PoolSynergy: Team Play

Back in September I suggested the "Team Play" theme to my fellow PoolSynergy writers after noting the dearth of instructional materials covering the team aspect of pool. I was looking for tips on team play because I had just taken over as captain of an APA 8-ball team and found, as you might suspect, that the vast majority of information in print and online focuses on the individual aspects of playing pool. A good number of players compete in a team environment, however, and I felt some coverage on this aspect of pool would be very well received... and my fellow bloggers wholeheartedly agreed!

They agreed so much, in fact, that they elected me to be the host of the theme - WTF!? So here I am, and here we are... and as usual, we have a great lineup of posts related to Team Play:

p00lriah tried to convince me that he wasn't a team player. ha! i didn't believe him for a minute of course, and he proved me right by pulling through for the poolsynergy team by once again being the first person to submit his article! way to go p00lriah! i don't know how he does it... perhaps it's the efficiency gained from not using the shift key? read on as he makes a spectator of himself.

Melinda (akaTrigger), who very modestly describes herself as "a pool player from Texas" (maybe because Texas Tornado was already taken) bares her soul with some painful memories from a BCAPL championship run long ago in hopes that she can teach what NOT to do as a captain.

Jake Dyer, our resident pool historian, dips into his substantial pool of knowledge to highlight some great players from the past (and present) who may, ummm, struggle in a team environment. He also shares a great potential future direction for team play. Check out his post here.

Gail (aka G Squared) takes on the Team Play topic Letterman style with not one but two Top Ten lists to help feed the team player in YOU. Unlike Letterman's lists, Gail's are good for much more than laughs! Join me as we take a close look at her genes to see what makes a top-notch team player tick.

John Biddle, award-winning Pool Student and our esteemed founder of PoolSynergy, shares his thoughts on the Benefits of Team Play.

St. Louis Johnny, the only person I know who has successfully launched a cue tip over 50 feet, feels team captains can take a lesson from Dalton. No, not Shannon Dalton, the "I thought you'd be bigger" Dalton, but the character played by Patrick Swayze in Road House. He has a simple but effective motto: "Be nice"

John Barton, of JB Cases, brings an international flair into the PoolSynergy fold by sharing his experiences of team play in Germany. "Despite being thought of as an individual sport, pool does provide a great binding platform for people to enjoy it competitively as a team." Check out John's experiences and thoughts here.

Billiard Coach Mike Fieldhammer lends a bit of a philosophical view to Team Play with an evaluation of intangible rewards of being on a proper team.

And wrapping up this month's collection of articles is my own contribution to the theme in which I discuss some  thoughts and observations about general team dynamics before moving on to an interview of the captain of the 2010 ACS Women's Open 8-ball Championship team.