Getting sharked by your own team.

L

Lumocolor

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What can you do when your getting sharked by your own teammates?

I play in a friendly league where i find myself being sharked by my own team more than anyone else i play against. My teammates tend to drink what i would consider a lot (but i'm just basing that on the fact that i have maybe 6 beers a year...lol) and once we get near the end of the evening they annoy me more than any opponent has ever tried.

As an example, last week i had a fairly easy 8 ball in the side to make, 2 of my teammates are sitting about 3 feet away right in front of the pocket but as usual they are talking to each other about some bullshit or another rather than paying attention to the players and then all of a sudden right as my cue is coming forward to hit the cueball one of my guys starts waving his hands in the air, guess what happened, yea i missed the easy 8 ball. Now i know they aren't doing it on purpose since they aren't even paying attention to me playing, but i was kind of annoyed.

Then on the same night, one of my drunken teammates knocks my break cue (which was sitting in a Qclaw in what should have been a safe distance from any danger) to the floor and the damn thing now has about 3 dings in the shaft, this made my blood boil and i tell him that i haven't had one of my cues hit the floor in 20yrs and that he should f'ing pay attention to what he's doing.

How can you deal with teammates like that without coming off as too much of a dick?
 
If your whole team wants to get drunk and have a good time and you want to play as good pool as you possibly can, you should find a new team. On the other hand, you can use these events as good practice for blocking out stuff that doesn't matter.
When I'm playing well someone could take my breaking cue, snap it in half over the pocket I'm making the 8 ball and I'd never even know they did it. When I'm unsharp and unfocused, they could let out a silent fart and I'd miss my shot. Ten years ago I'd blame them, now I just blame myself.
 
they seem like fun time players....you are taking your playing more seriouse. I had this same thing happen a few years back...I switched to a different team the next session.


Lumocolor said:
What can you do when your getting sharked by your own teammates?

I play in a friendly league where i find myself being sharked by my own team more than anyone else i play against. My teammates tend to drink what i would consider a lot (but i'm just basing that on the fact that i have maybe 6 beers a year...lol) and once we get near the end of the evening they annoy me more than any opponent has ever tried.

As an example, last week i had a fairly easy 8 ball in the side to make, 2 of my teammates are sitting about 3 feet away right in front of the pocket but as usual they are talking to each other about some bullshit or another rather than paying attention to the players and then all of a sudden right as my cue is coming forward to hit the cueball one of my guys starts waving his hands in the air, guess what happened, yea i missed the easy 8 ball. Now i know they aren't doing it on purpose since they aren't even paying attention to me playing, but i was kind of annoyed.

Then on the same night, one of my drunken teammates knocks my break cue (which was sitting in a Qclaw in what should have been a safe distance from any danger) to the floor and the damn thing now has about 3 dings in the shaft, this made my blood boil and i tell him that i haven't had one of my cues hit the floor in 20yrs and that he should f'ing pay attention to what he's doing.

How can you deal with teammates like that without coming off as too much of a dick?
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Be direct

and tell them, "Look guys, I know you don't do it on purpose, but you are sharking me when I play my games. If you aren't interested in how your teammates play, and bond together as a team, then I will just find another team to play with next session".
 
droveto said:
If your whole team wants to get drunk and have a good time and you want to play as good pool as you possibly can, you should find a new team.
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Totally agree . I play with guys that can't shut up or sit still. No drinking...we play in a private clubhouse. I play less and less with them. They like to clown around , bust balls and be obnoxious.
 
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Imo, in pool, It is a sign of respect and true sportsmanship to try one's best to be conscious of ones action and be considerate if someone is playing.

I was asked to join a team mid season that had rowdy members who got regularly drunk and found it fun to shark and turn down each other when they miss; they were each others worst enemy. I told them flat out that I found it distracting what they were doing and to please avoid it when I am shooting. Later on, I told my buddy who asked me to join (he was the captain) that, nothing great comes out from them distracting their own team mates and the negativity towards each other has to go or the team will fall apart especially during playoffs.

