A Perspective: Singles Finals in Vegas

A friend of mine finished an impressive 2nd place in the BCAPL National singles event last year. It was the highest national singles title he's ever come close to!  He has had several big wins here and there throughout the last 10 years or so, but none on the national singles stage.

He has put in the time and he was due for sure - we were all very proud of him!

He shared with me his tournament experience because we used to share these type of things many, many years ago. Plus, he knows I LOVE hearing these type of stories :)

He told me, "So I was reading your blog, and it made me reflect on pool in general and I think you'd be the person that could relate to it the most." And he was right! Trust me when I say I could blog about five topics just from these few paragraphs, lol. A lot of great insight he shares.

He's a very funny guy and I actually call him my "Favorite Mexican," but then that makes my other friends jealous, lol. I have written about his Mom before in my blog: here.

I would never even begin to adequately be able to describe what he did, so I'm going to simply copy/paste his words so you can experience for yourself this amazing, unforgettable time in his life. You will enjoy this, I promise!

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I've never been able to put myself in a position to play in the finals of the nationals in singles, and I got super nervous when I was playing in the semi-finals match. I walked around the table trying to calm down, took deep breaths, did my PSR [pre shot routine], and just made sure to stay down on every, single, shot until the 8ball dropped.

So now, I'm super excited I'm in the finals, I damn near wanted to cry. LOL. I called my wife, then walked to the bar. I knew I had to calm down from the excitement, and figured a drink would help (mental right?). So I get to the tv arena, and I hit a few balls. Those tables were super fast and rails really bouncy. I was overrunning everything during warm up. Up until that point, I made it a point to not look up. Just wanted to focus on my table, and that's it. Well, there was a slight delay in the start of the match, and then I looked up. Ugh! Just about everybody that was there in the building from Dallas, was in the stands! Then I looked over to the table next to ours, and see two top players playing, Jesus Atencio vs Omar Alshaheen. 

At that exact moment, I got a text from my friend Alex. In '09 when I got 3rd at the state tourney, Alex was texting me and calling me, telling me to have fun in every match towards the end of the event. It really helped! Well, the text that I got from him was something similar. 

Since we hadn't started yet, I stood up, took a deep breath, then turned to look at the crowd. I took it all in, and decided to enjoy the moment. I mean, who knows if I'll ever be in that spot again. 

The nerves instantly went away. It was weird. I felt a sense of calmness just before my opponent walked back up to the table. It was just a matter of tapping into the mental calmness for a bit. Of course, we all know how the finals went, LOL [he lost :( ]. But afterwards, I didn't feel any kind of regret or sadness. I just felt great to be able to play in the finals of that event, which had been my goal since stepping foot in the BCA league.

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What is your favorite part of the story?  Mine is pretty easy:  "I stood up, took a deep breath, then turned to look at the crowd. I took it all in, and decided to enjoy the moment."

I just loved that whole sentence - it truly captured everything we all wish and hope for to feel some day in our own pool journey!

Congrat's to my Favorite Mexican! err, I mean, Juan!  SO FREAKING PROUD OF YOU!

Less Knowledge Can Lead to Improving

When I played in the BCAPL Nationals Master's Scotch Doubles event in 2010 in Las Vegas, my partner was a mere 25 years old and one of the top one pocket players in the state of Texas.  I was 15 years older than him, but he was much more experienced at pool than I was.  His name is Sylver Ochoa and he had been playing one pocket for over 10 years or so and so he was very knowledgeable and talented about all the games of pool way younger than I ever was, lol.

What I learned playing scotch doubles with him (read my blog report of that tourney here) was just how unknowledgeable I was about 8 ball/patterns, lol.  You'd think that is a negative thing, but eye-openers are not usually a negative thing, right?

You see, after the break, he would walk up to the table, look at the layout of the balls, and then almost immediately know the best pattern for a run.  He saw the whole table so much more differently than I did.  I walk up there, and then stand up there wondering what should I shoot next for him, or how to get on the next ball.  He instead saw the patterns for the entire rack.

Don't get me wrong, I knew strategy of 8ball well, and so we played really well together and actually beat a lot of tough teams.  I had enough experience under my belt to know when to run out and when not to.  But it was the obvious patterns I still lacked quick knowledge of.

I realize that his top skills, fast improvement, and becoming a top pro player quickly at such a young age allowed him the luxury to see the layout of an entire 8 ball layout much easier than I did.

