How to handle your pool team

[motalot]

What are your rules for handling your pool team. I know some make schedules while others like for their team to show up so they can put up the strongest players each night.

how do you handle players that want to come late play when they get there and leave when they are done.

how do you handle players that act childish and sulk for various reasons

What is the basis for firing a player

What makes good team chemistry.

What does it take to be the best Captain

 

[ridinda9]

Oh Captain , my captain

I could (and should) write a book on this .

You have to start by explaining to your players that this is an organized sports team , and will be handled like any other organized sports team . Players are expected to be there for the cointoss , and are expected to remain until the clock runs out . Want to leave just because you finished playing ? No. Stay & cheer on your teamates , help keep score , whatever . . .
You need all 8 players there all the time . It's strategy - when they put up a player , you need to have response options - and if only you and Bubba are there , and you've already played , they know they're getting Bubba ! If everyone is there , they don't know what's coming !

How do you enforce this ? I use a fine schedule !

Late (less than 15 minutes) $5
Late (more) $10
No team shirt $5
absent w/o notice $10
heated argument
w/ player on our team $10
derogatory comment about
fellow player $2
scratch $0.50
ball-in-hand $0.25

We use the money to finance team needs , like shirts , travel , & entry into regional tournaments . We have extravagant , embroidered 'bowling' shirts thanx to this fund . . . .

Players that act childish and sulk ( for things like not being played that night) are told to man up or saddle up .
Players that act out over their performance at the table (stick slapping , etc) are shown that it's against the rules and taught to comply .
Players that sulk after a loss are consoled - mostly they're upset because they let the team down !!

Good team chemistry is crucial . If your players don't get along , cannot function as a team pulling together toward a common goal , they cannot succeed . If you can identify the player who is causing friction , they've got to go ! Doesn't matter who they are , or how good they are ,because it's supposed to be a team - not The Bobby 1-man Show !

And that's my simple basis for firing ( I call it 'releasing' , 'putting on waivers' , or 'giving you free agency' - hey , if your a sports team , might as well use the lingo !!!). When they stop being an asset to the team , when their presence does more harm than good , they've got to go !

What does it take to be the best captain ? You have to be able to make the hard decisions , to put up the player you believe will perform best in a given match even if half the team is saying " you should play Scott , Scott hasn't played yet" , but you don't believe Scott could win.
You have to make the hard decisions , deciding who stays , and who goes on waivers .
You have to get the paperwork turned in on time , with all the money , every week , even when your players leave the match site having 'forgotten' to pay .
You have to know when to call time-out , what each players strengths are , and when they're selecting the wrong shot .
You have to make them understand that timeouts are to help them , and not to berate them for making bad (wrong) decisions .
You have to make 8 prima-donna egos operate as one unit .
And make them LIKE it !!!

isn't this in the wrong forum ? my header is reading >tournament annoucements ???

 

[amarillopool]

If you can do all of that with your team...then I want to play your team...cause you obviously dont have any good players left...cause everybody knows you cant have a good team if you do all of the things you said you do in your post....wish it would work...that would be ideal...but we are dealing with pool players here...

 

[ridinda9]

If you can do all of that with your team...then I want to play your team...cause you obviously dont have any good players left...cause everybody knows you cant have a good team if you do all of the things you said you do in your post....wish it would work...that would be ideal...but we are dealing with pool players here...

After you've been in the league long enough , you become well-known (notorious , even) for running an all business team . Eventually , this will attract the all-business type player . Last session , 4 of the players on my 9ball team were captains in other formats . The only problem we really have with trying to keep players is 23 rule issues - twice in the last 4 years I've split qualified teams 4&4 (both resultant teams will then have originality & be qualified for LTC) for 23 rule purposes .
Most league areas have (at least) 100 teams - if you can't find 8 serious , hardcore players who are frustrated with not going to Vegas , you're not looking hard enough . . . . .
Look at the captains . . . . there are 100 of them . . . and they understand
the problems with lack of professionalism - then build an all-star team !

and if you wanted to play my team , all you had to do was show up in Vegas this past August. . . . .

 

[amarillopool]

I was in Vegas....in May....had my best player leave and go home after singles...left me with 4 players...had to pick up a scrub from my league just to have 5...then finished 4 rounds into the money...lost to the team from Spain 13 to 11...then in the losers side lost a hill-hill match...the 2 teams we lost to finished top 20...so we did well...ifs...ifs...ifs...if my best player would have stayed...you never know how we would have finished...but oh well...

 

[Sandmann187]

it happens

I agree with ya! I've been running a team for almost 10 years now and not once have i been able to keep all 7 from the previous season. I thought for a while that having good team chemistry (friends) would eliminate most of the b.s. but players are players. The only thing that happened was it created tensions between my friends and I because of pool. I take the game more serious than they do. Sometimes you put up with the b.s. just so you can be competitive. It's a sacrifice not many are willing to make.

 

[ridinda9]

if only . . . .

I was in Vegas......had to pick up a scrub from my league just to have 5 .then in the losers side lost a hill-hill match...the 2 teams we lost to finished top 20...so we did well...ifs...ifs...ifs...if ...

so the question becomes . . . . why a scrub ??? . . . .were none of the Top Guns from your league willing to go to Vegas ??? . . . . I go right back to - 100 teams to choose from . . .
Those ifs will get you every time !!!!!!!!!!! An "If Only" sent me home from Vegas tooooo !!!


are we ever going to get this moved to >main forum ???:banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[IbeAnEngineer]

This is what works for me. The team has been together for maybe 12 years in various forms. I have been on it since 2002. Our way of scheduling players works for VNEA and is based on ball count. Don't think it will work for APA.

Scheduling players - As a team we run a 6 player roster plus an alternate that only wants to play enough to qualify and play singles in Vegas.
First week of the session/year we play the five players with the highest point average from the previous year/session. For the second week, the player with the lowest score from week 1 sits out and the player that sat out the first week plays. We continue that throughout the year. The low shooter sits out the next week. If anyone needs a night off for any reason the alternate covers or the low shooter will cover.

As an incentive for good play - The top shooter of any week does not pay league dues those are covered by the other 4 players. In case of a tie the honors go to the player that gives up the least amount of balls to his opponent. Having a small reward for being top shooter and a punishment for being low encourages everyone to play their best.

Another thing we do a bit different is that we divide and distribute all of the teams travel/trip money for going to Vegas ..when we get to Vegas. The theory on this is that it discourages any player that is not really serious on going to Vegas and playing in nationals. Almost to a man our team is all about making the trip in late May. The money is divided up according to the amount of matches you play which is another incentive to go out and kick ass every week.

How to handle players that show up late? If they start making a habit of it, I'll put them close to the front of the line up and if they are not there by 8:15 and their game is called it is a forfeit of that game per league rules. I have only had to do this once.

Have not had that problem, everyone on the team is over 40 and responsible. I would suppose if we did encounter it as a team we would kick the player off after some discussion with them on the matter.

Basis for firing a player - Not paying dues, being continually late, too drunk to shoot, having a serious personality conflict with one or more of the established (long term) players on the team.

Basis for good chemistry - finding a group who has the same goals of what they want to achieve and likes being around each other. As a captain you need to be aware of why your players are playing the game for and go with that. Once you get a solid core group that likes each other all you have to do is the administrative chores. More often than not your team will boot a headache off before you have to.

Again, This is what works for me.