by Mike O'Hara -    Another large turnout of representatives showed up for the latest Arizona Ratings Committee meeting at Main Street Billiards on January 4th. Over the past 6 months the Ratings Committee seems to have been revitalized and has a very good energy about it. Representatives seem to be all on the same path towards putting together the most accurate ratings sheet that is possible, and with the larger number of reps attending the meetings much more info is brought forth on each suggested change, making for more informed decisions.

The meeting got underway and Larry Eans of the Northern Lounge was the first rep to discuss players. After listing his additions to the sheet, he brought up his first name for discussion Sophia Morquecho. Sophia is currently a 6 rated player and Larry believed that she may have the talent to graduate to the 7 level. Sophia has been quite active in tournament play around town, mostly in scotch doubles events. A number of reps discussed her play with a recurring theme of her ability to make the shot that is left her, but some questioned her ability to play position at a level worthy of a 7 rating. In the end the room seemed split with Larry Eans of the Northern, Jerry Stuckart, the Committee Administrator and Tanner Ellerman of The Sets voting to approve the raise. Opposing votes came from Bill Moore of the Boomerang, Randy “Scooby” Pelton of River City Pockets, Rick Morris of the Ox Sportsbar and Dale Teague of Knobby’s Lounge. With a 4-3 vote Sophia stayed at the 6 level. She was in attendance at the meeting and Chairman, Mike O’Hara, mentioned to her that it looked like her ascent to a 7 rating may be coming, so she should probably work on her position play!

Larry Eans next players to discuss were Leo Satterwhite 6-7 and Derek Austin 7-8. Opinions were solicited around the room and these two players were determined worthy of the proposed raises.

Next up for discussion was Bernie Store 8-9. Bernie was the topic of a very lengthy discussion at the last ratings meeting where it was determined that she would remain an 8 by a split vote. This meeting also offered up plenty of discussion about Bernie, but the general feeling seemed to have swung from keeping her the same to thinking that she was worthy of the raise. Bernie continues to impress the Valley with her steady progress and it is clear that she is an opponent that no 8 or 9 should take lightly, having done very well in several events around the Valley since last meeting. This time around there was only one opposing vote and that was of Tanner Ellerman of The Sets. Congrats to Bernie on achieving her new 9 status. Additionally, Larry brought up one name that needed correction as it was misplaced under the 7 category and the player should have been listed as an 8, and that was Don Adams. Finally, Larry’s last name for discussion was another representative on the Committee, Scooby Pelton. Scooby has really been working on his game and has been competing with the world’s best for the past few years and it seems to really be paying off. Several reps noted that his entire persona at the table shows a new confidence with no intimidation being felt when facing higher rated players. Scooby agrees with these thoughts and welcomes the opportunity to compete at the 10 level. Congrats Scooby.

Jesse Renteria of Main Street Billiards had a few names to discuss and he started off with Ashea Erdahl. He noted that Ashea seems very anxious to improve her level of play and has already started trying to compete at the 8 level with some success. There was no opposition to the raise and Ashea is now an 8. Andy Yednak 8-9 and John Gonzales 5-6 were also discussed and were met with no opposition and raised. It was also decided that Phillip C. Anderson would be listed on the sheet with his middle initial in place as there seemed to be 2 players with that name in the Valley.

Kitty Carroll was next and had only one name that she wanted to discuss, but she seemed to be on the right track as the player was already listed and found on the sheet in the new level.

Scooby Pelton was the next rep up, and he had no proposed raises, but instead had two players he proposed to lower. A brief discussion of the terms in which the committee would consider lowering players ensued. All were reminded that players wishing to appeal their rating were required to make an appearance at a future meeting. The committee is happy to hear requests for appeals, but players must take the time to appear at the meeting.

Next up was Dale Teague of Knobby’s Lounge. He had 2 relatively new players to the Valley to discuss. Both have shown some play around town, but have not yet made it to the Ratings sheet. C. J. Aunger and Len Knox were discussed and it appears that both players are both hovering between high 7 and low 8 levels based on the play seen so far. As the players on the ratings sheet have developed their ratings over great lengths of time (most of them), it was decided that we will watch these new players, but in the interest of fairness to all, we will consider them 8’s for the time being. Dale’s next name was a proposed change and brought forth much discussion as the player mentioned was on of the most active in the Valley. Sara Miller has been heavily involved in the Arizona pool scene for as long as I can remember and plays in many different venues. Many voices were heard on this topic and in the end a narrow vote kept Sara at the 7 level, but the writing seems to be on the wall, and it will be no surprise to see her graduate soon.

