18
2014
Steps on the ladder
An article by Stephen Pritchard
At one of the junior clubs I run we have traditionally played a weekly ladder competition that flows from week to week. Over the past few months we have become really busy and with that have experienced an increase in the range of ages and standards of players present. The ladder was becoming a competition that (I thought was) discouraging some players as they found themselves low down with a seemingly unassailable climb.
I had a cunning plan – or so I thought.
A couple of weeks ago I offered 2 ladders. The aim was to allow players to select which ladder they wanted to play on. I thought we’d end up with two ladders even in numbers with a split between the stronger and newer/less experienced players. This was not the case. Most players put themselves on the same ladder – with many of the younger players still opting to challenge the top players.
The reason could be manifold. Growth mindset – wanting to challenge “above their weight” in order to grow; limited self awareness – not realising where they fall in the pecking order; social factors – preferring to be with their social group more than their “ability” group. Of course, I’d like to claim that the first reason was most prevalent, but in reality a mixture of all three was more likely!
It was interesting to look at where players placed themselves and I will continue with the same method to see how things progress.