But it was still so impressive to witness him almost automatically see/recognize the proper pattern to  connect each ball naturally to run out.  At one point, I wasn't sure if I should have shot the 7 ball or the 6 ball, and his response was so obvious lol.  "You make the 7 first because that naturally connects to the 6 ball which then sets you up for the 2 ball and that will lead you easily to the 8ball.

pffft.  "easily."  Whatever, dude.  lol

As you know, there are a ton of different ways to run out 8 ball; there are so many choices!  But he saw the "correct" paths and connected the proper pattern to each ball so well and quickly, that it really proved to me I needed to work on my patterns lol.  It was a great experience to find out I had so much more to learn about pool!

Just A Hop Skip

I'm not on social media that much lately, but I did just check Facebook this morning and one of their features is "on this day" and it showed up for me.

And on this day a mere four years ago, my women's team, Born Ready, received our official photos after we won the BCAPL National Championship Women's Team Title!

I'm absolutely astonished this was only four years ago. It seems like so much longer than that.  I'm not sure why it seems so much farther in the past, but it sure doesn't seem so recent:

Amanda Lampert in Lights

My bestie Amanda Lampert has won NUMEROUS titles in her short pool life.  Just to name a FEW:  Houston Open a few times, Texas Open a few times, OB Cues Ladies Tour stops a few times, OB Cues Tour Champion, Regional Tour Champion, BCAPL Open Champion, etc.

However, I think I was MORE proud of seeing this!

She was so honored when CSI/BCAPL asked her last year if they could take her pic for the Walk of Fame at the Rio that they put up during BCAPL Nationals. 

2016 was the first they put it up and she was right up front!  Where she still belongs (and in life).

SO STINKING PROUD OF HER!!!

No Pool In Vegas

I went to Vegas last week to hang out with friends who were playing in the BCAPL Nationals.

I had decided a few months ago not to play in the tournament itself, so was only really going for vacation (which turns out I desperately needed but didn't realize how much I needed it) and also to see some friends I only get to see in Vegas every year for that event.

As I made my way to the Rio on Friday morning of the event, which scotch doubles was going on, I slowly made my way into the venue, a tad frightful of how I would feel.  Even I admit I was afraid that seeing everyone play the beautiful game of 8-ball on the fine-ass diamond bar tables was going to pull at my heart strings and made me wish I was playing.

I was surprised - I didn't get even one feeling or twinge of "I wish"! 

I was so relieved! 

It was obvious I had made the correct decision to not play.  I got to just relax on my terms and with no time constraints.  I did not have to worry about setting an alarm clock, did not have to mentally prepare for matches, did not have to rush to the venue, was not stuck in the convention center for hours, etc.  Instead, I got to walk the strip, have great meals with great friends (or solo), sit by the pool, gamble, shop, etc. Oooh, sounds like a vacation! 

While it saddens me a little to break my around-20-year-streak of playing in the event, I was happy to be able to have a vacation not involving pool.  I AM glad the event was going on because I was able to spend quality time with a lot of friends, tho.  For that I am grateful.  Had a lot of wonderful talks and catching up.

Coin Memories

While going through things in my house to downsize and organize, I came across this gem:

WOW!! Remember the days when we used COINS at Nationals?  Not even quarters or silver dollars, but special-made coins for Nationals! 

Heck, nowadays even slot machines are coin-free.  Good ole' days of carrying around coins and getting our fingers dark from the metal of the coins are gone.

Seems almost unreal this coin is from 10 years ago.  But, another great ten years of my life.

Even When We Lose, We Like Our Name in Mags

I was reading the recap of the BCAPL Nationals in Billiards Digest and saw a pic of the girl who beat me in the singles and went on to win the whole thing.  Dang cute, skinny, young, bad-ass player, dammit.  lol.

As I read the article, there's my name!

"...rebounded to oust Melinda Bailey, Leslee Blaikie and Christine Tome to earn another shot at Erdahl in the finals....

Wow Hoo!

 I still made it in the magazine!  I guess it helps being beat by the best :)

Click photo below to enlarge.  And Toni Sakamoto who put me out is the one in the photo with her well-deserved first place trophy!

High Balls

I was in a very early match one morning at BCAPL Nationals during singles when I asked my opponent (just to be sure) what balls I were.

"High balls."

Now, it's early in the morning.  I'm not thinking clear and not hearing her correctly.  What did she say?

I ask again - I swear I didn't understand her.

"High balls."

It still just didn't register.  Am I strips or solids?  Was she mumbling? Seriously, what am I?  Since I was only trying to hear "strips or solids", "high balls" meant nothing to my mind at this point. 

I ask again, "Uh, what are you?"  (I ask a different way)

She says "low balls."

OH!

Me and my blonde moment, but just to be clear, "Oh, okay you are solids and I am stripes, okay."

