Team Captain of the Month: Travis Childress
Travis Childress of Pensacola, Fla., began playing in the West Florida APA in fall 2015. After just two sessions he started captaining his own team and hasn’t looked back.
Travis has always been successful with his teams and continually brings in new players. He always wants to help grow the League and his Division, so he became a Division Rep.
He’s been the leader in running Singles Boards for West Florida APA for a couple years. He never hesitates to spend his free time hosting Singles Boards for anyone in the League wanting to try and qualify.
“This extra effort has resulted in many of our players getting to experience Regionals and even a few making it to Vegas!” West Florida APA League Operator Matt Miley said. “He’s always one of the first to volunteer; eager to help in any way he can.”
Many of Travis’ teams have done well at the World Qualifiers, however, he always seems to come up just a little short of winning that coveted trip to Vegas. It looked as though he was going to fall victim to the same fate this year, as his team came up short with a finals loss at the 9-Ball World Qualifier.
The next weekend, the Masters World Qualifier would tell a different story. Travis once again found himself playing in the finals. He had to play third in what was a must-win situation for his team. He managed to pull off a victory to clinch his very first trip to Vegas!
The excitement didn’t stop there. The following weekend was the 8-Ball World Qualifier. This was the one he was most excited about, as his team is built of friends and family. At the end of the long weekend, he captained his team back from a loss to clinch one of two spots to Vegas for the 2018 8-Ball World Championship! He did it in true Captain fashion too, not playing at all in the finals match. He coached his team of friends and family all the way to victory!
“I always have my eye out for that person who is eager to help and be apart of something bigger than themselves,” Miley said. “Travis was that person from day one. He always wants to know what more he could do for the League. We may just be a pool league to some people, but the people we impact with the game of pool is amazing—creating friends and family from what are often strangers. Travis has been instrumental in that for years, whether he realizes it or not and I’m very lucky to have him in my League.”