Dick Breese of Metro Sportz Bar had a couple of names to discuss besides a few that had already been brought up and he started with Craig Cardona. This player had been discussed last meeting and was watch-listed. When discussed this meeting, a number of reps voiced their opposition to the raise and Craig stayed at the 7 level. Adrian Burton was the last name Metro brought forth and without opposition was raised from 6 to 7.

Tanner Ellerman of The Sets first name for discussion was Amador (Andy) Benavidez. It was determined that he would be put on the sheet as Andy as that is how most knew him. He went from a 7 to an 8 and was quickly followed by Jason Flora who has been making a name for himself as Jim Rabatin’s scotch partner and was overwhelmingly approved. Both of them will now compete as 8’s. The last name that Tanner wished to discuss was Dennis Fraley. Dick Breese of Metro Sportz voiced his opposition to this and seemed to think this was not a deserved raise. It was put to a vote and several other reps voted for the raise and so it passed.

Kolby’s Corner Pocket has not had representation on the committee for a very long time and we are very pleased to see them return to the system with Ken Cottrell as their new rep. Ken has represented the Tucson area quite ably for some time now, and now he brings his experience to the Valley. As Kolby’s has been away for a while, it was no surprise that the first two changes proposed were actually add-ons as they have never made the sheet previously. Frank Accardo 7-8 and Mike Boozer 6-7 were approved and will be added to the sheet. Josh Stinnett went from an 8 to a 9, Paul Jost 7-8, and Jack Scerca was promoted to the rating of 10. Jack had been previously discussed at the last meeting and was discussed again at this one with several reps commenting. It was determined that it was time for Jack to enter the ranks of the double digit rated players, congratulations Jack.

A couple of other high rated players were discussed from Kolby’s. Bernie Pettipiece has grabbed some headlines lately with some nice 14.1 wins in the local arena and a very nice showing at the World Championships. Chairman Mike O’Hara reminded the reps that we do not base our ratings on 14.1 or one-pocket, and that we should concentrate on Bernie’s 9-ball and 8-ball skills. This was duly noted, and the general consensus seemed to be that Bernie was easily capable of performing as a 10-1. Scooby Pelton went as far as to say that he thought Bernie was one of the top 5 all-around players in the area. After the unanimous vote, Bernie became the Valley’s newest 10-1. Another high level proposed raise did not pass though. Ron Rutan, a 9 rated player well known to most of the committee was proposed to be raised to the 10 level. Again, the topic of whether games other than 8-ball and 9-ball should be considered was touched upon as Ron is a very prolific one-pocket player. Once again, only 8-ball and 9-ball were considered and Ron stayed at the 9 level. However, the committee was in agreement that in games other than 8-ball and 9-ball it was understandable that some houses may choose to implement “In House” ratings to make their “other game” events equitable. However, the committee also agreed that In House ratings for 8-ball and 9-ball were contrary to the efforts of the committee and that In House ratings should only be used until the next ratings committee meeting where the player will be voted on by the group.

The Prescott/Northern Arizona area was represented at this meeting by a new rep, Richard Daniels. Richard attempted to make the last meeting, but was trapped on I-17 by a major tanker spill a few months back. Due to his efforts to attend last meeting, the committee extended him the courtesy of treating this as his 2nd meeting and allowed his proposals to be put before the group. His two names met with no opposition, and Andy Davis 7-8 and Terry Tucker 8-9 were both approved. Richard then petitioned the committee to re-discuss his rating of 10. He requested that he be lowered back down to the 10 level where he felt “comfortable” and discussed his tournament performances in the Prescott area. A few of the other reps weighed in on the subject, and overwhelmingly Richard’s appeal was denied and he remains a 10.

Jerry Stuckart had only one name left that was not previously mentioned to discuss at this meeting and that person was Lenny Marshall, aka. FastLenny. A number of committee members came to agreement that this raise was appropriate and Lenny graduated to 9 status with votes from Bull, Jesse, Scooby, Jerry and Dale. Ken Contrell was the sole vote against the raise, as he felt he was a very strong 8 but not quite there yet.

Steve Havens representing Pockets in the Tucson area had only one name and that was David Carrico from a 6 to a 7. He explained that David was already very competitive with the 7’s in the area and the committee had no objection to this raise.

A number of reps commented that they thought this was a very productive meeting. There were a fair number of raises at this meeting, but it was noted that a good percentage of them were for players that were already competing around town at the higher number, and many of these could easily be considered clerical corrections. Once again, the large number of reps contributed to a fair amount of discussion about a number of players, and that helps the committee put out a well thought out sheet. Thank you to all of the reps that took the time out of their schedule to attend and miss the NFL playoffs. The next meeting will be held March 5th at the yet to open Sweet Tooth Billiards at 10040 North 43rd Avenue Suite 1H in Glendale at Noon.