Agreed.You should never take the 9 first, that's your insurance ball. You were making the right choice and it sounds like your captain could use a lesson or two
how are ya'll doing in league ?
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Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
You can always tell him no. Plus, if the captain calls time out and you say no thanks it counts as a time out since a captain called it, so he won’t be able to call another one.
In the league the wife plays in, the captain asks a player if they WANT a timeout, to which they are allowed to reply no (if they don't want one).
But you are absolutely correct with your first sentence. When I was playing/being a captain I always told the player I was giving a timeout to that I was only showing them an option of the shot that they may have wanted to shoot and told them to play the one that they were most comfortable with.
No coach giving a timeout should ever demand that a player shoot a particular shot. Sometimes a player just has to learn the hard way.
Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
On the league teams I'm a part of I don't offer to much in the way of coaching especially if it requires a lot of english or to stroke the cue ball to get two rails for shape on the next shot .
Nothing against them they're older fella's and they know top center ball english and center ball when they get ball in hand it's a straight in shot no angle for natural shape for the next ball and they wonder why they aren't winning as many games as I do ha ha
Than main difference is I'm there to play pool to win and have a little fun their there to drink beer and think about playing pool ha ha yes it's frustrating but this is small town pool leagues and as someone who doesn't drink I'm the odd man out in some ways but that's ok too .
Nothing against them they're older fella's and they know top center ball english and center ball when they get ball in hand it's a straight in shot no angle for natural shape for the next ball and they wonder why they aren't winning as many games as I do ha ha
Than main difference is I'm there to play pool to win and have a little fun their there to drink beer and think about playing pool ha ha yes it's frustrating but this is small town pool leagues and as someone who doesn't drink I'm the odd man out in some ways but that's ok too .
My team won our 8 ball league. At the end of season tournament, we made the final eight, out of a couple hundred teams. I was crushing it, about 16-4, races to one. Late Saturday night, we’ve been there a long time, it’s time to go home. They call our name, for a match that will run past 1:30AM. I lose it, start shouting at people. We have to play, the negativity has creeped in, I play like crap. It’s my own fault of course, but it’s just so stupid. We could have played that match Sunday morning, on three or even four open tables. They schedule all these tournaments the same way. I’m considering never playing in one again.
APA has amended that policy, so that anyone from the side asking the player if they want a time-out, HAS to take one. If the player asks the side for a time-out, the side can refuse and tell them to shoot what they want.
The reason is far too many unscrupulous folks would have their player down on a shot, choosing the wrong shot, and someone from the side asks them if they want a time-out, as a code that they were shooting the wrong shot.
Sad to have to break it down like that, but it fixes the problem.
Our 9-ball team finished the session in first place, which was cool. Playoffs began last night, we were comfortably ahead, I was chosen to play the 4th match, so long as I didn't get smoked, we would be fine. I've had a decent session in 9-ball, compared to my 8-ball session. I played another SL-5, a young guy that I smoked 18-2 about a month ago or so. I knew it wasn't gonna be like that again, he's too good a player and had a bad night that night.
We went back and forth all night, it got down to him needing two points, and I needed 5 or 6. I was breaking, and hadn't made a ball on the break all night. So of course, this time I made a ball, and was hooked. Tried kicking at it, gave him ball-in-hand, and he was out. SIgh. On further thought, maybe I should have tried to tie up the two ball, so it wasn't an easy two points for the win. Hindsight and all...
Still, my 8 points got us to 48 for the night, so our 5th player only needed to get a couple to ensure the match win for us. I would have rather had finished it myself, but there we go.
Finals for the session are next week, and Tri-Cups to qualify for States are this Sunday, so there is more pool to be played for us.
We went back and forth all night, it got down to him needing two points, and I needed 5 or 6. I was breaking, and hadn't made a ball on the break all night. So of course, this time I made a ball, and was hooked. Tried kicking at it, gave him ball-in-hand, and he was out. SIgh. On further thought, maybe I should have tried to tie up the two ball, so it wasn't an easy two points for the win. Hindsight and all...
Still, my 8 points got us to 48 for the night, so our 5th player only needed to get a couple to ensure the match win for us. I would have rather had finished it myself, but there we go.
Finals for the session are next week, and Tri-Cups to qualify for States are this Sunday, so there is more pool to be played for us.
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
I have to check the rule book now. I knew if a captain/co captain called “timeout” it was automatically burned. But they could ask “if” the player wanted one without burning. So they changed it to anybody on the team asking is considered a time-out now? Citywide is next weekend. That will be a good one to look into.
