en-us Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:09:52 -0500 info@teamapa.com 60 http://teamapa.com/forum/blogrss.asp Greater Washington DC Area APA Member Blogs http://teamapa.com/ http://teamapa.com/common/forumimages/APALogoLrg.jpg 200 148 athomasmckay http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3113 Member Blogs Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:23:34 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3113
What's your perspective on this?

Have you ever been moved up to the next skill lever but didn't think you had to confidence to compete at that level?

Do you think players who try to stay at one level because of their lack of confidence are Sandbaggers.

By the way, substitute any skill level you’d like in place of 7.

]]> Hollywood http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3087 Member Blogs Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:29:57 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3087 athomasmckay http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3109 Member Blogs Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:09:39 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3109 My first perspective of “Sandbagging” came in the spring session of 2011. I joined a nine ball team at Bank Shot. The Captain of the team was a seasoned player in APA and had very strong feelings about how he wanted to lead his team. Well, let me tell you, this captain’s recruiting advertisement might as well have said “Now recruiting for an 18 week Masters Class in “Sandbagging” techniques”. Like a Jet Li Master, this guy knew how to manipulate every aspect of the game. He and I butt heads from the very beginning of the session and I flat out told him I wasn’t going to show up consistently for 18 weeks to not shoot the best game I was capable of. I wasn’t going to miss shots on purpose, pad my innings, lose games on purpose or do any other things I thought were unsportsmanlike. Needless to say, we had a very contentious relationship.

But, the interesting thing about him was that he didn’t see anything wrong with what he was coaching the players to do. From his perspective, he was simply managing his players skill levels so they wouldn’t get moved up too quickly or unfairly and so the team wouldn’t have to break up because the numbers became too high later in the season to put up under the “23 Rule”. He would often say this was the only way a team could get to the championships and have a viable chance to win and go to Vegas. He would also say: “Just wait until you get to Vegas, you’ll see everyone is playing above their skill levels”.

My second perspective came when our team qualified to play in Vegas and went to the National Championships. It was just like my captain said it would be. There were teams that had 3 and 4 skill levels running racks. After they got up they would very inconspicuously miss shots on purpose. It seemed as though the 4’s were 5/6’s and the 5’s were 6/7’s and all you could do is stand there, hold you stick and watch them kick your butt on the pool table. I played in five 8-ball mini mania events mostly for 5 only skill level and I was amazed by how good these 5’s were. And by most accounts, I’m a pretty good five but, after the third event, it really became a joke to even think I had a chance to beat any of these guys.

I left the National Championships with one question in my mind; was my captain was right? There are either a lot of “Sandbaggers” out there or there are a lot of really smart people who figured out how to expertly manage their skill levels giving them the best possible chance to win in the National Championships.

In closing, I think APA needs to accept some responsibility for inspiring a lot of these “Sandbagging” techniques. The league offices seem too quick to raise a players skill level when they may have only had one or two good nights. The “23 Rule” is way too restrictive and discourages teams from working to develop players to higher skill levels - it should be raised to 25. The score sheets should reflect more data than just how many innings and defensive shots are made in a match. For example, there should be some way of accounting for how many “Ball in Hand” opportunities a player has since this makes it easier for one to pocket balls and win games in fewer innings. I also play in a TAP league and I don’t see nearly as many players “Sandbagging”. Their handicap system seems a lot fairer to both the players and the teams.
Thomas

]]> valberry24 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3025 Member Blogs Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:39:56 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3025

valarie hamby]]> bullstalk http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3045 Member Blogs Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:33:25 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3045 bullstalk@yahoo.com]]> cyates http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3033 Member Blogs Wed, 25 May 2011 21:13:30 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=3033 VanesZa http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2996 Member Blogs Mon, 23 May 2011 23:11:21 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2996
1st Choice: [8] & [9] same nite, right now that's only available at Champions on Tues.

2nd Choice: [8] Masters League [9]

House Preferences in order:

Q-Ball - W. Springfield

Fast Eddie's Springfield

Bungalow Billiard - Alexandria

Champions - Arlington

The only reason Bungalow comes in ahead of Champions is proximity to my home and the people I know who shoot out of Bungalow make it home to me. Otherwise, Champions is a superior facility.

Preferred nites to shoot; Mon, Tue or Thur.

Teams with absentee Capt's or populated by a host of players with "special needs" - that's NOT what I'm looking for.

Thanks for looking, otherwise, keep your eye on the ball [!]]]> SniperShark http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2564 Member Blogs Sun, 15 May 2011 00:46:27 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2564 I guess my first question is should I receive the money my team received for making it that far??
I was under the impression that if you helped a team make it to that point you would get your share. If we had made it to other rounds when I wasnt there I would have understood not getting that money.

Secondly, when I was approached about the 30 dollars I owed my team captain, I simply brought up " I was just wondering, I never received the 25 dollars for tier 2 last session." I was going to go on to ask if we could apply that to what I owed but I never got the chance.

Am I in the wrong here and I thought every team did it the same way, Ive only been shooting 2 years and the teams Ive been on have all given the money to the team evenly before we even made it to the next round.
If some a team is going to do it differently should the captain not let everyone on the team know that they better show up for the playoffs?[8]

"sometimes you gotta start high , sometimes you gotta start low"]]> sarimtirmizi http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2995 Member Blogs Wed, 11 May 2011 12:39:59 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2995
I needed some help about a few questions I had about the MVP.

