Prepare to be Comfortable Playing Pool

I know I keep mentioning I sparred this month, but you have to realize I haven't played pool for an entire year, so these two sessions have given me many topics to talk about lol.

Even though I haven't played pool in a year, I still wanted to bring my A-Game.  And the best way I know how to do that is to prepare for it like I would like I was going to a tournament or playing league.

So, I needed to figure out everything that made sure that I felt comfortable.  Because I know that I play my best when I'm comfortable.

So, I had to think about things I hadn't thought of in a year, lol. Let's face it.  If we are getting ready for work or to go out shopping (as an example), we don't really think too much about how comfortable we need to be in all aspects of ourselves.  Sure, we need to make sure our clothes aren't too tight or our shoes are comfy, but when we are going to compete (no matter the sport), we need to prepare for all aspects of comfort so that we aren't distracted and instead can play our best.

So on these two afternoons I was going to spar, I had to make sure of my "comfortableness."  That means a comfortable pair of jeans and also wear a shirt that was long enough that it didn't ride up in the back, lol.  Additionally, it was kinda cold so I needed to wear a light sweater, but one that was light enough to keep me warm but not too heavy to where I was hot.  I can't play good pool when I'm too hot.

The next two things might seem girly and trivial, but in reality they're not if we our goal is complete comfort.

I have talked before how being comfortable is key.  There's nothing worse than pulling at your shirt or your hair being in your eyes while you're trying to play pool - all that does is distract you from focusing on the ball in front of you.  This is why I pontificate about comfortableness a lot in my blog.  I have lost matches because I was too worried about a shirt or shoes or pants, etc.

And so one of the other things I had to think about was that I changed my moisturizing routine on my face in the last year.  You might think, "What does that have to do with pool?"  And quite honestly every one should ask that, lol.  But the reason I mention it is, when I was competing I would use a certain moisturizer that did not get oily throughout the day.  When you play pool, you do sweat a little bit and I recognized that particular moisturizers made me feel like I was sweating more than others.  Gosh that's distracting!  So, that morning before I sparred, I had to think, 'would my new moisturizer withstand a session of pool playing without being a distraction?'

Additionally, in the past year I kinda figured out how to put my hair up in a bun, which is affectionately known as the "messy bun."

Here's a picture of me with a messy bun:

As I was getting ready that morning I was thinking to myself, "Should I put my hair in a messy bun or not?"  The reason why is (don't laugh) because I've never played pool with my messy bun, and I have no idea when I got down on a shot, if my hair would come out of the bun, lol.  I have to admit I'm not very good at the messy bun yet and so even if I shake my head some of the strands come out. So the last thing I want to do is try to play pool and strands fall down and get in front of my eyes.  Distracting!

The other thing I had to think about (which I've discussed numerous times in my blog) is when/what should I eat. The pool room opened at noon so I had to figure out when to eat; I always tried to eat at least 2 hours before I played pool.  But I also couldn't have a huge lunch.  If you don't recall - if your stomach is too busy trying to process food, then that takes away blood from the brain which takes away from thinking best.  However, you have to have energy and food is energy, so I couldn't go in without eating anything that morning.

It was so weird to think about all these things I hadn't thought of in a year!  But, I wanted to bring my A-Game.  And my A-Game involves preparation.  :)

I hope you are also planning for complete comfort when you compete, also!