Team Building Exercises 8/11: A Frostivus for the Rostivus

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

Team Building Exercises 8/11: A Frostivus for the Rostivus

 

 

This is the eighth in a series of weekly interviews with the VHLM's GM's. If you have any suggestions for my next series, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to hear them all. Previous weeks interviews can be found here:

 

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

 

This week we'll be meeting with my Bears teammate and GM of the raging Houston Bulls, @FrostBeard! We'll be discussing what its like managing a relatively new team to the league, stepping into a GM role as a junior member, and what the future brings for his Bulls. Given the Bulls are the sister-team of the expansion Philadelphia Reapers, I'm sure there'll be a lot to dive into in terms of that rivalry!

 

As a reminder to those new to this series, these interviews were conducted prior to the S66 season, and as a result some of the information may seem a little outdated. There have been several staffing changes throughout the VHLM's GM's during this time, so if I've missed you please don't hesitate to let me know.

 

For those of us new to the league, could you give us a little history of the team? Is it an expansion team or was it one of the originals?

 

Well, Houston Bulls are an expansion team of S65 when Bulls were introduced into VHLM together with Philadelphia Reapers. So we are a second-year team that went to playoffs last year under GM Sonnet @Sonnet that stepped down this Off-season and I was selected to take over. We had a great group of people that currently not only have moved to GM other teams but have proven to be great community members and they are the ones Bulls are the proudest of - people who grew out of being just players and became amazing contributors in VHL!

 

How have you felt about the transition as you've taken over as GM? Any aspirations to GM a VHL league one day?

 

Currently, I am very happy with the situation and I do think I am doing a fine job. I am Houston Bulls GM and that is my current aspiration, I don't think about the future that much - I live in the moment as I believe that if an opportunity will arise - I will consider anything, at the same time - I know quite a few great guys that could take that job too and be amazing at it. So I guess we can say that for me personally, it is all about Houston and Bulls!

 

So with your focus on your current role, do you have any favorite rookies in the upcoming season?

 

To be fair, I like all of my active guys and they have been great. I would not and to be fair could not pick a favourite even if I wanted to because everyone on Bulls deserves a case of beer from me. I hope that most of my guys will transition from VHLM to VHL and be great contributors to teams there and remember their time in Bulls with a smile and good memories.

 

I'm sure you're not at all biased Going outside of the Bulls, if you could add one player from the VHLM to your roster, who would it be and why?

 

Well, I could say John Frostbeard @FrostBeard (Editor's note: John Frostbeard finished top 10 in rookie scoring in his first VHL season)... But, no, to be fair I do like quite a few guys and as a GM I think it would not be fair for me to call out players I like on others teams because you never know what trade can bring to your team. In general, I think that one of the problems in VHLM currently is that everyone wants to be a Scorer and not a Pass-first player, so I would personally push that people focus on finding a person who can be and perform in setup role the best.

 

What team do you consider your natural rival? Everyone knows you expanded at the same time as the Reapers, but what's your take on it?

 

Houston had a rivalry with Philadelphia, but it seems to have eased down as most of the people have changed and have left Houston. Currently, there isn't a team that has an active rivalry with us, so let's see how the team will progress under me as the GM and you never know what the next few weeks will bring. 

 

What's next for the Houston Bulls in the coming season?

 

Well, we have to see what this season will lead to and let's hope for the best and I truly hope that under my leadership Houston will get the ability to bring home Founder's Cup for all our fans to see! And just to add on - I do want to make Houston a great place for anyone who decides to join us or is drafted by us.

 

Last question - Do you have any advice for aspiring GM's?

 

Just be open and talk to your members - even a few private conversations and a bit of aggression when it comes to helping out when guys are starting out is gonna go a long way and remember - this league and any type of RP situation is meant to be fun, so you have to make it fun! 

 

A big thank you to Frostbeard for joining us on this week's interview series, and thanks to my regular readers for following along. This series is made possible by readers like you! Next week I'll be speaking with @Peace of the Saskatoon wild about Giant's Milk, Interim roles, and taking the reins of a team that's undergoing a leadership transition.  If you'd like to be featured on the Team Building Exercise series, please shoot me a quik message either through the VHL portal or discord, I'd love to hear from you.

 

-Henrik Zoiderberg

 

1001 words

TPE for weeks ending August 25 & September 1

Edited August 19, 2019 by HenrikZoiderberg

[FrostBeard 1,975]

I remember that I did this not long after first assuming a role as a GM. It is quite remarkable to look back and think about how it was to start building the team from the ground. 

Huge thanks to @HenrikZoiderberg, you are the man and I truly love these interviews. Keep up the good work!

[Elmebeck 378]

Haha, "a bit of aggression when it comes to helping out when guys are starting out is gonna go a long way", this may be referring to me.

@FrostBeard has been a perfect GM for a newbie like me though, I have nothing but praise to offer.

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

bumping for second week's TPE