Teams don’t win races. Only one driver can win and get the most points, like pinball. Drivers on the same team can work together by drafting or pitting together, but once the checkered flag flies, it’s every man (or woman) for themselves.
The Pinburgh league affiliation standings are even less meaningful than the power100, because the power100 get an invite to an exclusive tournament. 
Agreed on interesting read re: tennis. The no coaching rule between points — or at least between games, or changeovers — is a poor rule.
@tazmo72
In terms of solo-play competitive pinball — not team pinball like Epstein Cup or League vs League throw downs — I don’t like the concept of allowing a coach/caddy to actively coach while the ball is in play. There is coaching allowed between balls, and I think that’s enough. Using the football helmet mic analogy… if we allowed active in-ball coaching for pinball, it would be like a player having a coach live in their ear during a play, telling them to “cut to the right! It’s open field!” Or “Receiver wide open, deep left!” That would be incredibly useful live info to have from your coach who has the whole field view from the press box, but it would take away from the skill in that sport of reading a play, formation, and situation.
In pinball, it should be on the player alone to assess-on-the-fly what’s lit, and what they should be shooting or setting up.
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We should allow coaching for one main reason. I think I would finally find my nitche in pinball as I sure as heck can tell you what you should be doing but damn, I can’t ever do what I’m even preaching 
What’s that saying. Those that can’t do coach? Yup, that would be me…
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The biggest detriment I see to allowing in-game coaching is the impact it would have on the “Have’s” versus the “Have Not’s” . . . and I’m referring to having access to an elite player as a resource versus those that don’t.
At Pinburgh Zach and I have a crew of our friends that come with us every year. I could only imagine during their sessions in D division as Zach and I head over whenever we can to coach them through their balls as they play . . . the impact that has on any of the opponents who don’t have that ‘friend access’ that our group of friends have.
I think it would be detrimental to that casual level player base to have to deal with all these “random players” that happen to have an Elwin, Raymond, Cayle over their shoulder telling them everything they need to do, or telling them to relax and calm down, versus those that would LOVE that help but aren’t friends with any high-level players.
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Oh…I thought you were going the other direction with this: imagine the throngs of people who’ve been eliminated that would love to be coaching you.
Agreed. It’s bad enough to fight new machine availability, but imagine having the person coaching your opponent be the person that literally wrote the software for the game.
Can you also imagine how much play would be slowed down if in game coaching was allowed?
Player traps ball, them has a discussion with their coach as to what to shoot, rinse and repeat.
I’ve seen it in a team game, where it was allowed, and the games went on forever.
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Any NYC team league players here? I know that league’s rules allow for in-game coaching.
The local bar leagues I run, I switched to allowing coaching. The reasoning was that for the newer players they would often ask or want coaching, friends who played together a lot had trouble learning to not coach, and the best players were not going to gain an advantage. Before we added the addendum to allow coaching, I was not enforcing it anyway, as consequences listed. Most I ever did was inform people coaching was not allowed.
That’s a team based league, right?
Seattle Monday Night Pinball also allows coaching teammates during a game.
Team pinball does — and should — allow active in-ball coaching.
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I was more wondering if anyone from a team league could speak to the “games would take forever if in-game coaching was allowed” point- seems like those leagues are examples that they probably don’t.
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Seattle’s Monday Night Pinball with around 200 players plus another 100 or so subs allows coaching at any time.
This Have’s vs Have Not’s already exists for pre-game and in between balls coaching. I heard on a podcast recently about a player getting second in the division he played in (can’t remember if it was D or E) at Pinburgh in part due to having so many elite players coaching him as to what to do on each game. These were his words not mine and it definitely made me feel like one of the have-nots when listening to this… but that’s life I suppose.
That person still had to actually play well and follow through on the advice, though. There were countless times at Pinburgh (including finals!) where I knew exactly what I needed to do and just… didn’t.
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I thought that part was a given and we were focused on the benefits/legality of coaching.
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I support this. And as mentioned earlier, one thing is knowing what to hit, another thing is actually hitting it.
My team league allows in-game coaching and it is almost never used. No delays to speak of.
However, I’m fully against in-game coaching in any other format. Most tournaments are what, like 5-10% actually playing? Maybe less? Use that other time for learning how to play.