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shodbyed
51 Posts |
 Posted - 05/27/2010 : 1:10:50 PM
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I would like to tell you a story that i feel is a bit jacked up. i recruited 2 new players (both female) one who had played pool a bit and likes to play and her friend who said she played ONCE in her life. i knew (because of their numbers) one would have to play a 4 at least but they had a 2 for the other i played the more experienced one in the second match (we won the first) against a 4 in the second match. it was really close the whole time and lots of fun and she ended up winning. (they each needed the 9 to win) its my put up and i put up our second new player figuring that it was the middle of the night her friend had a great showing her first time. now mind you i showed this girl how to hold a cue stand and had her take a few practice strokes on a practice table just that night. the other team knew this. now mind you i understand the strategy here and can respect it but i was still flabbergasted that they put up a 6 against her. who proceeded to play lots defenses and ran 2 racks i believe before she even had a straight look at her object ball. it was BAD. she did eventually put in 5 balls in the match. she had to take a break in the middle to go to the bathroom and CRY in frustration. i took a time out and had to coax her to keep playing and not leave PROMISING that this is not going to happen everytime. she did not have fun. the fun that i told her and COMPLETELY believed she would have.
again i understand the strategy. you are down the first two games. you want a win under your belt. and it worked they got a 19-1. but still i think it was WRONG and pointless as you are pretty guaranteed a win anyway. not to mention its the FIRST WEEK!!!
i think the worst part was asking a girl who is in tears at the end of all this to pony up the 32 bucks for her troubles. I sincerely hope that i can convince her to stay on and play again. but who could blame her if she quits?
I would ask ALL other team captains to refrain from doing this to ANY new player. i am not asking to let them win or even not give them a nice spanking. but have them play a similar skill level so they at least have a little fun getting beat. that is the whole point to the apa isnt it?
as a side note the team we played were very kind, helpful and encouraging (other than the trouncing) to our player, and admitted that it was purely strategic and a bit wrong. and i do like everyone on the team. but after this experience, there is not a chance that ANY team i am on (whether i am captain or not!) will do that for any reason to another new player and i hope i can discourage everyone else to as well.
thanks for listening.
seems my whole life is underfunded and overrated. |
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Taz
USA
555 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2010 : 2:28:20 PM
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Ed, with all due respect, you have to take some of the responsibility for allowing this to happen. Knowing your team is up 2-0, you had to know the other team's strategy would be one that would come as close to guaranteeing a win in the third match as possible. I don't understand why you would then chose to put up your newbie, specially knowing the importance of a good first experience.
Any team that is down in a match 0-2 would strategize to asure the best chance at a win in the third match. |
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shodbyed
51 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2010 : 11:57:17 PM
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i do take some responsibility however they had a 6 a 7 and a 2 left to play and its my put up. i had a 4 my newbie and me left. in retrospect i should have played myself to draw out a higher player and then controlled the last 2 matches. my only excuse for that is i usually play last because alot of my team work and if it goes late then its me that stays. and also i really didnt expect that to happen. maybe its just because i am fairly new at captaining a team. i will, however, not make the same mistake again. so i do apologize for that. i still say however that it was an unnecessary strategic move. the 2 would have beat her as well. thats the point i was trying to get across.
seems my whole life is underfunded and overrated. |
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stevelobdell
USA
36 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2010 : 07:48:03 AM
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Shodbyed, Although I respect your opinion, I can't say that I agree with it.
Yes, the purpose of the APA is to have fun. But I didn't join the APA to be in a league like my children's Baseball where Score isn't kept and everybody gets a trophy.
Part of the fun of the APA is also strategizing. And at the end of the season if my team is in 1st place then Great. I am going to make sure that my team uses whatever strategy we are allowed to, to give us the biggest advantage to bring home the Trophy and the $$.
I am a fairly new player (only in my 4th Season) I just moved from a SL2 to a SL3 after 3.75 seasons.
Do I get my butt handed to me alot? Heck Ya!
Do I go and cry about it? No.
Do I have fun whether I win or am getting my butt handed to me? Yes
Just this past week we had a new player who started on our team. She's an established 4. The other team was brand new too and they put a 1 up against her. An established 1. We were like, "What the heck? Man-o-Man this isn't going to be pretty". We lost 14 to 37, so we barely lost.
However the difference between your player and the 1 that played us? Your player will start dropping her SL down to where it should be and then she'll start winning and hopefully having fun.
Although I am not my team's captain, but I will be one day and the best advice I believe a Captain can give to a new player is simply "Your new to the league, chances are you'll get beat more than you'll win early on, but have fun. If you lose, Oh Well, No Big Deal, Have Fun".
