Opinion's Needed

djpstacked03

djpstacked03

Student of Billiards
Silver Member
I have been shooting pool in a VNEA league for 4 years now. My team consists of 5 players. All of them are close friends and one of them is also my father. In my league if you win the regular season the league pays for you to stay and play at the Riviera for the International Championships. All the other teams enter into the playoffs excluding the regular season winners. Now every year my team has finished in the middle of the pack in the regular season but always fared well in the playoffs. 3 years ago we won the playoffs. The past 2 years we lost in the finals of the playoffs.
I'm going to rant about one of my team mates now. Mind you he is a close friend and he will be standing in my wedding in September. Tony is his name. Tony on numerous occasions has slammed his cue off the floor, caused arguements with other players and close to a few fights. Tony has a quick temper and obviosly does'nt think rationally. I have kept him on my team for 3 years now and every year I fought with myself about kicking him off. Did I mention he is probably the worst player in my division and definately close to the bottom in the league. Every year our team has moved up a division in difficulty and every year he has not tried to improve his game or practice. Being the captain I have tried on numerous occasions to help him with his game. This blockhead does'nt listen. It's just silly. He will on a routine night lose 3 out the 4 of his games. Oh but when he wins that one game (luck most of the time) he makes sure the whole ****ing bar hears about it. He will pound his chest like a ****ing ape a yell yeeeaaaahhhh. Tone it down buddy. My team mates and I cringe when he pulls these stunts. If one of us mentions to him to relax he just will say blah blah blah the guys a ****ing asshole, he shouldnt have won that game blah blah excuse excuse excuse. Yes Tony that guy did deserve to win that game. That guy practices every week. Tony wants results with no effort. Ridiculous. Oh I forgot to mention that the year we won in the playoffs guess who was'nt there. Yep you guessed it. Luckily for us he had to go to British Columbia for his sisters wedding. If he had a better attitude and tried to improve I would cut him more slack. Next year I just can't have him on my team. I am sure this will probably end our friendship. I wan't a team with 5 shooters not 4. That is the only way we can win the regular season and go to Vegas. Some people may think I'm cold but with all the stuff he has pulled enough is enough. I work hard every week for hours trying to perfect my game and improve. I have taken lessons and improved. How do I break the news to Tony that I will not have him on my team next year? I was told to maybe mention that I will be on another team (along with the rest of my team, what a coincidence). Who knows. I do know that I will mention it to him after the wedding though. Thanks guys for any input you may have about my predicament.
 
djpstacked03 said:
I have been shooting pool in a VNEA league for 4 years now. My team consists of 5 players. All of them are close friends and one of them is also my father. In my league if you win the regular season the league pays for you to stay and play at the Riviera for the International Championships. All the other teams enter into the playoffs excluding the regular season winners. Now every year my team has finished in the middle of the pack in the regular season but always fared well in the playoffs. 3 years ago we won the playoffs. The past 2 years we lost in the finals of the playoffs.
I'm going to rant about one of my team mates now. Mind you he is a close friend and he will be standing in my wedding in September. Tony is his name. Tony on numerous occasions has slammed his cue off the floor, caused arguements with other players and close to a few fights. Tony has a quick temper and obviosly does'nt think rationally. I have kept him on my team for 3 years now and every year I fought with myself about kicking him off. Did I mention he is probably the worst player in my division and definately close to the bottom in the league. Every year our team has moved up a division in difficulty and every year he has not tried to improve his game or practice. Being the captain I have tried on numerous occasions to help him with his game. This blockhead does'nt listen. It's just silly. He will on a routine night lose 3 out the 4 of his games. Oh but when he wins that one game (luck most of the time) he makes sure the whole ****ing bar hears about it. He will pound his chest like a ****ing ape a yell yeeeaaaahhhh. Tone it down buddy. My team mates and I cringe when he pulls these stunts. If one of us mentions to him to relax he just will say blah blah blah the guys a ****ing asshole, he shouldnt have won that game blah blah excuse excuse excuse. Yes Tony that guy did deserve to win that game. That guy practices every week. Tony wants results with no effort. Ridiculous. Oh I forgot to mention that the year we won in the playoffs guess who was'nt there. Yep you guessed it. Luckily for us he had to go to British Columbia for his sisters wedding. If he had a better attitude and tried to improve I would cut him more slack. Next year I just can't have him on my team. I am sure this will probably end our friendship. I wan't a team with 5 shooters not 4. That is the only way we can win the regular season and go to Vegas. Some people may think I'm cold but with all the stuff he has pulled enough is enough. I work hard every week for hours trying to perfect my game and improve. I have taken lessons and improved. How do I break the news to Tony that I will not have him on my team next year? I was told to maybe mention that I will be on another team (along with the rest of my team, what a coincidence). Who knows. I do know that I will mention it to him after the wedding though. Thanks guys for any input you may have about my predicament.
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If you lived closer, I know a guy that will "handle" it for about $4-500. He won't be at your wedding, though.
 
If you and this guy really are friends then I would give him one more chance. But with a stipulation that he has to get lessons and handle himself more like a teammate who cares about more than himself. He should understand that he is hurting the team unless he improves and that u guys would be better off without him. Presented correctly(u know the guy well enough to know how to say this Im sure), he will either comply to your suggestion or no longer be worthy of calling himself your teammate.
 
