SVB's Mosconi Facebook post

[jrctherake]

Don't the players get like 2 grand to complete?

If that is so then that is stairway too much. And hell, don't most American Pro Players have to have full time jobs to make ends meet???

Only the "top tier" pros are taken care of to any degree.

If basketball, football etc..etc.. did their players the same way we would never see another pro ball game again.

Then again, it would be the end of college ball to. Take the "chance" of going pro away and "all" of the better ball players walk away in college.

An athlete is nothing more than an employee. Pay them well and they have reason to "want" to do a better job in order to "keep" the job.

Rake

 

[rexus31]

To the best of my knowledge, Shane would have had to bankroll his participation in the training camp sessions. That's quite a bit of money to shell out when there is no opportunity to earn it back (such as a tournament).

 

[garczar]

I think they should add a potato sack race if you ask me


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Make each player bring a sack of "their own" $$$ and then gamble on every match. Couldn't hurt and would be FAR more entertaining to sweat. Just my $.02 here, nothing more.

 

[Maniac]

I do not believe the team could do much worse. Do we really lose anything if he is not on the team and we still lose? We aren't even competitive these days.

No, the outcome of the Mosconi Cup will not change because SVB didn't play. I just think that for what SVB has done and the time he has put in representing the USA over the years, he deserves to at least be invited whether or not he chooses to play. After all, he's still the best this country has to offer.

I don't blame him a bit for what he wrote on his FB page....if he even indeed did write it.

Maniac

 

[watchez]

This FB post is proof that SVB is a great player ...he beat the ghost so bad that the ghost
is now working for him....’cause his FB post HAS to be ghost written....
...what American uses the spelling “programme” instead of “program”?

This spelling is also a clue that the ‘ghost’ is English.

He responded later in the thread and spelled it the same way.

 

[BRussell]

He responded later in the thread and spelled it the same way.

Wow that Matchroom PR person is up late tonight.

 

[jasonlaus]

If our best player has a losing record then what difference does it make? We don't need help losing, we need help winning!

If you have a proven losing record, you will not help the team win no matter how great you are away from MC.

Sometimes the truth is right in front of you, yet you fail to see it.
Jason

 

[lorider]

I agree with others that despite shanes losing record I would hate to see him not on the team. Granted he is the best we have to offer but perhaps he is not the best at this format. Not saying any one else is better.

It seems like the coach/ coaches ? Are pulling out all stops to make our team more competitive . Not saying the mandatory bout camp is a good or bad thing but nothing else ....from any coach has worked to help us be competitive. Last year it was Bergman who chose not to enter some qualifiers for mosconi cup and therefore not chosen to play.

This year it seems like like Shane is making the same choice. Not saying bergmans and shakes decisions dont have merit but if other players follow suit you may as well end the mosconi cup.

 

[PhilosopherKing]

5 weeks is a little much for lessons in live television etiquette and practicing fist-pumps and high-fives.

 

[Maniac]

Not saying bergmans and shakes decisions dont have merit but if other players follow suit you may as well end the mosconi cup.

Naw...they'll just replace the USA with Philippine players.

Maniac (thinks Matchroom should do that anyway)

 

[garczar]

I think the whole boot-camp deal is a joke. Can't blame SVB for his stance on this.

 

[Tin Man]

One thing you learn about being a leader is to be very careful about issuing orders that won't be followed.

5 weeks of boot camps sounds dreamy assuming our top US Players participate. But if we need to go down the alternate list too deep we could reach a point at which all the training in the world wouldn't compensate for the champions that backed out.

I wonder if MatchRoom already had commitments from enough top players to play 5 weeks of bootcamp to make this viable, or if they didn't anticipate this reaction? Do they have other plans with amateur players that are willing to put in this kind of time for the exposure and experience?

It's definitely strange. Clearly the US is outmatched. It's hard to hear Johan presenting his plan on how he's going to get the US competitive without feeling like they're being condescending for expecting people to nod as if they have a winning plan. I get Matchroom is trying to mix it up and keep the event alive. But to me this stinks of a corporate action plan. Something that won't achieve results but will impress people on paper because of the resources we're devoting.

Personally I think it might be enough to just go winner take all for 30K/winning player. I'm sure our top players would show up for a free roll like that and maybe if the difference between winning and losing was more extreme they'd feel backed in a corner and would dig deep. I still don't like US's chances, but I'd feel like they were at least live if they were playing for a 30K swing. Just a brainstorm.

Oh well. I hope it works. Whatever their methods Matchroom has done a lot for pool and we can use all the help we get. Fingers crossed. But yeah, if I'm SVB I'm out too.

