RoAPL 3 Team Interview of the Week #6: The Navy Spheals
Interview took place during the Finals
Lutra: Hello, today I'm joined by Huston, manager of The Navy Spheals, a team who unfortunately didn't make the playoffs. To a lot of people, you were a surprise pick as an old gen manager, coming in to replace KratosMana. Do you think you've shown that you've earned a place as a manager for upcoming team tournaments?
Huston: I feel I did fairly well considering I didn't have all the preparation time other managers did, and I honestly think I have earned my place in the future... though there are definitely a lot of things I would have done differently throughout the season but I've learned a lot for the future regarding managing.
Lutra: Did the auction go well for you? Was it according to plan?
Huston: I believe it did, though I was trying to draft to please my assistant manager as well, which I kind of regret simply because of activity issues and the lack of depth due to that which caused us issues in several weeks.
Lutra: Your team was one of the inactive ones, do you see that as something you need to correct for next time?
Huston: Absolutely. That was mostly my fault, but I definitely will be more proactive regarding that in the future.
Lutra: What role did your assistant manager Luigi play for the team?
Huston: He helped with the draft, and had a role in a couple of teams used during the season.
Lutra: ADV seemed your one strong tier results-wise and that was reflected in the power rankings. Do you feel any players of other tiers deserved more than the results they got?
Huston: Not really. Most of our issues were simply activity related, and most records from our players were around what I believe they should have gotten. Klefkwi is one player that really impressed me throughout the season, and is someone that I do think could have done even better and will in the future.
Lutra: What was the atmosphere like in your discord server?
Huston: For the most part there wasn't that much communication, compared to other experiences in team tours I have had.
Lutra: Since a number of your matches went to a hosting decision, do you feel any of the decisions went against your team more than you were expecting?
Huston: No, not really. I tried to get subs and such, but when people aren't active it causes losses and that's to be expected.
Lutra: Tell us how you initially found competitive Pokémon and Smogon.
Huston: I was a VGC player, and actually went to Smogon for VGC in 2014. I've been playing singles metagames for about a year, though I haven't had any real success in tournaments.
Lutra: What are your favourite tiers these days?
Huston: I mostly enjoy Little Cup and Ubers, though I play quite a bit of RBY and DPP on Showdown.
Lutra: What are your Pokémon goals for the future?
Huston: Well, i start full time college in a couple months so I honestly don't know how much longer I'll play seriously, but I'd like to win a major tournament(seasonals/Open/OU Circuit) before I am too busy to realistically compete at a high level. I'd need to improve a lot for this to happen, and I'd also like to play in SPL at least once though 2018 may be my last chance.
Lutra: Do you look up to any players?
Huston: Yes. I've always looked up to players like Peasounay, as well as Kingler12345 and Heysup in Little Cup.
Lutra: What things in the competitive Pokémon scene would you most like to see improve?
Huston: I honestly don't see too much that's a major problem in the community, but I think sometimes the community in general on Smogon tends to be a bit harsh to newer players or experienced players who aren't high level players, but I think it's slowly getting better over the last year or so in my opinion.
Lutra: Any more questions you want me to ask you?
Huston: Not that I know of lol
Lutra: Thank you Huston, you've answered all the questions I can think to give you!
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