TSA please heed my words.
TSA NJ has suffered alot of blows lately. CyberCon got shut down, we no longer have a place to run our tournies, we don't meet up like we used too, the rest of NJ seems to be stagnating without our guidance, and now our leader is retiring.
Things look quite grim, but in truth we can turn this around. Instead of letting these hard times shut us down we should let it mold us, re-forge us, so that we can grow stronger.
We can find a new LAN center for Smashacre. We can start meeting agian and training more often. We can't replace WoZ, but TSA is apart of us all and lives on in us.
I have a plan that can bring us back into glory.
As of right now, we are divided. It seems like TSA NJ is all over the place in terms of the roles we play in the crew. This isn't good. What was the one thing that seperated us from other crews? It was the fact that we DO something about our state's community. The fact that we care and are organized. Now that organization is faltering. We need to get it back together. What I'm tlaking about is that each member of TSA needs to be assigned to a faction within TSA NJ. Some us are players, those who participate reguarly in tournies. Others would fall under the catagory of management. These are the members who make sure everything is running smoothly. Another role is that of the community leader. These are people that go out their way to help the smash community and support it. Like what Keitaro does with the NJ player finder or wht I do with my threads in the Marth forum. Then there are the personalities. WoZ fulfilled this role nicely. They are the faces of the crew. The people who draw others in and make us known to the smash community. These are the people that others see when they think of TSA.
All of these roles are important for the success of TSA. And it's time that we make distinctions between members for what role they play,. It will make things smoother and less tressful overall. For example, if someone's talents lie with being a community leader, then why pressure them to train and make lots of appearances at tournies? If they aren't pressued to do these things, then they can concentrate on making TSA's presence felt by helping the community in other ways on the boards.
And that's what it's all about my brethren. Making people feel our presence not just as players, but as leaders, people with personality and charisma, and knowledge. I think that from now on, when someone wants top join TSA, we need to actually interview them or at least discuss what they feel they can contribute and talk about their abilities not just in terms of skill, but all of the other areas I mentioned.
I also want to say that TSA NJ as a whole needs to to try to become more sociable at smashfest/tournies and more active on the boards. We don't have WoZ anymore or his larger then life personality. It's up to us to fill that gap. I'm not saying anyone has to be WoZ. No, just be yourself. Shake hands with people at tournies, introduce yourselves, become more involved in the melee/character discussion boards. Take a serious interest in your community. Make our voice heard.
There are a few other things I want to touch on as well.
I think we should talk to Terrabite's near Wayne. He has plenty of space for a good sized tourney. Just what we need. Granted the image he is trying to portray is less hardcore and more casual, but we can't afford to be picky. It's worth a shot. Speaking of tournies, TSA NJ needs to start going to them. Not neccessarily to win, but again, so people feel our presence. Not just appear but mingle with people. Talk to them, talk to the people running things and even offer to help or offer compliments if they are doing a good job. WoZ has proven time and again that personality is just as important as being good at the game.
The next issue should be obvious. CopyCat can't do it alone. If WoZ is leaving him in charge of running things, then he needs help. I think it's in TSA NJ's best interest to talk about having someone be deputy second-in-command. Basically a 3rd person in charge to support CopyCat.
The next thing is that lately more and more people are getting in just because they are cool or laid back or w/e. Honestly, this stuff needs to stop. We need to take a long hard look at people and make intelligent decisions about what they can do for TSA and what TSA can do for them. The last thing we need is people riding the TSA bandwagon and not contributing anything.
As for the issue of our meetings, well that's always been a tough one for us. No ones parents wants to do it for too long. We need to alternate locations then. People NEED to talk to thier parents about having a meeting at thier place once a month. Or I can talk to Lone and see what's going on with his place.
Going back to the tournament issue. TSA needs to support the tournies of other TSA branches. Show this community a united front that stands as one even when seperated by great distance.
We also need to start training. If people are free, just call them up and train with them. You don't have to post about it. Just pm someone and set something up. If you want more people to show up then post about it if you want to.
TSA NJ, we must band together and start anew. This is a chance for a rebirth, but if we don't get it together, then TSA NJ will fade away.