Had a mixed bag this week. My Tuesday APA league is a traveling league and this week we were the away team at a daiquiri shop w/Valley bar boxes that are located conveniently between main bar and the smoking patio….and I shot 5th. I had a bone marrow biopsy scheduled for Wednesday morning so I had no alcohol in me whatsoever, which is fine playing wise but by the time I went up I was the only sober person in the house and that definitely got to me.
Lost 3-1 to an SL-4. Right around rack 3 I noticed a that a ball to the lower right corner pocket (from breakers point of view) would roll off by a half-diamond. I have a love-hate relationship with “home field advantages” in pool. On one hand I like that it exists, but tanking a rack due to a dead rail or table roll stings.
(Bone marrow biopsy Wednesday)
Thursday USAPL won double Jeopardy, 3-1 win against a Fargo 489 in 10-ball and 3-2 win vs a Fargo 514 in 8-ball. The fact that I was limping around the table due to the extra hole in my ass may have helped slow me down a bit and kept me from over hitting balls.
Lost 3-1 to an SL-4. Right around rack 3 I noticed a that a ball to the lower right corner pocket (from breakers point of view) would roll off by a half-diamond. I have a love-hate relationship with “home field advantages” in pool. On one hand I like that it exists, but tanking a rack due to a dead rail or table roll stings.
(Bone marrow biopsy Wednesday)
Thursday USAPL won double Jeopardy, 3-1 win against a Fargo 489 in 10-ball and 3-2 win vs a Fargo 514 in 8-ball. The fact that I was limping around the table due to the extra hole in my ass may have helped slow me down a bit and kept me from over hitting balls.
Now to be fair, this is perhaps a local bylaw, but I think its National. Anyone can still call a timeout, has never had to be Captains only. It's just now if someone does the "do you want to talk about it?" thing... that triggers the timeout. The side can refuse the player asking, without burning one.
At least here. I don't have the time right now to pull up the rulebook, but I'm reasonably sure it was National. I seem to recall it being made a big deal of a couple years ago, when the clarification was made.
Good luck this weekend. For both of us!
The little bar (8 seven-foot Valley tables) that the wife plays in has six of the nine teams in the league playing out of it. The other three teams have all played out of that bar at one time or another. So, it's mostly a league with many of the players being long-time friends/acquaintances. So...no rule "nazis" to worry about. They all pretty much let this rule slide. We rarely ever see anyone pull out a rule book on league night in that bar. The way it ought to be.
It's been over two years since I've perused an APA rule book. The rule may have changed for all I know.
I'm with you on not pulling out a rulebook... tho I do understand the reason for the change. Sadly. I've seen way too many people throw that "do you want to talk about it?" line out there...
I looked it up, it is in the current rules: (Coaching, pages 28-29-30)
d. If any member of the team suggests a time-out to the shooter, the time-out will be charged.
e. If the shooter requests a time-out, the coach may refuse it and no time-out will be charged.
When the rule changed officially, our LO made it a point to make sure all the team captains knew about it when that session started, so there was no confusion, or waiting for someone to find it in the rulebook by accident.
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Well we lost in the final of the Masters playoffs. The cinderella team that finished 3rd in the standings managed the win over the 2nd place regular season finishers (last years winners) and then scored another upset to get passed us in the final. They played solid. All the credit to them.
Funny how it played out. Their top shot lost to our 3rd. But prior, I was playing well till the last rack of 9b where I hit a tough one and got rewarded as badly as one could to go 4-4...lol. I thought I shook it off fine but I didn't win a rack afterward, and hit some terrible shots. The match came down to our best player against their 3rd string. Once again, credit to the underdog who played great and controlled the set throughout. Best team on the day won.
My Wednesday league ends this week. We have a 2pt lead over 2nd place. They play one of the cellar teams, and we play 3rd place. That said, the league fills the room and it's 2nd place's turn to play on the BB. It won't hurt them, but it's the great equalizer and it's to be expected that the the cellar team will play well on a lose and small table.
Funny how it played out. Their top shot lost to our 3rd. But prior, I was playing well till the last rack of 9b where I hit a tough one and got rewarded as badly as one could to go 4-4...lol. I thought I shook it off fine but I didn't win a rack afterward, and hit some terrible shots. The match came down to our best player against their 3rd string. Once again, credit to the underdog who played great and controlled the set throughout. Best team on the day won.
