more words to claim this twice for the 1k word count.
(1000 words)

Edited March 24, 2022 by Plate

[Crstats23 340]

Good to see you come back 

[Shindigs 1,771]

Did someone say something about spreadsheets?

I love me some spreadsheets!

 

Brigade LR has been popping off since you joined, you were from before my time, but I'm glad you're back.

[JardyB10 4,865]

Great article! Now make sure you pump out another one of these in two weeks or your time here will be for nothing  

[Plate 386]

Claiming 2/2

 

[frescoelmo 1,276]

reno flamed you??

 

the audacity

[samx 1,173]

this was wholeosme

[der meister 3,188]

Something I really like about this piece is how real it is. We all have lives, somewhere behind our usernames and avatars, and it's unfortunately very easy to forget that in a world that has become progressively more digitized over the past 30 years. The VHL is a hobby, first and foremost, and I'm glad to see you come to the internal peace required to realize that 1 TPE here and there isn't going to radically alter your enjoyment of the league for the better. In fact, if it's a struggle and becomes a chore to get that last TPE, then it's actually a negative, a deterrent to your enjoyment. Grammatically, there was nothing of note. 10/10