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shodbyed
51 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2010 : 08:23:45 AM
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stevelobdell, once again im not saying i expected her to win. i EXPECTED her to get her butt handed to her. however she had to kick at the ball EVERY shot she had in the first 3 racks! she missed and proceeded to watch the guy run out! mind you she had played ONCE in her life. NO ONE in their right mind would bet that she would win against ANY established player. what im saying is if she would have played a sl 2, 3 or even 4 she would at least had a chance to shoot at a ball.
seems my whole life is underfunded and overrated. |
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n/a
1 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2010 : 11:48:43 AM
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I have never commented on any topic, however, I feel compelled to do so. From what I understood that night your player was more upset because she didnot have the support of her teammates around her while she was playing. Our 7 gave her advice on a few shots even though her time outs were used, all in the spirit of good sportsmanship. I myself also helped her. As the Captain you should have been present,instead of practicing on another table, as were a few of your other teammates.
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movistar
193 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2010 : 5:37:48 PM
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| sounds like the six might be UNDERATED,,, especially if the other player had to KICK at almost every shot..... I would be more concerned that the opponent was underated |
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Torsten
USA
401 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2010 : 10:04:53 AM
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I guess it all comes down to perspective. I do agree that Eddie had a responsibility to protect his new player. Still... knowing all parties involved here I want to mind my ps and qs because i sincerely like all parties involved... I would have handled it differently.
Yeah, you want to win... and Taz, I get your point of wanting to guarantee as close to win as possible having lost the first two... but a brand new player who has shot once before in her life, that's already as close to a guarantee as you can get. This is not week 10 out of 12. It's week one. And while the three or four extra points earned by putting a skillful 6 against someone who hasn't any experience at all MAY possibly prove useful come the last two weeks, you have to wonder if someone's humiliation is a fair price to pay.
We often speak of the spirit of the rules. The intro in your APA team manual says, "'Win at the table and not from the chair' is a generality that promotes harmony, camaraderie, and good times. That's what the league is all about." The commercial on television for the APA you'll see if you catch any pro events on the tube says, "APA. Have fun. Meet people. Play pool."
Steve, I understand that strategizing is part of the allure for you. It is for me too. There's more to it than that, though. At least for me. I guess my point is, I wouldn't have handled it the way it was handled.
And N/A (in the spirit of friendship, I'll not call you by name, although I do believe if that if you're going to comment critically on someone, you shouldn't do it anonymously.) you know as well as I do that everyone deserves a chance to practice. I've been a captain for years. I'm there from the beginning to end, every week, every season, every match. Having my strategy questioned, having four players ask to play first so they can get hammered/see their girlfriend/go home and play world of warcraft, you name it. IT's part of the burden we willingly take on when we become captains, but being able to shoot a practice game is a welcome respite for a few minutes. Was she upset that she didn't have the support of her team? Well, she had team members there... maybe that played a small part, but you know as well as I do having Earl Strickland, Sal, and the guy that invented pool all there for that match would have done zero to change the outcome. She was upset because she was getting throttled and was powerless to stop it. Eddie is upset over this situation because HE was powerless to stop it, and probably a bit at himself for allowing your team the opportunity to employ this strategy rather than protecting her.
Look, my point here is, I wouldn't have done it that way. Not in week one. Come playoff or HLT time, the situation changes. Of course, by that time, it won't be her first time in a pool hall and hopefully she won't trip on the furniture either.
I think the worst time to have a heart attack would be during a game of charades... or during a game of fake heart attack. |
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shodbyed
51 Posts |
Posted - 05/31/2010 : 1:52:59 PM
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thanks torsten that was my main point. i think you expalained it better than i did.
as for the anonymous person. i was there. i did take time outs. and my 6 was there as well. even when i was practicing i was watching. the tables were right next to eachother. i will not take a time out with a player on a shot where i dont think i can help her hit a ball. i also have ABSOLUTELY no idea how she shoots, as it was my first time seeing her shoot. not to mention if i took a time out every shot, that gets frustrating for the player too.
regardless, i must be doing something right because i did talk her into trying another night. although thats mainly because we are playing matts team and she is friends with most of them anyway. most of them helped me assure her that it will not be like that every time she plays.
seems my whole life is underfunded and overrated. |
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shodbyed
51 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2010 : 5:30:47 PM
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if anyone is wondering my newbie played last night against a 2. had a great time (ok its MY favorite team to play too as it used to be my team as well) she had a rocky start but managed to luck in 2 balls at once on TWO occasions, not to mention getting two on the break (her second break ever. she scratched on the first one without 4 balls hitting a rail) and some how won! i was amazed and happy cuz i think we got her hooked now. muah ha ha another pool hall junkie. a happy ending. so thanks everyone
seems my whole life is underfunded and overrated. |
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TracyW3
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2010 : 5:36:00 PM
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| Shodbyed - Thanks for the update I am glad she had fun! -Tracy- |
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within the rules but against the spirit?
