SquashLevels is very accurate for assessing the level a player is playing at at the moment but, because of that, it is very dynamic system. You can gain or lose anything up to 10% from a single match in extreme cases.
We do recommend that SquashLevels is used to help with team selection but we don't advise that it's used too rigidly as:
- It's very dynamic
- Players naturally vary by up to 20% per week in terms of their own performance
- Players could be carrying an injury which, in theory, is temporary
- It may exclude players who then can't get back into the team again
Our recommendation is:
- Use current level as a guide
- If you do want some limits then 20% is reasonable. I.e. The second string player should not be more than 20% higher than the first string player.
- Allow the application of common sense with injuries, coming back from not playing etc. You can always see how well they actually played on the night before issuing any penalties.
- Apply a bit of player rotation (within the 20% limit) so that players at the lower end of the team can still play and earn their way back up again.
We have done our very best to make SquashLevels a genuinely useful and fun resource and believe that most player levels are probably somewhere near right BUT please remember it's based on the vagaries of human behaviour - your opponent's as well as your own - and it's certainly not 100% accurate to two decimal places!
So don't take it TOO seriously! Try to improve, yes, enjoy the ebb and flow, have a laugh in the bar afterwards but it's just a number at the end of day - one of the less important things in your life!
And for the same reason, if you're a team captain making your selections, use these levels as a guide rather than a black and white selection cut-off. You know your players better than we do. You know if they're having a couple of difficult weeks and will bounce back. All SquashLevels does is measure it. YOU are the one selecting the team. Don't leave it to a computer!