1. Do the MVP points and percentage wins stop at the end of the regular season or do they keep going till the finals?
2. If someone is a SL 4 say until the last week of the season and has the points lead in MVP points and they move to a SL 5, does that mean they are not MVP anymore although they were top for the entire season for the SL 2 to 4 bracket?
3. If someone is MVP for more than one division, do they get 2 patches or just one?

Thank you.

Fridge]]> ron1221brun http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2419 Member Blogs Wed, 29 Dec 2010 09:28:26 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2419
Ronald Brundage]]> dmusser http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2783 Member Blogs Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:18:50 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2783 lowdenb http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2746 Member Blogs Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:40:00 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2746 Pool_Wizard@verizon.net

]]> tholdrid http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2548 Member Blogs Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:58:26 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2548
Terry
Captain of Toot's Ballers 07908, Co-captain X-pendables 07603]]> denster http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2341 Member Blogs Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:32:55 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2341 It saddens me to say that Aaron Hamner passed away on Friday 1/15/10. Aaron decided to go and be with our maker. He was very active in his church and leaves behind a great memory. I will post more info as I receive it. Please keep his family in prayer. He leaves behind a wife and 2 young girls. If you have any questions I can be reached at 443-871-8441

Thanks,

Dennis Deener
]]> redface512 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2242 Member Blogs Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:26:56 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2242 Rolo http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2223 Member Blogs Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:14:47 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2223 We currently have 5 good players on team need 2 or 3 players to add for next season. Need (1) good 2-3 or (2) strong 3-4 skill levels if interested stop by Fast Eddies in Springfield on Tues evening ask for Bob on team 03303 or Email leave # or post.]]> Bob Swauger http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2139 Member Blogs Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:50:57 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2139 AVATARS!

Yes, we heard you!!! We've heard those calls to further personalize the forum and allow members to have an avatar appear when they post. Until recently we've resisted the idea for a number of reasons; the primary being members could not upload images and cross linking slows down page loading because the website has to go out and get the image.

Well now everyone has the ability to create their own personal gallery on the website and post their own member blogs. We thought "What better way to encourage the use of these features!!"

You'll notice both the forum and blog now show avatars for the poster and the those who reply. Clicking on the photo will bring up a full size version without taking you away from the page! The arrows below the picture will allow you to scroll through the Avatars of other members. Now you can get a visual of who is posting... put a face to a name... get a glimpse of who they are and maybe find out if it's someone you know or have seen... or someone you WILL know the next time you see them.

The avatar is actually your profile picture, and while you can still remotely link, we suggest you create your personal gallery and upload an image for your profile. Once uploaded you'll see an icon below the image to set it as your profile picture. You can also use the regular photo gallery the same way. Simply search for your member number and use the same icon.

BLOGS!

To further enhance the blog module we've given members the ability to control the blog a little more. The Author can now lock their blog, and not allow comments (they will have to unlock it to edit it too, but they can prevent members from posting to it!). Members can also delete posts from other members (not admins or moderators) if they don't like them. The blog is yours!!! You can also delete a blog once it's been replied to (the only caveat is you have to delete the replies first - if there are any). Yes, we know there are some limitations here, but they were necessary. We hope you understand.

You can also easily link images from your member gallery into you blog! In the post Format: Options look for the () Icon. You can also post YouTube Videos in your blog using the() icon.

When reading a blog, at the very top to the right you'll see a few more icons and a list of websites you can share the blog on. If you find a member's post interesting share it on your favorite website or email it to a friend. You can also search for blogs by specific players and get a list of blogs by date.

Comments, questions and bug reports are always welcome!

Enjoy everyone!


Bob Swauger
TEAM APA Web Admin

]]> Bob Swauger http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2090 Member Blogs Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:31:11 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2090
Aside from the obvious visual changes to the site there are quite a few new features for you to use and enjoy... and there could be many more on the way, so stay tuned!!!

Here are just a few of the new features:

Personal Photo Galleries - use the link in the left menu and click the folder icon in the upper right to create your own gallery and upload images. Each member has 3 megs of space, or approximately 85 images! You can even select one of these uploaded images into your member profile!

Member Friends list - Integrated into the private message system you can now invite members to be your friends, similar to Facebook. At present it isn't much more than a list that will appear below in your member profile, but there are big plans for this feature, so stay tuned!

Restyled Stats Area - At present there are no new stats. The stats are just re-organized into collapsible tables that are printer friendly (just use your browser's built in print function).

Member WebLogs - You can now blog about your team and your APA experience in your own personal weblog! Your blog has it's own RSS feed that anyone can subscribe to it and post comments as well... you can even link it to your MySpace or Facebook account. We all know lots of interesting things happen during league play! Now you can share those experiences with others; we just ask that you keep it positive. Enjoy!

... and there are many other changes. Please take some time to look around and let us know what you think!

Enjoy everyone!


Bob Swauger
TEAM APA Web Admin

]]> gkloop http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2101 Member Blogs Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:31:34 -0500 http://teamapa.com/forum/log.asp?log_id=2101


Gene

Capt Team 23302 SNAP!! Bungalows Kingstown Mon 9B

Co-Capt Team 03005 Shark Bait Bridges Tues 8B

Division Rep Team 43501 Bunalows Kingstown Wed 8B

]]>