Media LGPA a Sit Down Interview.

With this new Players Association picking up some steam I wanted to take a closer look at what it is, who they are, and what they are trying to achieve with this new association.

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/R9jkMs8

Founders
The logical starting point is going to be with the two founders of this Players Association.

@rollinj0071
Seasons on LG: 14
Seasons as Owner: 7
Seasons in Management: 5


@PastorGaiins
Seasons on LG: 12
Seasons as Owner: 5
Seasons in Management: 3



To start, when I think Players Association I think "Union". Are you trying to unionize the players on the site and bring power back TO THE PEOPLE?!

RollinJ - "No, lol. This is a video game where people ultimately want to show up and have some fun and make some new friends who are willing to work for the same goal"

Ok, With that being said then, what exactly is this Players Association designed to be?

RollinJ - "For a while, I have noticed an increasingly large gap between new players and owners compared to the veterans of LG. I wanted to try and help bridge that gap and help make new players feel more welcomed and help new owners avoid making the same mistakes I see from year to year."

PastorGaiins - "To add a bit on that. RollinJ and I have been talking about something like this for a while. Every year we see the same questions being asked by both new players and owners. Likewise watching owners make the same bidding mistakes and roster problems, We both love this league and want to see it be more welcoming and not see newer members feel so overwhelmed."

Is there anything offered for LG Veterans?

PastorGaiins - of course! While this was originally designed to help new players we found many people don't actually log into the site that frequently. We found people enjoy using discord so we decided to try and make a centralized "hub" for people to make navigating the site easier for both new and veterans of LG.

RollinJ - In the discord, we have broken things up within channels to make finding prevalent information easier. We have a scouting section where people can easily find teams scouting discords. We have both sections for the CHL and WJC respectively. In addition, we also have a place for players to find club challenge games to make things easier instead of trying to fight through the shoutbox spam.

PastorGaiins - Also, something I wanted to mention. There is also a section for players to discuss player builds for every position. Players are able to use this to collaborate and discuss the different builds they have used to discuss the positives and negatives they have found, which we expect to be very popular when the new NHL game is released.

That seems pretty interesting. Would it be fair to say this has a little bit of a "Development Team" feel?

RollinJ - As Pastor mentioned in your earlier question. We have just been noticing a trend in the past few seasons where we watch the same questions being asked over and over. The same can be said with owners making the same mistakes. I love this league and just want it to be as successful and competitive as possible. If that means I am trying to fill the void of a Development Team, then sure I guess you could say that.

PastorGaiins - We never started this with the intention of taking the place of LG Staff, but it would be a lie if to say the Dev team has been making an impact lately. We just saw a void and wanted to try and help fill the gap. The CHL Bogs and staff can be overwhelmed with bigger problems than answering daily questions, we just wanted to do our part to help the league grow.


To continue on that point, ideally, would you like to become affiliated with LG and be recognized in some way. IE a staff role or possibly something else?

PastorGaiins - FUCK YEA STAFF ME RIGHT NOW!

RollinJ - "I am in talks with Tris and Mcdonald. While I want to keep our conversations private, they have acknowledged what we are trying to accomplish and they have given me some goals to achieve before we can discuss things in more detail. I will say one thing I would like. On the concept of making things easier, I would like for LG to send an alert to owners when they are announced and to new signups with a link to our discord. This is and will always be a community effort, it will only be successful with people join and an alert from the site would make things that much easier for people to find us."

O damn! Mcdonald never notices me and my feelings. It makes me sad sometimes.

RollinJ - Lol, I will mention that to him

PastorGaiins - #medialivesmatter

Anything else you wish to add before we close?

RollinJ - LG is a family, love each other, help each other succeed.
We all joined to have fun and meet new people, and enjoy competitive hockey.
Smile and laugh along the way as everyone battles for the cup.
Have fun and be friendly. Welcome to Jurassic Park.


PastorGaiins - Our main goal is to assist the lg community. Not only helping the brand new players to the CHL and league but as well as the veteran players and management that have been around for quite a while. We want to be able to offer beneficial services that help the community rather than hurt. We want to see the CHL become more knowledgeable regarding rules. Management techniques. Player builds. Scoutings and overall bring the community together. The shoutbox can be very toxic at times with ego-filled players coming and Diminishing your attitude and confidence regarding the game and the CHL. Not here. We try to assist any way we can to help you continue your career. We have seen an amazing amount of support from the community and continuously are listening to everyone’s suggestions on how to improve the discord to assist your needs!


TLDR Re-Cap:
- Additional Resource for New players and owners.
- Ease of use to find LG Resources. (Scouting Discords, Player Builds, Action Center Questions, Club Challenges, Code of Conduct, Media)
- Bridge the Gap from new and veteran players. (more competitive hockey)


My Take:
After sitting down to talk with both @rollinj0071 and @PastorGaiins it would be a lie to say if this new Players Association didn't have a Development Team vibe to it. Which isn't a bad thing from my perspective. Things can be overwhelming to new players especially younger ones, the same could be said from playing trying to make the jump from playing HUT into ESHL.

To be honest, and this is no disrespect to the current Dev team. But I don't even know if they actually exist. When I first joined this site a few seasons ago there was no real resource for me to follow and or use to get familiar with how things work. Now ultimately I was motivated to make a roster so, through trial and error, I was able to figure out how things worked and how to scout for teams and hopefully get a bid.

I have never been a manager so I can not really comment on that aspect. However, I will say, that generally, it is not surprising that newer owners are usually around the bottom of the standings and almost always you see veteran management teams going deep into the playoffs.

At first, I didn't think this was going to be as popular and successful as it has been, granted it is still new. That being said many players have been using this as a good resource for both the CHL and WJC and with some help and support from the LG staff and upper management, I think this has the potential to be a great addition to the site and a good addition for the competitive balance that the CHL has been lacking.