A Letter from Mike Dechaine

All this drama is unnecessary....

I am sure of this: Exclusion and isolation is destructive. It is humiliating and hurtful. The MC Captain did damage.

Your opening and closing statements contradict each other.

No drama needed, but oh the pain Mike must feel.

He would have been a great choice. So be it. Many others players could have been as well. Shit happens. I am sure of this: mike is a big boy. He can handle it. And if he can't, he wouldn't have been a good pick.
 
Your opening and closing statements contradict each other.

No drama needed, but oh the pain Mike must feel.

He would have been a great choice. So be it. Many others players could have been as well. Shit happens. I am sure of this: mike is a big boy. He can handle it. And if he can't, he wouldn't have been a good pick.

I agree, Mr. Bond. Paul can sometimes be a source of drama, yet while hiding behind the "no bones truth of why pool's in the gutter" facade.

Mark Wilson is actually trying to *do* something about that image, and he has his own ideas of how. He wants to start with the Mosconi Cup team, actually teaching them how to be a team (rather that a collection of street bullies) and what it means to be a true sportsman. Notice that Mark's not trying to change the game (to e.g. get rid of the "make a ball after the break" and to kill-off games other than short-rack rotation, as Paul believes), but he's actually going after the *people* and their *behaviors* to help clean up that image. Gee, what a novel idea. Too bad that couldn't have been done years ago, but at least we now have a start.

And yes, some players that are left out of Mark's plans are going to take exception. Mike Dechaine was one of them.

What Mike's doing, is to take a good look at himself, and instead of questioning Mark and his actions, he's questioning himself in the spirit of growing as a sportsman, competitor, and individual.

I say Thumbs Up(TM) to Mike!
-Sean
 
... Over three years 22%. THIS IS HIS RECORD.

Close. It's over 2 years, not 3. And using a full-point for each match. the 3 - 8 record would be 27% wins. Using half a point for doubles and one-fifth of a point for the team matches, the 1.7 - 5.2 record is 25% wins.
 
Close. It's over 2 years, not 3. And using a full-point for each match. the 3 - 8 record would be 27% wins. Using half a point for doubles and one-fifth of a point for the team matches, the 1.7 - 5.2 record is 25% wins.

I copy and pasted from another poster you agreed with. I saw 27% but the other post said 22%, therefore I assumed he must have played three years with a worse record the first year than his average. I will revise my post.
 
This is a clear case for your past coming back to bite you in the ass.

Maybe this is he wake up call that was needed all along.

I hope it is. Growing up is not always the easiest thing to do.
 
You guys are horrible at math 3:8 is 37.5%. Against world class talent isn't horrible. Although you could see horrible soon enough.

The Joey D win was dominant. ..even your stats show it. The second set he could have beat the world. Congrats Joey, maybe he's available in January... One of the nicest guys in pool BTW.
 
I copy and pasted from another poster you agreed with. I saw 27% but the other post said 22%, therefore I assumed he must have played three years with a worse record the first year than his average. I will revise my post.

That other post that said 22% was counting only the singles and doubles matches, excluding the team matches.

Since Mike participated in 1 win and 1 loss in the team matches, the overall 3 - 8 record is 2 - 7 without the team matches. So 2 wins in 9 matches is 22% wins without the team matches; 3 wins in 11 matches is 27% wins including the team matches.
 
You guys are horrible at math 3:8 is 37.5%. Against world class talent isn't horrible. Although you could see horrible soon enough.

The Joey D win was dominant. ..even your stats show it. The second set he could have beat the world. Congrats Joey, maybe he's available in January... One of the nicest guys in pool BTW.[/


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All this drama is unnecessary. The MC Captain is saying a whole lot more about himself and his coaching acumen than he is about MD. And NO! He is not doing MD any favors.

MD’s resume could be ignored if there were medical, mental, character, or criminal issues. There are none. He is young, dedicated, and without question, plays at the very top. He is winning nearly every event he enters. His record cannot be ignored.

That being said, the Captain blew it. He had a chance to leave his mark and influence on a young player in a positive way. A Captain (Coach) shows his medal by unifying a group of diverse athletes and bringing out the best in them. I would expect that an effective captain or coach would have a candid discussion with each individual athlete and with the team as a whole, about what is expected of them. Does anyone really think that MD is not manageable?

I am sure of this: Exclusion and isolation is destructive. It is humiliating and hurtful. The MC Captain did damage.

I agree with you 10000000000000 %. I don't understand all the blowing smoke up the butt when the truth is right there. If you are going to be a captain, coach, leader, then do it. Take on the challenge, don't 1/2 ass your way through it. Here is my post from the other thread.

Mike should be on the team 100%.

Professional teams want to put their best on the field, it's all about winning, not second place. Second place is the first loser.

