Thursday, August 14, 2014

Asking About a Foul

I had a very good learning experience during my BCAPL singles event.

I think it's important to share.

Long story short.... I make the 1 ball on my first shot (I'm first at the table), but then find myself frozen on the 6 ball.  So I had no other option but to play safe.

I called safe.

As I walk to my chair, my opponent asked me if I hit the 6 ball.

"Well yeah.... I was frozen to it because I messed up. "  I thought to myself disappointed with my shot.

I replied to her, "yes I did."

As I go to sit down, I don't see that she has picked up the cueball.

But then I don't see it on the table anymore and she has it in her hand.  I thought to myself,  "wow, I didn't realize I scratched."

After she surveyed the table well, she puts the cueball down... but is about to make a solid.

I jump up to stop her.  "Wait, wait, I'm solids!"

She says to me very honestly, yet confused, " I asked if you fouled. "

At this point, I don't understand.

She didn't ask me if I fouled, she asked me if I hit the 6 ball.

Which I did.

Turns out, she thought I made a STRIPE (not the 1 ball), and therefore she thought I was stripes.

And therefore, when she asked if I hit the 6 ball first, yes I did and it was true.  But since she thought I was stripes, she thought it was a foul.

Follow me?

So that's why she picked up the cueball.

(I didn't scratch after all).

The moral of this miscommunication story for me is to remember in future matches to ask if it was a foul, not if a certain ball was hit.

Because I can totally see this happening to me,  too.



1 comment:

Unknown said...

Wow, that's a great point to make. We are often not specific enough with our questions which can turn into misinterpreting the answers.

Thanks for the post, that's a great reminder. :)