My Wednesday league ends this week. We have a 2pt lead over 2nd place. They play one of the cellar teams, and we play 3rd place. That said, the league fills the room and it's 2nd place's turn to play on the BB. It won't hurt them, but it's the great equalizer and it's to be expected that the the cellar team will play well on a lose and small table.
Due to a quirk in the calendar, and the need to get a lot of season ending stuff done before the State Tournament, our Tri-Cup was held this past weekend, before our session playoffs have completed. The team that we're going to be playing this coming Thursday, for first place this session, was in our bracket at Tri-Cup. We could meet them in the second round, so we were joking that would be a preview of the division championship.
Then both teams lost in the first round. Doh!
Oh well, one of us will get bragging rights on Thursday, at least.
Then both teams lost in the first round. Doh!
Oh well, one of us will get bragging rights on Thursday, at least.
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
How do you all deal with morons on your team? Just found out for citywide this weekend we might not even be able to field 5 on Saturday night. Thats the big day for matches. 2 of our lows can’t make it Saturday and a 5 has to leave before the final 2 rounds if we get there. If any of us other 5 players go up we won’t make the 23 rule and can only play 4. Let’s just say I went off a bit. One (4) we knew wasn’t going to make it a couple weeks ago and now found out today a (3) won’t be there at all either. He supposedly made the plans in October and will be out of town Saturday. My ass! He would have said something sooner if he’s known since October. This weekend is 9 ball. Then the 31st is 8 ball. I already told the 2 players not showing up Saturday if they can’t show up on Saturday the 1st we need to replace them. Then I got called an asshole. Wasn’t that the right move? These are the 2 biggest weeks of the year for APA teams. We need to be able to field a team. Can’t do that without some lows there.
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You and I are different. Your priority seems to be a trip to Vegas. Me, I never even cared if the teams I played with made the playoffs or not. My wife felt the same way I did. Then there is the fact that I don't have a competitive bone in my body. So, there's that.
This is not to say that I didn't try to win. I always gave my 100% at the table (wife too). We play/played in leagues to get out of our rut at the house, have some fun playing/meeting other people. We have fulfilled our goal.
If winning a tournament and getting the trip to Vegas is high up in your priorities/goals, then yes, you need to find some like-minded teammates that are fully committed to it. If one of your current teammates has already called you an asshole, then this should be an easy decision for you, at least with THAT teammate.
Good luck to you finding some new players. I wish you all the good rolls in the future!
I get your frustration. But sometimes life gets in the way. Not everyone works M-F, 9-5 jobs, so job issues on weekends can be a thing. Family commitments are a thing too, lots of weddings and graduations this time of year. There can be any number of conflicts, and just because the timing is poor for your pool team doesn't make them any less valid for your people.
If my team had qualified to go to States, there was a very good chance that I wouldn't have been able to go, due to a prior commitment. I'd have tried to get it switched, but if that wasn't possible, I'd have missed it. I would hate that, but as I said, life happens.
If it really becomes an issue, getting people to be able to commit, maybe you need to talk about changing players out. Depends on your relationships with your players, I suppose. If your only motivation is to go to Vegas, then you probably need to set that expectation with your players going into it.
Just my .02
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
See now guys. Thats just it. I don’t really care about Vegas. All I’m worried about is fielding a team for the tournament that we qualified for. If we make it cool. We qualified two sessions ago. It’s not like we just won playoffs two weeks ago and now we’re in the citywide. That would be a lot different. Everyone on the team has known since December that we were qualified for the citywide tournament and when it was scheduled for.
My point is the player who decided to let us know 4 days before he wasn’t going to be there Saturday. Then says he has had plans since October. We went over the dates 2/3weeks ago and he didn’t mention anything about not making it. If he has had it planned since October he knew he wouldn’t make it. Then on top of that he has a wedding the first day on the other citywide weekend. Thats fine. No big deal on the wedding. Thats more along the lines of something coming up. But it’s like an unstated rule in any league that you should be at least a bit available for playoffs. Whether you play for fun or not. It’s part of your responsibility as a team member. The other player let Kim know 3 weeks ago when we were discussing the dates that he wouldn’t be there.
So now the team is in a bad spot. We need lows there in order to field a team.
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Only advice I can give you now is to try to win it with the four that you can put in the match.
Willowbrook Wolfy
Going pro
Love it. And thanks Maniac! I guess I should’ve gave the whole entire story that he’s one of the 2 people that bitches when people don’t show up for regular league day.
And by the way, stick with it man. My one buddy told me he’d rather play with a psycho than a pussy. It was just funny. You stated in one thread your name isn’t maniac for nothing.
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