Time-out? New league rule.

IA8baller

IA8baller

Family man.
Silver Member
Are there any other leagues out there that allow 1 time out per game for a player? :confused:

A buddy of mine called me at the last second last night and asked if I would sub on their league team and of course I said yes and went up there expecting the usual league rules I've always played for the last 15 years or so. Well ........... it was the same rules except a player is allowed to call a time out and call over a team-mate and get advice and instruction from another team member once per game if he wants to.

I guess it doesn't really bother me but it was unexpected. I think it's geared towards the more unexperienced players as a learning tool and I guess that's a good thing in some aspects but it sure makes the games drag out much longer. :boring2: There were several time-outs called by the opposing team and a few of those time-outs took more than just a few minutes to transpire.

Just wondering how many other leagues allow this as this was totally new to me.
 
The BCA leaugue I used to play in allowed timeouts for players that were below a certain skill level. Example is the league was based on 50 points being available per night. (5 games with a win equalling 10 points) people below I believe a 36 average were allowed 1 timeout per game. Was your league handicapped?
 
Nope. The 8-ball league I play in specifically states in their rules that: (a) if you need to use the bathroom, do it before your turn, and (b) NO coaching from your team members during your turn (the only exception is that they may tell you if you are shooting at your opponent's object ball).
 
The APA runs on the time out system. No coaching except during a time out. One per rack per player for skill levels 4-7. 2's and 3's get two per rack.

-Andrew
 
In my BCA 8-B league the rules allow one time out per two-game match. Can be annoying at times but really isn't abused. The stronger players rarely use theirs, and for the less skilled players they're usually appropriate. After all, most people playing league are trying to improve their games, and getting some mid-game advice from their better team mates is useful. If the overall level of sportsmanship is high in a league, as it is in mine, this type of rule rarely causes a problem.
 
What I don't like is that teammates sitting on the sideline can call a timeout (not just the player shooting) for coaching in the APA....I don't play in leagues any more, but this always bothered me. My first year playing in league I had a teammate call a timeout on me unexpectedly, and he came up to ask what I was planning to do....I said, I'm going to bank this 8 ball and win the match (I was up 3-1). He thought that I should play a safe to give my opponent a bank on their last ball before the 8 ball. I said, thanks, but I'll just win now....I made the bank when his back was turned and hadn't even sat down yet.....(BTW, we were pretty much the same speed, but he'da never tried the bank, and I liked playing bank the 8 w/another teammate; the rest of the team thought I made the right play)
 
Andrew Manning said:
The APA runs on the time out system. No coaching except during a time out. One per rack per player for skill levels 4-7. 2's and 3's get two per rack.

-Andrew
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In the APA rules it states the exact amout of time you should use (It is 1 minute or 2 as I recall) but that is abused. It really drags on when the opposing team is using 2 per game every game and they take 5+ minutes with 2 people discussing how to play it (with player away from table) then the coach spends more time trying to explain the strategy to the shooter
 
Zud said:
In the APA rules it states the exact amout of time you should use (It is 1 minute or 2 as I recall) but that is abused. It really drags on when the opposing team is using 2 per game every game and they take 5+ minutes with 2 people discussing how to play it (with player away from table) then the coach spends more time trying to explain the strategy to the shooter
Click to expand...

Yeah, the limit is 2 minutes, and it's widely ignored. I would prefer it to be enforced, since I never take more time than that with my players (I'm not a captain, but I'm the strongest player on my team, so I coach a lot). But at the same time, I don't want to turn a friendly match into an argument by calling time on the time outs, when nobody else in our league does that. For now I just put up with it, and sometimes talk to the other coach about it on the sideline after the time out is over.

-Andrew
 
Andrew Manning said:
The APA runs on the time out system. No coaching except during a time out. One per rack per player for skill levels 4-7. 2's and 3's get two per rack.

-Andrew
Click to expand...

Yep and during higher level tournaments (cities and above) it is one timeout regardless of skill set as well as being on a 30 second shot clock.
 
Timeouts are great! They provide an excellent learning opportunity for all levels. Even strong players can get locked in on a shot, before considering other alternatives.

Timeouts just have to be limited to an appropriate amount of time (i.e. 1 or 2 minutes). If so, then it has minimal effect on a game or match.

It's frustrating to watch players play, who are about to make a boneheaded decision, and there's nothing you can do about it. Then you watch them play another time, and they basically do the same mistake again.

Allowing timeouts also encourages people to watch an observe. Otherwise, many ADD folks just run off until it's time for to play again. There can be good value in watching, for many peeps. It can be a learning opportunity as well. Or even learn what not to do.
 
Andrew Manning said:
Yeah, the limit is 2 minutes, and it's widely ignored. I would prefer it to be enforced, since I never take more time than that with my players (I'm not a captain, but I'm the strongest player on my team, so I coach a lot). But at the same time, I don't want to turn a friendly match into an argument by calling time on the time outs, when nobody else in our league does that. For now I just put up with it, and sometimes talk to the other coach about it on the sideline after the time out is over.

-Andrew
Click to expand...

We have a couple teams in our area that are guilty of this. The one that really gets on my nerves is when one of the captains of a team that routinely spends a lot of time on their time outs complains when I take 2-3 minutes helping a weak player with a tough shot. Sometimes if the shot is really tough, I need to take a minute just to figute out what the best path is for the player based upon their skill level, then I can explain it to them. I rarely am over 2 minutes, and probably average 1 minute.
 
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