You have to believe they didn't even watch it.
Team USA still suffers from poor team dynamics. They're fine as long as things are going their way, but as soon as adversity strikes they crumble.
Note: When someone on Team Europe dogs an easy shot, Chamat is right there telling them to forget about it an play the next shot. Meanwhile on Team USA, if someone misses an easy one all they get is a heaping load of stink-face from their teammate and silence from their coach.
Corey in particular needed some pumping up - badly - but SVB wouldn't even look at him. In the interview after Corey won his singles match, the reporter asked him about the stress of the event, Corey basically says that his own team is causing him the most stress.
I don't know, maybe Mark is a lot more active than it appears on TV, but it looks like he's just another spectator in a matching shirt. He shows up for high fives after a win but I can't recall him ever showing up when things go wrong - ie. when coaching/leadership is most needed. Being knowledgable about pool is simply not enough for the role, knowing how to get the most out of people is the key... with some timely interventions a couple of matches could have come out quite differently.
Look at the chemistry between Appleton and Boyes, Feijin and Van den Berg, or Bergman and Skylar. They've got each others back, they stay positive no matter what, and they generally get the results that such teamwork promotes. Hate to say it, but team USA's top player isn't much of a team player, so it doesn't bode well for the future...
(I like your thought process and agree with 90% of it. There are a few things
I would like to say--some reiterated and some countered)
Mark indeed has all the requisite skills to continue leading Team U.S.A.
and anyone considering otherwise is just plain ignorant.
I agree, so far, Mr. Wilson is right on track (here is my timeline):
And remember, this is a long-term project. This takes time. Mark is doing
so much in the background that it would spin our heads.
PHASE/YEAR 1: Put a TEAM together, focus on team play and other relevant intangibles.
PHASE/YEAR 2: After digesting the results, optimize a team proper:
If Mark sees what you and I see then it's SVB, Sky, Berg, Mike D, and ________.
PHASE/YEAR 3: Maintain and foster good team play and other critical team skill sets.
Get very close, perhaps win the MC.
PHASE/YEAR 4: Have a team that can properly compete with the Europeans.
To say that Mark has not used his biggest asset (coaching) yet is laughable.
Remember, the person who leads this team is not showing the team how to play pool, the players already know how to do that.
Make no mistake, Mark has been coaching these players from day one.
Mark is showing and instilling in these players the finer points of team play and
other important aspects. That's what a coach does, he/she motivates his team and shows them perspectives that they might not readily be aware of.
and the march goes on........
What happens if you get Earl, who brings down the entire team for a mental standpoint?
Wilson actually got out of the chair a few times and rubbed shoulders, I thought I was seeing things.
....
Good post Doug Gordon!
I'm all for Mark Wilson remaining captain, just as long as we continue to see improvement each year.
This year, we saw improvement in multiple areas.
We are still sorely lacking in kicking skills. I noted this on Facebook EARLY ON in the Mosconi Cup. Our best players had trouble coming close to hitting the object balls when they were kicking at them. The new, low friction cloth on the tv table with the hot lights continuously flummoxed just about every American player. It could have been the main reason that we lost those matches where we were hill-hill.
I would like to see the USA Mosconi Cup players PAY for a bona fide Sports Psychologist (who has a track record of teaching mental skills to athletes) to teach them about team camaraderie, how to handle inner and outer distractions and maybe polish up on their already accomplished visualization skills.
Yes, I would like to see the Mosconi Cup players pay money out of their own pocket to attend multiple sessions with a qualified Sports Psychologist. I don't want to see the money for that coming from philanthropists, fans, the Captain or anyone else. It is apparent to me that this is another area that our team needs help in.
The USA Mosconi Cup players must learn how to change their thinking when adversity raises its ugly head. Right now, they are looking for more bullets when they are already running low on ammunition. It's time for the players themselves to want to learn additional mental skills and techniques to help improve their physical skills and they MUST have some skin in that acquisition. EVERY USA Mosconi Cup player must be all-in on this! If I were captain, I would make sure that each player understood the importance of improving their mental skills and would work feverishly all year on this point. Mental skills aren't acquired in two weeks.
In fact, if I were captain, I would ask any potential player that thinks he might have the ability to earn a spot on the Mosconi Cup Team of 2016 to participate (AND PAY OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET) for a year-long program of developing mental skills and a better understanding of how teams assist one another in competition and away from competition.
JoeyA
... I believe also, as SJM eluded to, this year the USA missed 7 kick shots to Europe 1. ...
A quick look through my notes shows the following kicking fouls:
USA -- 12 (Woodward 4, Bergman 3, Dechaine 2, Deuel 2, and Van Boening 1)
Europe -- 4 (Feijen 3, Boyes 1)
[I haven't checked total balls pocketed by each team (yet).]
Edit -- in 15 of those 16 fouls, the OB was missed. In the other one, the OB was hit, but no rail was contacted after the hit.
I, too, heard the 7-1 stat during Mosconi Week, but I believe it was through Day 2.
10-2 through Day 2.
A quick look through my notes shows the following kicking fouls:
USA -- 12 (Woodward 4, Bergman 3, Dechaine 2, Deuel 2, and Van Boening 1)
Europe -- 4 (Feijen 3, Boyes 1)
[I haven't checked total balls pocketed by each team (yet).]
Edit -- in 15 of those 16 fouls, the OB was missed. In the other one, the OB was hit, but no rail was contacted after the hit.
Ill take your word for it. I don't remember Bergman missing 3 kicks - one for sure.
Just shows that perception and the facts sometimes greatly differ.
Perhaps it was the Day 2 only stat, but I learned this stat from Jay Helfert. Guess it's possible it included safety play errors. Just saying that the stat, which we must concede is possibly erroneous, did not come out of thin air.
Ill take your word for it. I don't remember Bergman missing 3 kicks - one for sure.
Just shows that perception and the facts sometimes greatly differ.