Scotch Doubles Help from the Pros

One of my clients/friends/students that I spar with, her name is Tina. She calls me her "Mentor" which is super sweet and flatters me to no end.  We have become great friends through this "sparring" and so it's really cool that the first time I reached out to her a few years ago to spar has led to a beautiful friendship today!

Okay, put down your Kleenex's, lol.

Well, the other day she was going to play in a scotch doubles tournament and she posted a quote from a pro to her social media account that she said she loved. When I read the quote, I thought to myself, "Yikes, that's not good advice."

Evidently there is a big scotch doubles event going on somewhere in the world with the pros.  I admit I have no idea about this tournament, as I don't follow much pool anymore. Don't judge, lol!

But I can tell based on the few posts I see on Instagram something is going on (I don't really go to Facebook that much anymore).

I wanted to find out why she liked that quote, but more so, did it help her? (why or why not?)

So, I dug into my little keyboard on my phone and inquired for us, because as you know inquiring minds want to know!

I honestly figured Karl wrote that after he or his partner had a fantastic rescue! I personally don't think rescuing your partner is what scotch is about. I think it's more about having fun, trusting your partners' skills, and shooting shots you would normally play (not shots you think your partner wants you to play).

But, who cares what I think, let's see what Tina's thoughts were as to why she loved that quote.

"Well," she confided, "that quote by Karl really change my way of thinking. I was always trying to leave my partner perfect position on every shot, when all along I needed to just trust in their skills."

Hey, that sounds familiar!  (smile)

I found it so interesting she gathered that from his quote.  I became excited!

I continued in inquisition:  "Did you notice a difference when you played in your scotch tourney?"  (hoping the answer was yes)

"Absolutely.  That little phrase has changed my scotch doubles playing life!"

(So cool, right?!)

I replied, "Wow, that's pretty powerful. I'm so happy his words helped you so much!"

She shared, "I was happy, too. I have been watching the World Cup of Pool all weekend..."

[edit to add, oh that's the pro tournament that was going on hahaha]

"..... and I see how the partners in the scotch doubles format we're struggling - even though they were pros. Plus, the quote really did change my way of thinking."

I can imagine how relieved she feels - no wonder she played well in her recent scotch tourney (they placed 4th!). That is a lot of pressure if one thinks you have to leave your partner perfect shape every shot, wow! And, what a relief for her to see pros miss in scotch doubles - seeing them make mistakes makes us realize we are all human.

I get so tickled when words penetrate and they impact people deeply. And I also loved how my interpretation of the quote was completely different from hers - I love learning!