 

[tucson9ball]

I've been on many teams over the years and there is something to be said about camaraderie. Sometimes you have players that for some reason or another just don't get along.

One time we were trying to recruit a player for our BCAPL team. He lived about a 45 minute drive from town. Our league lasts for 20 weeks and he said he would only make it 8 weeks, just enough to qualify for Vegas Nationals. The rest of us (4) were committed to the whole 20 weeks unless some emergency came up. So, we were faced with finding a sub for 12 weeks for this guy..... We opted for another player that could show up every week and show a little team spirit.

I understand where Shane is coming from. He is arguably the best player on the planet and wants to cement his name in the record books. He is still young enough to win many more titles.
The Mosconi Cup is a Team event and there is no individual titles to capture. By his FB post, he is showing where his priorities are. Mosconi Cup is not the most important thing on his list.

He may be the best player around but if he does not put the team first, it will show and believe me.....the rest of the team can get the vibes.
Mosconi Cup needs us to put together a team that will enjoy being around each other and play well because of it. Playing relaxed is how we play our best pool.
After these 5 weeks of practice, the coaches should have a pretty good idea of the team chemistry. Hopefully they can see the first 2 practices and make adjustments if necessary. I think they should have a couple alternates on hand in case one of the top picks flakes out.

Anyhoo, it may be time to move on from SVB being a lock for the team. JMHO

 

[Tooler]

I say next year they should just make Shane the captain.
Then make Bergman the Co-Captain.......problem solved.

 

[Tin Man]

there's a breaking point

I've been on many teams over the years and there is something to be said about camaraderie. Sometimes you have players that for some reason or another just don't get along.

One time we were trying to recruit a player for our BCAPL team. He lived about a 45 minute drive from town. Our league lasts for 20 weeks and he said he would only make it 8 weeks, just enough to qualify for Vegas Nationals. The rest of us (4) were committed to the whole 20 weeks unless some emergency came up. So, we were faced with finding a sub for 12 weeks for this guy..... We opted for another player that could show up every week and show a little team spirit.

I understand where Shane is coming from. He is arguably the best player on the planet and wants to cement his name in the record books. He is still young enough to win many more titles.
The Mosconi Cup is a Team event and there is no individual titles to capture. By his FB post, he is showing where his priorities are. Mosconi Cup is not the most important thing on his list.

He may be the best player around but if he does not put the team first, it will show and believe me.....the rest of the team can get the vibes.
Mosconi Cup needs us to put together a team that will enjoy being around each other and play well because of it. Playing relaxed is how we play our best pool.
After these 5 weeks of practice, the coaches should have a pretty good idea of the team chemistry. Hopefully they can see the first 2 practices and make adjustments if necessary. I think they should have a couple alternates on hand in case one of the top picks flakes out.

Anyhoo, it may be time to move on from SVB being a lock for the team. JMHO

I don't think it's fair to say that SVB is showing a lack of dedication to the Mosconi Cup. I think Matchroom is being very unreasonable in their expectations.

It's a matter of opinion, but look at it this way. If MR said they expect all players to show up a day early to discuss a game plan, I think we'd all agree that was reasonable. On the other hand if they said they want players to do nothing but train 8 hours a day for the next 8 months, I think we'd all agree that was ridiculous and impossible. Well, somewhere between a day and 8 months there is a breaking point at which it becomes unreasonable. To me 5 weeks is past that breaking point.

 

[tucson9ball]

I don't think it's fair to say that SVB is showing a lack of dedication to the Mosconi Cup. I think Matchroom is being very unreasonable in their expectations.

It's a matter of opinion, but look at it this way. If MR said they expect all players to show up a day early to discuss a game plan, I think we'd all agree that was reasonable. On the other hand if they said they want players to do nothing but train 8 hours a day for the next 8 months, I think we'd all agree that was ridiculous and impossible. Well, somewhere between a day and 8 months there is a breaking point at which it becomes unreasonable. To me 5 weeks is past that breaking point.

I do agree, the 5 weeks may be too much. Maybe 5 times of getting together and practicing, 2/3 days each.
Something has to change for the USA team to be competitive again, that is for sure. I don't have a good answer for that problem though.

 

[jasonlaus]

We might get Wilke and Hunter on the MC team, they seem to be the only other guys that travel all over the world.

I've played on a team with Wilke and he is a great teammate.
Jason

 

[Joe_Jaguar]

SVB playing Superman right now

https://www.facebook.com/onthewirepromotions/videos/1620142751416400/

 

[skip100]

Are they being paid, fed, and housed for those five weeks?

 

[PoolBum]

SVB playing Superman right now

https://www.facebook.com/onthewirepromotions/videos/1620142751416400/

That table looks small.