There's already a thread on timeouts/coaching going on, and I did not want to take it off topic or derail it with this more specific aspect of league play timeouts where players are allowed to be coached on what to do when it is their shot. I was reading the other thread, and I was inspired after remembering back at how stupid the whole timeout thing is. Especially in the APA.
For those that don't know, this is based on APA 8-ball which allows players of skill level 2 & 3, two timeouts per rack, per player. And skill levels 4, 5, 6, & 7, one timeout, per rack, per player.
A team cannot field more than 23 points worth of handicap per night (5 players vs. 5 players).
I'm searching for the maximum number of timeouts possible in an APA league night in the worst possible scenario. I want to see what level of total absurdity the APA allows per it's rules. That is, how bad can a league night be, and still be completely legal.
Here we go:
Two teams face off, their handicaps are identical and are as follows:
7, 6, 6, 2, 2. For a total of 23.
Match one, the 7 plays the 2. That means it's a 7-2 race, of which the longest possible match is 7-1, or 6-2, either way, equaling 8 racks played. The 7 gets 1 coach per rack, the 2 gets 2. The SL7 gets 8 total in that match, the SL2 gets 16. Total time outs was 24!
Match two, the 6 plays the 2. That's a 6-2 race, which means a maximum of 7 possible racks. The 6 gets 7 time outs, the 2 gets 14, for a total of 21!
Match three, the 6 plays the 6. That's 5-5 race, or 9 possible racks. Each players gets 9, so that's 18 time outs!
In match four, the other 6 plays the other 2, and in match five, the other 7 plays the other 2. Another 21 and 24 time outs respectively...
Grand total, if I did my math right, is 108 timeouts in one night. That's ultimate, worst case scenario I can think of.
Now, the APA states that timeouts should be limited to 1 minute each. While a rule, it's treated more like a guideline in practice and they often run more than a minute. But, let's say each timeout is strictly 1 minute and no more. That's 108 minutes added to the night. Or, 1 hour and 48 minutes! Nearly 2 hours...
These match ups happening this way is extremely rare, and even more rare is everyone using every possible time out available to them. However, I've watched APA matches that had upwards of 30 total time outs in a night. That's less than 1/3 of the scenario I listed above. And each timeout was over a minute. Some as much as 5-7 minutes. I would average it at 2-3 minutes. By the time the player sits there and stares at their problem and decides they are lost, then calls for the coach, and the coach walks over to the table, thinks it out himself or herself, then makes a plan, then describes it to the player, then the player asks a question or they measure angles or point things out on the table, to the time the time out is over and the player reassesses the table, and then they get back into their shooting stance and shoots the ball...yeah, it takes more than a minute. It's rare there are true one minute or less coaches. A true coach per the rules basically amounts to the player or coach calling the coach, the coach within a few seconds determines what's best to do, takes a few seconds to tell the player what to do, and then the remainder for any questions or extra tidbits of info.
Having once long ago been in the awful APA, and also observed many matches...I have estimated that coaching adds about 45 minutes on average to a night. In playoff matches or end of season matches where the teams are really bearing down for the win, they often utilize around 75% of available coaches. Sometimes for no actual game problem purpose, only to calm down their players. Some teams have even stated they use them all, needed or not, in critical matches. This can and does add and hour and half to the night and sometimes more. Couple that with a lot of the slow play in many APA leagues, and it is very painful. For regional level play, the APA limits all handicaps to 1 time out per rack, per player. They obviously know this is a problem. And when tournament brackets are being run, time is an issue. Unlike a pool room or bar open till 2am or later. They don't care if league night runs into the morning hours. In fact, they probably like that as it keeps people drinking in these bars and pool rooms longer. But when running a tournament, 6 hour league team matches aren't practical.
Anyway, if anyone is bored enough or better with math to find a better way to figure out what the maximum amount of possible timeouts in a night are, by all means, post it here. That was the best I could do. 108. But there could be a skill level line up and match ups that yield even more....
This should serve as lesson of sorts to those who make rules. When you make a rule, or allow a certain practice, you must calculate or envision the maximum extent something can be used, or abused. Because, eventually it will be.
