An Observation on the Rookie Experience Pre and Post Covid

[Grape 739]

In the years preceding the Covid-19 lock-downs, the league was humming with activity, and once the lock-downs hit, the VHL saw a boom of members, with teams getting filled to the brim. Those times saw multiple expansions to deal with the overflow of players coming in, and many sticking around for a fair bit of time. In the post-covid era, the league has hit a point of stagnation. While the VHL has been able to maintain a 6-4-2 roster for most teams, that is with the assistance of inactives. The VHLE is basically a graveyard, with some teams being majority inactives. The VHLM, which is the only league with a strict no-inactives rule, has pretty bare rosters, with rare occasions of large, stacked teams whilst most can just barely fill out their rosters without bots playing significant minutes. Teams went from completely full 12-8-2 rosters to now either relying on bots or inactives to ice a squad. With that shift in team population, how the league reacts to rookies has changed as well.

Pre-Covid
In the time before and during covid, when the league was filled with new members, having drafts where 7th rounders could turn into true impact players, rookies were treated somewhat interestingly. There was always someone that one could relate and connect to, and teams became more like little cliques, where the league culture was second to team culture. Active rookies were not necessarily amplified by the VHL itself, but by their individual teams. To those that didn't push themselves to be a top contributing member, they were pretty much ignored. In a time where a lot of drama was going on, the louder you were, the more influential and supported you became. Those that stayed quiet and simply did what they needed to keep earning more or less just faded away into relative obscurity. We were spoiled with a constant stream of rookies flushing out the bottom six of teams that if one went away, another would fill that spot quickly. It seemed as if GMs were focused on their big earners, creating a community in which if you didn't involve yourself in the group, you were never really cared about. Few of the pure welfare earners who clicked away week in and week out were never really reached out to and pushed to take on more and do more tasks unless they indulged themselves in the team. The relationship had to be initiated by the player, and it was up to the team to decide. This was very much visible on the new creates page during the season, when teams reach out to these waiver players. Well-known recreates got a ton of traction, whereas there were multiple instances where new players had to wait literal days for any team to reach out to the point where one did, that person had already abandoned the league.

Post-Covid
In the post-covid time, when new members are much more scarce, the onus is on the teams. The new waiver system has made it so the players reach out directly to the teams, and other teams can't jump on the new player unless that player wants to join them. Thinner rosters and players who want to be on the team influences GMs to be more interactive with all their members, due to two feelings:

- There is a feeling of responsibility, as the player has chosen the team, so now you are responsible for making them believe that this was the right choice. Whether they stay or leave is pretty much completely up to you.
- Due to the thin rosters, you need to keep every player around or else your team completely falls apart. A player that joins and applies their 60 or whatever TPE and just leaves doesn't improve and stays stagnant, and after three weeks you have to drop them and now that time is replaced by, most likely, a bot.

New members are far more valued and cared for, as there is a need for them to stick around due to the current state of the league. New members that do tasks and exceed the minimum of welfare and practice facility, engaging in the community both on the forums and on Discord, are amplified and propped up. These members are pretty much put on the fast track to a larger role with the community, as they breathe new life into the league and keep the VHL up and growing for just a little bit longer.

(750 words. Please bear with me if this is a bit iffy. Wrote it in notepad at work)

[Gustav 6,469]

I think this is an overlooked part of why it's a really good thing to not have every single draft class packed full. It's a big reality that the VHLM will always have some level of self-interest mixed in with its GMing. You can't try to stomp that out entirely (i.e., ban all draft pick trading) because then all the self-interest also disappears out of being a GM to begin with. The trick is more so to try to find ways to divert that into making it work for you.

 

In this case, having somewhat limited player numbers is good for the M because it places development of every player in the GM's best interest. Packed rosters don't do that because it places ignoring people and hoping they go inactive while holding onto a solid top end in the GM's best interest. Of course, a dead M is bad for players in its own way. But there's an ideal balance and it isn't the "every team is full" thing that lots of people like to look back on nicely.