Also if he is a true friend he may be mad at first but over time he'll come around and understand. If he doesn't, he's not worth your time or your teams time.
 
What good qualities does this guy have? he sounds like an ass. it also sounds like you've stopped liking having him around for a while. sometimes friends outgrow each other. it sounds like that's what's happened here
 
First of all, paragraphs are your friend :D

Second, why is he in your wedding? Is this just his attitude in pool, and then he is a great guy everywhere else.....I'm guessing not....

Third, give him an honest chance.....if you HAVE to wait until after the wedding, talk to him and give him a last shot....ie, you guys want him around, but if he's gonna act like that and not commit to getting better, you want to replace him.....give him 5+ matches at the end of the year to turn it around.....with the caveat that if he goes back to his old ways, he is gone...

my two cents...good luck....
 
get the team to write a name of the person they want off the team. When the team votes, he's gone. You can then tell him the team decided not you. If the doesn't work, tell him to f-off you want to win. Maybe he will listen then.


Or, give him the link to this page.


Teams should drop the weakest player every year. That way if they like the tream they will try to improve.
 
Before he plays, slip an ambien or prozac in his drink, works miracles lol jk

Well, I'd just pull him to the side and talk to him one on one without everyone else around. Let him know that you guys don't appreciate his behavior and if he doesn't step his game up and tone that silliness down, you are going to have to let him go, let him know, "It's just business." :D and let him know he better not skip the wedding, and congrats on getting married soon my friend. :thumbup:
 
Unfortunately, you are dealing with one of the joys of being the captain of a team. You can't be a friend to everyone and an effective team captain/helmsman/mentor/manager at the same time. You have to pick a role regardless of how painful it is -- and it really is, isn't it.

What do you and your teammates want to accomplish? Do you really want to win? If yes, then you have to think of yourself less as a friend to any one person on the team and more as a manager of the group. And finally, you have to decide which you value more, the team and its future or Tony? Maybe a difficult decision or maybe not.
 
Thanks everyone for the input.

To poolplayer2093

He can definately be an a hole at times. Mostly it's because of how he acts on pool night. I have hit heads with him severaal times. He can be a good person though. Unfortunately I really want to win though. My team mates all agree.

To Jason Robichaud

I like the idea of telling him the team decided. Takes a bit of pressure off my back.

To TXsouthpaw

Evil true. Would work yes. Unfortunately pool and I are inseperable.

To Chino

Thanks for the input. I think "business" will have to be used to get my point across lightly with him for sure.

To ronhudson

Damn I think you got that down pat. You must be a captain yourself!

To JesseBfan

Too many chances already given to him.

To crawfish

Tisk tisk.

To Beware of Dawg

He will never quit. No matter how weak of a player he is our team still does ok and he makes money because of it. He joined to try and become a diehard poolplayer. No heart, no passion, no drive, no skill = no pool player I want on my team.

To claymont

Nobody would want to watch that crap. I get the point though. He would see his many weaknesses.

To Big Perm

Ya paragraphs are my friend. Not in the last post though. He is in my wedding because he is a friend of mine. Not my best friend but a good friend none the less (You know the friend that everyone talks about when there not around). He has been given 3 years to learn and get better. Many chances given.
 
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It sounds like you're afraid of hurting his feelings. If he is over the age of 12, don't worry about it. He'll get over the certain pain and unbearable heartache you will cause the very essence of his soul.

Seriously dude, man up and be honest with him. He's your friend. He deserves the truth.

Get your team together and tell him the truth and tell him why. It's his choice to act however he chooses to act. If he acts like an assclown, then you'll know that you did the right thing and you were a man about it.
 
I would tell him straight up what the situation is, but do it between "seasons" and tell him that you want to work with him(and make sure you do). Tell him that you want to get to Vegas and you really want him to be there when you go.

Sounds corny but it will open his eyes a bit. IMO the worse thing you could do is say f-it to him over a game.
 
Beware_of_Dawg said:
you obviously know what makes him tick, find a way to make him quit.
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LOL Yeah I've tried that. When he gets destroyed, trips out ( usually on his cue ) and then tells us how he is going to quit because pool is queer, I tell him that he should. He never does though.
 
chin0 said:
Before he plays, slip an ambien or prozac in his drink, works miracles lol jk

Well, I'd just pull him to the side and talk to him one on one without everyone else around. Let him know that you guys don't appreciate his behavior and if he doesn't step his game up and tone that silliness down, you are going to have to let him go, let him know, "It's just business." :D and let him know he better not skip the wedding, and congrats on getting married soon my friend. :thumbup:
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:) This will NOT work. Trust me. Especially if the author of this thread is the one to say it to him.
 
TX Poolnut said:
It sounds like you're afraid of hurting his feelings. If he is over the age of 12, don't worry about it. He'll get over the certain pain and unbearable heartache you will cause the very essence of his soul.

Seriously dude, man up and be honest with himTHIS IS WHAT TRUE FRIENDS DO, AFTER ALL. He's your friend. He deserves the truth.

Get your team together and tell him the truth and tell him why. It's his choice to act however he chooses to act. If he acts like an assclown, then you'll know that you did the right thing and you were a man about it.
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Truly sound advice there, TX.
 
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