Simple is better, eliminate timeouts and coaching. It's not good for the players anyway. It is a crutch that retards the learning curve.
For those that don't know, this is based on APA 8-ball which allows players of skill level 2 & 3, two timeouts per rack, per player. And skill levels 4, 5, 6, & 7, one timeout, per rack, per player.
A team cannot field more than 23 points worth of handicap per night (5 players vs. 5 players).
I'm searching for the maximum number of timeouts possible in an APA league night in the worst possible scenario. I want to see what level of total absurdity the APA allows per it's rules. That is, how bad can a league night be, and still be completely legal.
Here we go:
Two teams face off, their handicaps are identical and are as follows:
7, 6, 6, 2, 2. For a total of 23.
Match one, the 7 plays the 2. That means it's a 7-2 race, of which the longest possible match is 7-1, or 6-2, either way, equaling 8 racks played. The 7 gets 1 coach per rack, the 2 gets 2. The SL7 gets 8 total in that match, the SL2 gets 16. Total time outs was 24!
Match two, the 6 plays the 2. That's a 6-2 race, which means a maximum of 7 possible racks. The 6 gets 7 time outs, the 2 gets 14, for a total of 21!
Match three, the 6 plays the 6. That's 5-5 race, or 9 possible racks. Each players gets 9, so that's 18 time outs!
In match four, the other 6 plays the other 2, and in match five, the other 7 plays the other 2. Another 21 and 24 time outs respectively...
Grand total, if I did my math right, is 108 timeouts in one night. That's ultimate, worst case scenario I can think of.
Now, the APA states that timeouts should be limited to 1 minute each. While a rule, it's treated more like a guideline in practice and they often run more than a minute. But, let's say each timeout is strictly 1 minute and no more. That's 108 minutes added to the night. Or, 1 hour and 48 minutes! Nearly 2 hours...
These match ups happening this way is extremely rare, and even more rare is everyone using every possible time out available to them. However, I've watched APA matches that had upwards of 30 total time outs in a night. That's less than 1/3 of the scenario I listed above. And each timeout was over a minute. Some as much as 5-7 minutes. I would average it at 2-3 minutes. By the time the player sits there and stares at their problem and decides they are lost, then calls for the coach, and the coach walks over to the table, thinks it out himself or herself, then makes a plan, then describes it to the player, then the player asks a question or they measure angles or point things out on the table, to the time the time out is over and the player reassesses the table, and then they get back into their shooting stance and shoots the ball...yeah, it takes more than a minute. It's rare there are true one minute or less coaches. A true coach per the rules basically amounts to the player or coach calling the coach, the coach within a few seconds determines what's best to do, takes a few seconds to tell the player what to do, and then the remainder for any questions or extra tidbits of info.
Having once long ago been in the awful APA, and also observed many matches...I have estimated that coaching adds about 45 minutes on average to a night. In playoff matches or end of season matches where the teams are really bearing down for the win, they often utilize around 75% of available coaches. Sometimes for no actual game problem purpose, only to calm down their players. Some teams have even stated they use them all, needed or not, in critical matches. This can and does add and hour and half to the night and sometimes more. Couple that with a lot of the slow play in many APA leagues, and it is very painful. For regional level play, the APA limits all handicaps to 1 time out per rack, per player. They obviously know this is a problem. And when tournament brackets are being run, time is an issue. Unlike a pool room or bar open till 2am or later. They don't care if league night runs into the morning hours. In fact, they probably like that as it keeps people drinking in these bars and pool rooms longer. But when running a tournament, 6 hour league team matches aren't practical.
Anyway, if anyone is bored enough or better with math to find a better way to figure out what the maximum amount of possible timeouts in a night are, by all means, post it here. That was the best I could do. 108. But there could be a skill level line up and match ups that yield even more....
This should serve as lesson of sorts to those who make rules. When you make a rule, or allow a certain practice, you must calculate or envision the maximum extent something can be used, or abused. Because, eventually it will be.
Simple is better, eliminate timeouts and coaching. It's not good for the players anyway. It is a crutch that retards the learning curve.
