Situation: Before calling a timeout my opponent's team starts telling the shooter what to shoot. They have a timeout left but shouldn't it be called first?
Yes, teams have 1 minute for a timeout and that starts from when it is called. If a team starts talking to their player before calling the timeout then some amount of time can be assumed to be used as part of the 1 minute. In addition below are things that can be said that are not coaching and some things that are considering coaching.
Rule: Official Team Manual (OTM) page 8 “Time Guidelines”: https://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Team-Manual-English.pdf
Rule: Official Team Manual (OTM) page 28-30 section 18 “Coaching”: https://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Team-Manual-English.pdf
Other things that are ok and NOT considered coaching include:
- Telling a player to mark the pocket when shooting the 8-ball.
- Reminding a player which is the next ball in the rotation (9-Ball).
- Giving advice or placing the cue ball before the break.
- Reminding a player to chalk up.
- Telling a player a foul has occurred.
- Answering a player’s question concerning rules.
- Comments such as “good hit” or “nice shot”.
- Conversations with or comments to a player when it is not their turn at the table.
Things that are considered coaching and therefore a time-out:
- Which ball to shoot, except in 9-Ball.
- Where to leave the cue ball.
- Whether to shoot soft or hard.
- Whether to use english.
- Whether to play safe or defensive.
This section also covers:
- Who can coach
- Who can call a time-out
- What is allowed during the time-out
- What the coach is allowed to do for the player during the time-out
- Among other things regarding coaching
You can submit a "Rule of the Week" to the league office:
- Email to sandiego@apaleagues.com.
- Email Subject Line must read “SDAPA Rule of the Week”
- Clearly state the rule/situation and if you know where the answer is found please provide those details.