When play offs started, I asked my team mates not to discuss their previous game or comment on another's game as the only thing that comes out of it is negativity on how they missed, how they sucked, etc. etc.

to make a long story short, we ended up winning our division and a trip to vegas.
 
Most pool league teams do not take pool seriously. Each team says they take it seriously but don't.

I once belonged to a pool league team and I put a ban on the "rah-rah" crap that everyone thinks is helping the player but actually hurting the player. The team was the most successful team in the New Orleans area.
I also taught them the value of practicing. :smile: The other pool league team I belonged to for two or three sessions were childhood buddies who drank until they were broke or too drunk to drive. That ultimately was the straw that broke the camel's back, at least for me. I couldn't handle drinking on a Monday night and feeling poorly all week long. :p

I sympathize with you. Search for a team that meets your needs or start your own team and select the players based upon your criteria.

My teamate waving their hands around when I am shooting would receive a severe admonishment from me, especially if I missed. I would probably get a shirt with this on it : :withstupid: and wear it everytime he came to play. I would stand right next to him until he got the message.
 
Most leagues exist to allow the players to get out of the house, away from their spouse, drink some beer, and maybe bang a few balls around. Leagues in general are a social function. You can't expect tournament etiquette. If that is more of your type of play, then just stick to the tournaments. It took me a little while to get used to, but you just have to accept it for what it is. If you can play learn to play through the distractions in league, your game will improve.
 
Doubtfull that you can change the team so your options are really only to change yourself. Either use it as a tool to strengthen your focus and resolve or find a team that better suits your interest in pool.
 
I see some people looking quite negatively on the teams that joke a ton and drink a ton and also stating those are losing teams...
Just to be the contrarian, I've been on and captained a team that was filled with alcoholics that would get falling down, stupid drunk, would shark our own players (our favorite thing to do was to yell "nice leave!" after our player took an easy shot and left himself hooked) and we won quite a few league championships, and while we never made our way to Vegas, we were always close... Perhaps that attitude was what kept us from having the mental strength to win that last match to get our team there, but I'd still say we were a pretty successful APA team... I wouldn't see that recipe working all that well on a BCA team, mainly for the alcohol reasons and the lack of sharpness drinking brings on, but on bar boxes where drunk players missing helped keep skill levels down, it was a fun and successful way for us to go...
 
Either toughen up or find a new team. It sounds like your mental game isn't as sharp as it could be.

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If you are a serious player, find a serious team. You are not going to get any better results with the casual, "fun" players. It won't change the fact that they are your friends...you will just be playing against them in the future.

Joe
 
Teammate Blues?

Hello,

Have not read the whole threads' replies, but you have a few options.

1) If the league schedule works for you and you overall enjoy it. Do not waste your breathe trying to talk to your team. Accept them and all their social deficiencies. Look within yourself. Learn to focus, use the inherent trials and tribulations of your teammates to enhance your focussing skills.

Little side note on equipment. Only other true pool players understand and usually respect equipment. That cue cost what? more than $50? Huh? What the hell is a break cue?
Anyway hope you get the idea, there has been many threads on what to bring to bars. A lot of people streamline there equipment for these environments. (i.e. Box case with a strong player that you can break with and a multi tip tool.)​

2) Find new Team and/or league. Surround yourself with other pool players. Decide on how competitive you want to be, and how do you want to spend your time.
 
Switch teams! You are clearly of a different mindset regarding your approach to the game.
 
Like a couple others have mentioned use this to better yourself. If your weakness is being sharked by side distractions, learn to focus on the shot and nothing else around you. If someone is talking directly to you mid stroke, or walking by and touching the table, yeah, something should be said about sharking. This non-intentional sharking though, if its not them, next week it will your opponents doing it, or someone walking by who doesn't know any better does something. Ignore it all and just focus, it can be done, and you'll be a stronger player in the end.

Of course, if you are trying to be competitive and win and your team cares less about winning or losing, and is just there to drink and have fun, I say move on.
 
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