Pool Talk: How To Captain An APA League Team

[@galevogt1759]

The best thing I did as a captain is to make out my rosters for each match and send them out 2-3 weeks in advance. But the key thing I include is adding alternate 1 and alternate 2 to each weeks roster. That way if one of the scheduled shooters can’t shoot they know automatically they need to contact alternate 1 for that week. If alternate 1 is already shooting then alternate two is contacted. This helps the team “manage itself” and keeps me from having to scramble to round up a shooter at the last minute.

[@gmparkug]

Short answer: reliable, be fair, have fun! Nice job overview and comments Chris

[@madhatter2012]

Jim: "Don't." LOL! I could have predicted he'd say that! In all seriousness though, our APA captain is so respected by all members of our team for the very reasons you point out here. Besides having a well balanced team in skill levels, we are all good friends and communicate well with each other. Good answers Chris!

[@nomoneynomo]

In our league most teams play Double Jeopardy which is where you play 8 & 9 ball on the same night. I expect all of my players to show up and everyone gets to play. Some get to play 8 and 9 and some just play one or the other. If your APA league doesn’t have double jeopardy then I suggest you ask if they could start it. It’s nice being on two teams in one night.

[@shaunstevens4292]

I don't make rosters in advance, I just respond to the other team's choices on the fly. I do expect everyone to show up or to let me know if they can't make it. If I have too many low SL players call out, I talk to them and try to work out. Worst case, we do a make up match, but that is extremely rare. My main goal is to be social with everyone and have fun. I have never had an issue with players not showing up or complaining about showing up and not playing. I will let my team members know as soon as I have decided I won't be playing them so they can choose to leave if they wish. Since I have two couples on the team, it seems like most of the time, they stay anyway. I also make sure to balance out the matches played by each team member throughout a session so everyone gets the same amount of play time, if they want it. I do have players that for health reasons don't always want to play a match and I respect that. Especially since they come every week (and is now my co-cap) That said, I think the primary thing I do that keeps the team engaged and happy, regardless if they get to play each night, is focus on relaxing and having fun first and winning second. And I tell my team to expect things to be different in tournaments. Tournaments are much more about winning, I call a lot more timeouts for my teammates, before they get themselves into trouble, rather than after, and not to take it personal. I also couch every team mate after their matches, showing them little things they could have done different in certain situations in the match. I just finished only my second session as a captain and we are world qualifier bound. On my previous team (which is still half of my current roster), we ran things pretty similar and we made it to the World Qualifiers finals and lost by 1 point. I think a lot of it has to do with understanding your team, what they like, what their schedules are like, and working with them on that.

[@Rubster760]

I’ve been wanting to make a video on this topic. I just didn’t want to give other teams important information 😅. You definitely explained ‘some’ stuff well. I’ve made 4 world championship appearances on 3 different teams. Thanks to COVID the 5th appearance is going to have to wait. Good luck on your upcoming APA championships Chris. 🥳👍.

[@Rubster760]

The thumbnail 😂.

[@Spurs2k23]

As a captain now, I play it by ear meaning that I typically play according to opponent. This is bigger thing when the matches really swing in one direction that may or may not be in your favor. Example being that I may see a team with a roster of 6-5-4-5-4-5-3, and let's say my roster is 7-4-5-4-3-3-2.....well if the opponents 3 is solid and let's say beats the 5 or 4 for a 3-0....now have to really matchup due to that match to try to makeup ground....hence for me personally I always play matchups by ear. As for consistency, I agree with you....players who are reliable are irreplaceable and make for a more dynamic team, especially when it comes to having to matchup IMO.

[@richardclingempeel6111]

I was a captain from around 2010 to about 2014. I left when I was moving to an 8. I quit because all the drama and sandbagging. I went to Napa, it's harder for people to sandbag unless they play more than one night.

[@BackwardsBilliards]

It is finding the right mix

[@MisterEDit1]

Great topic bro. I will say, in my league each team has 4 subs, so a NO CALL NO SHOW is completely unacceptable. I've never been captain nor do I want to for the reasons you just listed. The only privilege I give the captain is that I don't argue with his calls, his call is the teams call. Keeps things simple.

[@thomasinsley1820]

Chris, as a Team Captain you win the coin toss, do you put up first or do you have the other team put up. your opinion please . thank you love your videos .

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

Usually if my team wins the coin toss, we let the opponents put up first so we get to respond 3 times. This gives us the advantage since we get to decide if the opponents will have to play up, down, or even based on who they put up. If we lose the toss and have to put up first, we typically start with a mid player (3, 4, or 5).

[@leroyhelander1980]

Wait not everyone wants to play??? I hate when I go and Don't get to play! Your videos are great Thanks for all your help!

[@MarksVegas]

I got forced into being a captain for about a session and a half. The captain had to take time away from playing due to a serious illness so I took over for the rest of that session, about 6 weeks, and then did it the next session as well. I did like you did and would try to tell people a week in advance who would be playing the next week. I would also ask them if there were any issues I needed to be made aware of (such as they’d be running late the next week or maybe not be able to attend at all, if somebody needed to leave early the next week, stuff like that). We would start at 7 and there was 1 guy that didn’t get off work until 7 so we knew he’d be a little late every week. That was no big deal. However, then we’d have people send a message in the group chat on Facebook saying they’d be there at about 6:30 for practice (this message would be sent about 6:15 by the way) and then at 8:30, they finally walk in. Also, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this or not Chris, but to me at least, it seemed like if I lost as the captain, the other members of the team acted like I let them down a little more than I did when I was just a regular teammate that lost. For me, personally, I didn’t hate my time as a captain, but I doubt I do it again unless I’m forced into it again.

