Open Letter to Appendix
Dear Appendix,
As I am leaving (Singapore, not the team), many have expressed apprehension about the future of Appendix. These concerns are understandable, and I want to address them through this open letter.
TL;DR: I believe Appendix is in the strongest position it has ever been. I believe that our formal and informal leadership is capable, committed and genuinely caring for the growth and Spirit of our members to grow the team, to grow Beach Ultimate. And, with the last co-founder stepping further out, a space opens for you all to step in and move the team forward the way you deem best. Growth requires change and the goal has always been to teach confidence, commitment, intention and awareness to let everyone shape their own and our growth. Thus, if you care about this team, there is no better time than the present to get involved and help shape the team in its many facets.
I also wish to express my deepest gratitude for all the efforts contributed by everybody, as it has given me so much meaning, growth and joy over all these years.
This said, I’d like to share what I have learned to hold dear about Appendix over the years; what has given me meaning and energy for the team, in the hope that it provides you some clarity, meaning and hopefully energy as well.
Running a team takes energy and—as many—I have had times of feeling drained and frustrated over the years since our inception in 2012. Luckily, different things and people have reminded me at crucial times of the meaning and scale of impact that Appendix has had on SO many people over the years.
Duality is our unique selling point and strength Yes, focussing only on beginners or only on a competitive team is much easier, but we wouldn’t be where we are and who we are. We would not exist without being open to beginners, late starters, visitors and other “misfits”. We chose the name “Appendix” as it has represented this aspect of “where the funny stuff goes”. And, specifically, we’re the only open club in Singapore, which provides us with access to new and also experienced players unlike anybody else. Without having a competitive aspect in the team, our players would not grow and a lot of our experienced players would not be around for the others to learn from. As I shared before, I believe we have three main audiences, and each contribute a key aspect to our club to make it work: Newbies, growth players and veterans. Saturdays are great to have people to train together (or alongside each other) while other sessions can be more targeted to the specific audiences.
Our core mission is fostering holistic growth With our dual focus and diversity of members, growth must be holistic, not single-dimensional. Diversity is a strength when built on top of shared values, like our Ethos. Diversity means more ways to solve problems and more ways to succeed (or fail). Which is why, for a diverse team, it is important to focus on helping people grow holistically rather than optimising performance. While optimisation can yield short-term gains, its fragility often results in long-term struggle. Helping players grow in areas they are not good at (i.e. not just making a receiver a better receiver) brings more flexibility and resilience. The same applies to game sense and problem-solving on the field: Prescriptive drills lead to prescriptive practice, leads to prescriptive gameplay. Letting players figure out the right solution encourages thinking and game-awareness in the long term. This doesn’t mean we should neglect our fundamentals, but my goal had always been to grow thinking players, thinking team members, thinking humans. Yes, this applies to the higher levels too; this team should give us the opportunity and help us become better teammates and leaders, better humans and not just athletes.
Growing together is easier, better and more rewarding We play a team sport for a reason, and I believe team sports teach us skills that are tough to learn in individual sports. Our teammates help us become better and pick us up when we are down, but they also challenge us and make mistakes (as we do). One does not come without the other, and embracing and appreciating that will make us better teammates, leads to more growth and will ultimately bring more satisfaction irrespective of glory. To grow together, we have to work together, be vulnerable together, suffer together and celebrate together as that builds trust; trust that gives us confidence and allows us to challenge each other and lift each other. This only comes if we roll up our sleeves ourselves and see the others with their sleeves rolled up. And, if we do not see others with sleeves rolled up, then let’s understand why, challenge and help with empathy: Trust there is a good reason. And if not, don’t be shy to challenge and make fair but tough calls. Culture self selects, and allowing slackers undermines the shared trust and efforts; yet being overly harsh impedes confidence and growth. It’s a tricky balance that we’ll get wrong often enough and the only thing that saves us is being genuine, humble, emphatic, vulnerable and trusting.
Commit to the infinite game of direction and momentum Growth takes time and commitment. Growth also requires change, and with change always comes risk of failure. With failure comes disappointment and, hopefully, learning. Focussing on process goals helps us to work diligently on progress and to recognise when we have grown. Combined with awareness, it also allows us to flex and react to changed circumstances and keep our motivation and optimism despite setbacks and changes. Momentum towards the roughly right direction beats insistence on the perfectly planned path.
Appreciation unlocks potential and opportunity Optimism is a crucial resource to help our motivation: Focus on the opportunities allows us to give things a go, rather than letting counterarguments prevent us from even trying. Appreciation helps us find the optimism and the opportunities, as it allows us to reframe situations and change perspectives. Specially in adverse and challenging situations, appreciation lets us tale a step back or see things how others see them, disassociate and objectively find the positive side. It allows us to embrace adversity, adjust our plans, commit and build upon reality rather than fighting it.
Finally, trust yourself and each other and engage to work towards the shared goal. The best way to predict the future is to create it, or at least attempt to do so. In these twelve years, I’ve failed more than succeeded, and we are here due to the failures as much as due to the successes. So change what you think needs changing, update the Ethos if you believe it needs updating, take a different approach where you think things are broken.
Appendix is your team to shape, not to consume. Grow the team, and you will grow.
So long, and thanks for all the discs. 🥏🌈🐰