The Yankees invited 44 players to spring training. In the end 25 are selected. Those 25 are coached and trained in skills, respect, dignity, pride. If they don’t perform in any of the disciplines, they are sent down and replaced. When a professional team is put together contracts are set. If players fail to live up to the agreement they may be removed and all monies become void.

Give your team the best chance to win, train them in all disciplines.
I have coached many teams. I have failed and succeeded. Coaching is about working with personalities. If you can't do that, then you need to select mummies to coach. If Mark Wilson is such the great coach they say he is, he should be coaching Mike Dechaine as well. Anything else to me is failure to be a coach.

I understand let's do well for pool in the USA but this makes no sense.
It's like playing knuckles with cards except you don't get to play, I just slap your knuckles until you need a transfusion. I am going to teach you a lesson, it's my ball, and you can't play.

Put Mike on the team….if he or anyone breaks contract, off with his head and no money, plain and simple.

No disrespect to the other players, but Mike has proven where he stands as a player.

Wake up…get off your ego and power trip and do what is supposed to be done.

If you are going to coach, then be a coach!!!!!
 
Good form from Mike. Even though I believe he deserves to be on the Mosconi Cup team, this will motivate him even more.
 
You guys are horrible at math 3:8 is 37.5%. Against world class talent isn't horrible. Although you could see horrible soon enough.

The Joey D win was dominant. ..even your stats show it. The second set he could have beat the world. Congrats Joey, maybe he's available in January... One of the nicest guys in pool BTW.

3 ÷ (3 + 8) = 27%

No, overall, I wouldn't call Joey's win "dominant."

First set -- The first set ended at 9-4, but they both played poorly. Mike missed 10 open shots; Joey missed 9. Mike fouled 6 times; Joey fouled twice. Mike stayed at the table after his break only once; same for Joey. Neither player had a B&R game.

If Mike had played anywhere near his normal level, the match would not have gone to the second set.

Second set -- Both players played much better than in the first set. Mike missed 3 open shots; Joey missed 4. They both fouled twice. Mike pocketed 60 balls; Joey pocketed 66. Mike took a 4-1 lead, then lost 8 of the next 10 games, to lose 6-9. In Game 6, Mike scratched on the break and Joey made the 1/9 combo. In Game 7, Mike missed the 7-ball, and Joey ran the last three balls. In Game 8, Joey broke dry and Mike ran out to take the score to 5-3 Mike. Now, from this point on, Joey did play very well, including 2 B&R games and 2 run-outs after dry breaks by Mike. In fact, Joey made 50 balls to Mike's 13 in those final 7 games. Perhaps it is this 7-game portion of the 28-game match that you are remembering when you say Joey was "dominant."
 
I agree with you 10000000000000 %. I don't understand all the blowing smoke up the butt when the truth is right there. If you are going to be a captain, coach, leader, then do it. Take on the challenge, don't 1/2 ass your way through it. Here is my post from the other thread.

Mike should be on the team 100%.

Professional teams want to put their best on the field, it's all about winning, not second place. Second place is the first loser.

The Yankees invited 44 players to spring training. In the end 25 are selected. Those 25 are coached and trained in skills, respect, dignity, pride. If they don’t perform in any of the disciplines, they are sent down and replaced. When a professional team is put together contracts are set. If players fail to live up to the agreement they may be removed and all monies become void.

Give your team the best chance to win, train them in all disciplines.
I have coached many teams. I have failed and succeeded. Coaching is about working with personalities. If you can't do that, then you need to select mummies to coach. If Mark Wilson is such the great coach they say he is, he should be coaching Mike Dechaine as well. Anything else to me is failure to be a coach.

I understand let's do well for pool in the USA but this makes no sense.
It's like playing knuckles with cards except you don't get to play, I just slap your knuckles until you need a transfusion. I am going to teach you a lesson, it's my ball, and you can't play.

Put Mike on the team….if he or anyone breaks contract, off with his head and no money, plain and simple.

No disrespect to the other players, but Mike has proven where he stands as a player.

Wake up…get off your ego and power trip and do what is supposed to be done.

If you are going to coach, then be a coach!!!!!

Sorry but your wrong teams don't take players all the time because of charter issues , if he was a PGA tour player he would be suspended or banned ,,

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Math

You guys are horrible at math 3:8 is 37.5%. Against world class talent isn't horrible. Although you could see horrible soon enough.

The Joey D win was dominant. ..even your stats show it. The second set he could have beat the world. Congrats Joey, maybe he's available in January... One of the nicest guys in pool BTW.

Interesting way to look at it. With this new math both heads and tails are 100% likely!
 
I just hope that some of you can grasp the simple beauty of this debate. Both parties are now emotionally invested in the outcome. Who wins? Everyone.

Bravo matchroom, well played.
 
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