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

If your teammates felt like you let them down, they have the wrong attitude for being on a "team". For my teammates, I explain to them 3 milestones they can achieve in a match: 1. Win one rack to stop the opponent from getting 3 points 2. Get on the hill and score a point 3. Win your match. If any of my teammates do not achieve 1, then the other members know to do what they can to help pick up the team. If the "team" is unable to do that, then we've lost as a team. We don't lost because of an individual player.

[@MarksVegas]

@@LilChrisPoolPlayer all good advice. I’ll be honest. I liked my teammates a lot more when I wasn’t a captain. Maybe I was guilty of some of the things I experience from them as well, but my brief time as a captain definitely makes me appreciate team captains more.

[@AznJsn82091]

I had to captain a team in which I was the youngest member. It was rather challenging to control a group of middle-aged men.

[@LouLit1]

I played APA for several years, have been away for several and plan to return soon. A source of issues witnessed was coaching. What is your attitude toward calling timeouts? Only the playeer calls them when they want? The captain or coach can call them anytime they see a problem?Some players never want to be coached, some do. Some coaches don't adequately consider player abilities & skill level, some do (being a respectful and effective teacher of fellow adults can be tricky). Some coaches / captains insist players follow instruction all the time or at least in key (e.g. play-off or tournament matches) situations, some don't. Ideas??

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

Everyone on my teams understand that a timeout is meant to help, whether its needed or not, so my players know not to get upset about it. Most of the time, we wait until the player takes "too long" to make a decision before we call the timeout. Other times, they'll call it for themselves. When we conduct a timeout, we always ask what the player is thinking and if they have a plan we just present another plan and allow the player to choose between the two.

[@davidwall6851]

TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More! Hey there Chris I am looking to switch and play out of your house. I am currently a 5 APA 9 ball and I am soooo willing to wait for a spot on your team if and when one would come available. I know it's weird posting here but I live out of town and have only actually met you 1 time. Not sure on here how to pm or the sort but let me know I can meet up with you.

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

I currently have no openings on either of my teams, but you can reach out to me on my Facebook Page.

[@shalaebrewster3025]

If it’s anything like around here 4’s & 5’s are 7’s in disguise 🙄 So we all are there or try to be bc it’s who he feels should play based on knowing the competition and what we are capable of doing

[@shalaebrewster3025]

Amen If it’s casual then be on a casual team if not show up and be a team who wants to play for real and grow

[@drillguy300]

What do you expect from teammates concerning trying to improve?

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

The only expectation I have from my team members is to have fun. If they want to improve, that's great and I do what I can to help them do that. However, the main responsibility is on them to improve which, in my opinion, means practicing outside of league night. If my players don't practice outside of league night and start to not have fun because they are constantly losing, I encourage them to shift their attitude from winning because their fun is based on winning. Instead they should just focus on having fun with the team and accept that they currently play at whatever level they play at. They end up understanding that you can't expect to play "good/well" if you choose not to practice, or don't have the time to practice.

[@bigjerm210ify]

Chris random question do you keep all the money from the night you get from your teammates?

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

No... The money, with the scoresheet, gets turned into a drop box at the location I play at.

[@bigjerm210ify]

@@LilChrisPoolPlayer Do you know if it’s possible that the captain may keep that money at the end of the night I never carry cash so I just cash app my captain. If you are a captain for multiple nights out of the week I assume you could make some decent money especially at 12 a night from each player both playing 8 and 9 ball. I was always curious where the money went.

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

No player should be making any money from league fees! The weekly fees belong to the APA league!

[@ryan199948]

@@LilChrisPoolPlayer let’s say you have 7 people on your roster. 5 players show up , the other team forfeits their last 8 ball match. You’re 5th player doesn’t play. How do you make up the money from that forfeited match? TIA

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

The 5th player that won by forfeit is still responsible for their weekly fee for your team. If the other team only had 4 players to play that night, they would have to help chip in for the 5th forfeited match for their team.

[@Seri-Katil]

If you want to be a captain USA pool league is a good League to be a captain in or possibly even be a league operator of. Any league is better than APA if you're looking to get better and improve and play serious APA is not the place for any of it

[@LilChrisPoolPlayer]

I guess Mosconi Cup Member Chris Robinson should've never joined APA back in 2016 then 🤷‍♂️ poolplayers.com/newcomer-selected-to-represent-team-usa-in-mosconi-cup/

[@Seri-Katil]

@@LilChrisPoolPlayer He didn't get where he is playing in APA and better players use APA as practice (a punching bag). APA is a "play for fun" league not a "play to improve" league. Non-handicap leagues and tournaments are 2 of the better places for people that want to improve.

[@Rubster760]

@@Seri-Katil what leagues are Non-handicapped?

[@Seri-Katil]

@@Rubster760 in my area there's ACS (American Cue Sports) which is non-handicap. BCA in certain areas are non-handicap.

[@Seri-Katil]

I prefer playing in non-handicap simply because you'll meet a larger number of skilled players in them vs APA which has a lot of low skilled shooters and we all know that there's no benefit to playing lower skilled players except to use them for practice. However if a lower skilled player wants to take the game serious and/or is serious about improving then I'll help them but APA is not the place for that.