Here are some thoughts on what makes a successful APA team as far as handicaps and skills go. This post is incomplete and only covers a few things since I don't feel like writing a book on the subject.
First of all, you need winners. It doesn't matter what skill level they are, there are players that are winners and those who are losers. This has to do with attitude, competitive spirit and brain power. A good example is an SL3 that has been around a long time, knows a lot of moves in the game (smart), doesn't do anything silly or disastrous in their matches and who comes to win and never gives up. The reason they don't go up is because they don't possess the stroke and skills to run more balls and decrease innings.
Ideally, you want a team built of all players who typically produce winning percentages season after season, but who don't go up in handicap.
Next, you want players who are strong in their handicaps but who are unlikely to go up. Much the same as what I've said above, but a different angle on it. You want an SL5 that is at the upper end of SL5 in skills, but doesn't have the ability to get to SL6. Say two equally handicapped teams match up. 3v3, 5v5 etcetera. One team has players that are all strong in their handicaps - that team should crush the other team.
Sandbagging, a big part of APA play. Successful teams have good sandbaggers. A good sandbagger is NOT someone who is great at dumping (any clown can do that). A good sandbagger is someone who knows exactly how much to dump to keep the team successful, and who knows exactly how much to kick it into gear and win without going up. Sandbagging is the art of applying your higher skills in a way that leads to success within the rack without altering your handicap level. The APA is infested with these people.
I've seen way too many bad sandbaggers. Guys that dump all season and then turn it up when it counts. They over do it and go up in SL and get disqualified because of that. These are the idiots that get burned and usually either go away or get dropped from teams.
Scorekeeping. This is an important part of sandbagging and is basically cheating, but this post isn't about ethics, it's about what makes a successful APA team. The APA is about sandbagging and cheating without getting caught.
All the successful teams are also masterful scorekeepers. They put effort into making sure that safeties are not marked and to argue and pad the innings. If you have 5 innings marked for a game, they always have 6 or 7. If you have 3 safeties marked, they have 1 or none. They'll argue that they're right, and usually the other scorekeeper agrees cause they fear looking bad as if they weren't paying attention to the match missing innings (this is the case most of the time). When they don't agree, they often meet in the middle, which still works out for the sandbaggers.
The sandbagger, in collaboration with the scorekeeper will work to keep innings high. Usually it goes like this, the teammate scorekeeper says to their own player "was that a safe shot?" ...this is a PREEMPTION question that isn't sincere. The player as they walk away from the table goes "No, I was trying to make that in the corner" ...this works 95% of the time as the other team is oblivious to such tactics, and even if suspicious, they don't want to argue it or the human nature of believing people or giving the benefit of the doubt.
I could go on and on, but I'll move on to other aspects.
You need players that can play under the pressure of going to Vegas or while at Vegas. Avoid recruiting chokers and people who crack. There are so many players look and play great during the season, but become completely worthless in regionals. We're talking SL5's that beat everyone down, and then in regionals have the ball pocketing skills of an SL3 or SL2 because of pressure. Confident people who are focused and hungry to win is what you want.
As a captain, you should be open to all possibilities to win and advance. One of those is dirty dealings. Become friends and associate with a couple of other teams and work in cooperation with one another. Say you're in 4th place at it's the last week, you match up against your friend's team who isn't in the running - agree to have them all dump their matches to boost you to the playoffs. Likewise, do that for them if they are in the running and you're already qualified or not in the running.
This depends how close you are and they are with their players. Loose lips sinks ships as they say. If that trust level isn't there, then it can be done another way, by agreeing only with the other captain to get all the matchups you want. This isn't a guarantee to win, but it's better than nothing. You get all the match ups, he doesn't coach his players for victory.
Moving on,,,,,You don't want any careless players. Careless players are players that overlook things or don't pay attention to detail. Doesn't matter what skill they are. Details matter. What I'm referring to is awareness. You want players with good awareness. Are they alert and aware of the game's situation? They should know when to ask for a coach and when to not, or to not at all if it is agreed that the captain decides when they need one or not. They should always be aware of 8-ball scratches, dangerous game-ending shots at all times. No matter the skill level. This includes racking. Every player should learn to rack the balls well. This means, not leaving certain balls loose which facilitated the 8-ball being made on the break easier.
Good teams NEVER throw away matches. They force their opponents to earn every single rack. Players must have good discipline to avoid all risks, meaning no 8-ball loss of games. No accidental caroms into the 8-ball sinking it early.
A team that can eliminate all unnecessary wasteful losses like mentioned above will literally add anywhere from 2-3 up to 4-5 more points in the season. When you miss 3rd place by 1-2 points, the difference could have been just cutting down on the give aways.
Best way to do that is through education. Captain and higher levels should teach the lower levels what to look for. Also, all disasters that go unrecognized should be stopped using coaching. If a player has a dead scratch shot on the 8-ball and they are allowed to shoot without a coach, it's the captain's fault. This is a team breakdown. That's letting a train wreck happen without hitting the brakes.
You don't want flakes on the team. You want reliable people that will be there. Avoid people with special circumstances. Can't play before 9, can't play after 9 etcetera. Those with work burdens, serious health issues. People who can't play late cause the smoke irritates their eyes. Need a team of people who all can play their best game if called upon to play last, which may be as late as 12 or 1am.
Finally, no drunks. We've all heard the "he plays better drunk" nonsense. Yeah right. Just like everyone drives better drunk right? APA is a league full of drinkers, but if you want success - get players, not drinkers.
There you have a real basic primer that covers the basics, but is far from complete nor covers all the topics of APA success. There are heinous tricks and other tactics I'll refrain from sharing. Just keep in mind that the APA is a sleazy league and the scum rises to the top.
If you want gentleman play and more integrity, consider joining the BCA or a different league.
:smile:
