When it comes to playing on teams, I would absolutely rather be the worst player on a team than the best player. This may seem a little bit backwards because most players strive to be the best and take pride in “leading” their team. I’m not saying not to try to be better and progress. But in the years I’ve played pool, there are two things that will always hold true: 1) no matter how good you become, there will always be someone that is better at some part of the game than you and, 2) no matter how much you learn about the game, there’s always more you can learn. In order to be the best player you can, it’s important to have the humility to understand that you don’t know everything about the game and you haven’t mastered everything there is to master.

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Even the top pros can find new things to improve on in their game—they never stop working. World Champion Thorsten Hohmann has a coach in Germany that he trained with for many years and still goes to in order to identify new things to tweak in his game. After every tournament, win or lose, U.S. Open Champion Shane Van Boening identifies something he needs to work on before the next event and devotes hours each day to work on that thing.

Think back to your childhood when you may have played sports. You always had a coach that taught you new things, or guided you in your skill development. Why should pool be any different? You might eventually learn a few things and become a better player without help from others, but I can guarantee that this will come at a much slower pace if you’re trying to do this on your own. There are simply too many things in pool that you would never think to try if you didn’t know to try them, or you didn’t know the full details of how to execute them. Practice is of course important and the more you play, the better you’ll be, but this is really only from a consistency and mental standpoint. Obviously someone who’s played for years has more experience playing under pressure than someone that just started—the muscle memory they form from repeated play will make them a more consistent player. However, the true knowledge and skills you have under your belt may not increase dramatically.

So what does being the best on your team really get you? Admiration of other people, self esteem knowing you’re the strongest player—sure you’ll have those things, but so what? Where does that take you later?  I played in the APA for several years and made many great friends through the League. Of course there was some sentimental value to the longevity of having the same team for years. And, if my aspiration in pool were purely social, then I would have stayed with the same team year after year. However, many of you have probably seen that as your players improve and move up in skill level, it’s tough to keep the same roster year after year. This is not a bad thing. That’s just proof and reassurance that all of you are becoming better players. The structure of the APA lends itself to teaching, coaching and forming of new teams—that is something that you should take full advantage of.

I’m a competitive person by nature, so when deciding what types of people I wanted to be on a team with, my main motivation was team chemistry and which people I can learn from. Of course there are the usual things to consider like, “Is this person reliable to show up when they say they’ll be there?” In addition to those, here are a few tips I think are useful in deciding who to play with:

Skill Level 2s and 3s

When I first started playing APA and was in this category, I wanted to learn as much as I could. So at this level, it’s important that you find a team with players (and more importantly a captain) that is patient, supportive and coaches in a manner that you can understand. That last part is most important. Different people learn in different ways. Some are more visual and need to see a shot to understand it. They need to know the exact details of how a coach expects them to hit a ball—How hard? Exactly how much of the ball? At what angle? Other people are more abstract and understand without full explanation. Then there are some that are strong players, but sometimes just need a time out to help them have confidence in that next shot. So whatever your preference is, make sure you’re paired with a coach that you can understand. As a coach for a skill level 2 or 3, it’s important to think in terms of their understanding. And the best thing you can do as a coach is provide support to them. At that level they’re new to the game and it’s natural for them to be more timid, so knowing their team and coach is behind them will make a world of difference.

Skill Level 4s and 5s

At this skill level it’s a little more difficult to know what aspect of your game you need to improve and what types of players can help you achieve that. Some players get to this level because they’re just great shot makers, but maybe their lack of strategy is keeping them from moving to the next level. Others understand strategy well and are consistent shot makers, but maybe they’re not comfortable using all types of English, so they’re limited on executing certain key shots. There’s a wide range of things that could be keeping you from progressing to the next level when you’re a skill level 4 or 5, so the first thing to do is to identify what aspect of your game is the strongest and think about what skills you can add to be better. Then, make sure you’re playing with people that can help you develop those skills.

Skill Level 6s and 7s

When I was at this level, I was almost always on a team with other 6s or 7s that had VERY different skill sets from mine. I was always more of a methodical player—I would opt for a defensive shot before trying an aggressive offensive shot, and I mainly focused on controlling the table. However, the other 6s or 7s on my team were quite the opposite. Usually they were very aggressive, fast-paced players. Neither one is better or worse than the other, but we each had our own strengths that were different from each other, so we each had something to learn from one another. Even when I was a 7 and needed a time out, I would sometimes go to the 5 or 6 on our team depending on the type of shot that I wanted advice on. Try to look for players that you have compatible personalities with, but ones that have different strengths than you do.