Canadian lingo I guess?  I hadn't heard this either before or in a long time and was very confused.  She prolly thought, "dumb blonde" LOL. 

But miscommunication can cause a lot of problems during a match (well, in life) and I HAD to make sure (even if asking a bunch of questions made me seem weird and crazy lol).

All You Need Is Just One....

They say all you need is to just buy one ticket.

Well, I REALLY wanted to win a cue at BCAPL Nationals when I was there in July and here were my chances:

(yes, I bought more than one)

The raffle girls loved me!  Usually players turn away when they approach them, I would instead almost flag them down.  "Hey, I want to buy a ticket, come here!"

They would remember my name and say hello, too, because I would buy tickets from them more than once, lol.

But alas, I did NOT win a new cue!  Dang it...

I Know This is Bad Timing

When i played my first match of the day on Monday morning at BCAPL nationals, I found myself in a tough match.

Why could I not be playing any of the other girls around me that kept missing, lol.

I almost got out the first game but I missed a shot I normally make.  Then my opponent COMES WITH IT.  At first she was missing in this first game, but then we she had 3 tough balls left and a tricky 8 ball, she nailed the out.

Oh shit.

I was impressed.  And I knew I had my hands full.

I won the next game though.

She won the next with more good play and excellent safeties.  She played super smart; knew the game well.

But for some reason, I managed to pull ahead 3-2.  She continued to fight;  continued to play impressive safes and great shots, but I was able to win the match somehow.  Still not sure how tho, because she was a great player.

As we were putting our cues away, I said to her, "I know this is really bad timing, but you played really good."

She snapped at me, " No I didn't. "

She was very upset.   Honestly, she should be; She played REALLY good, but the last two games I prevailed somehow.

I tried again, "You played excellent safeties.  You play really smart and good" I pleaded ( yes, pleaded for her to hear me).

"I played terrible," as she quickly left the area upset.

Although she lost, she was my best opponent and most knowledgeable.   I wanted her to know that so badly.

Fast forward about 8 hours and I see her walking by me.  Then all of a sudden she turns around and comes up to me.

"Hey, it really meant a lot what you said this morning.  And I'm glad you prefaced it with 'I know it's bad timing.'  But I was just upset, but I want you to know it meant a lot."

Then I bragged on her some more in front my friends how well she played and her great safeties.  She left with a smile to her next match and won the rest of her matches that day.  I was a huge fan already from our morning match.

April from Canada.

Miscommunication 101

At our very first scotch doubles match in the Open Scotch Doubles event at BCAPL Nationals at the end of July, my partner and I are up 2-0 or so in a race to 4.

At some point during this third game, the female of the other team is standing at the table kinda confused.  She gets down to shoot a certain shot and her opponent stops her.

Uh, hold up - what's going on here?

He says something to her, and they motion to each other and then he says, "time out" to us and walks towards her.

Time out?!  HOLD ON!

I stop them and say, "uh, excuse me, there isn't any time outs in scotch doubles."

The guy says to me, "Yes there is."

"No, there isn't," I counter.

He tells me, "we did it last year."

"Um in what league?"  I ask.

"This one."

I told him, "I have been playing in this event like 10 years, it hasn't been allowed for YEARS," as he's looking at me confused.

I ask nicely, "Can I ask the ref?"

"Sure," he says, "sounds good."

I go up to the ref that is literally just feet away from us, "Uh, excuse me, but are time outs allowed?"

He looks at me and replies, "yes."

I'm like OMG REALLY?

I asked, shocked, "since when?"

Ref's reply:  "Since as long as I can remember."

OMG....

I go back to the table and tell my partner first, "he says there are time outs."

So, the guy goes back to the table to tell his opponent the better shot to shoot.

I ask a friend of mine who is playing next to us, "hey, are time outs allowed?"

She replied to me laughing, "No, Melinda, we've been playing in this event over ten years and they have never allowed it.  Come on."   It was ironic she said ten years, too, lol.

So I go up to another ref and he says the SAME thing.  I'm about to lose my mind - has my memory REALLY gotten that bad??  I know I had two concussions in the last year but REALLY?

So I go up to the first ref, "I'm sorry, but can you ask the head ref for us, please?"

He says sure.

At this point,  my partner is like, "cool - let's take time outs."  LMAO.  It's funny because we don't need any.

The head ref shows up and they call me over.

"What is your question ma'am?"

"Thank you.  Are time outs allowed?"

"Yes."

I'm DUMBFOUNDED!

Then he adds, "you can take a five minute time-out for a bathroom break."

I ask, "no, for coaching?"  He says, "Oh no, not for coaching, just to go to the bathroom."

Even the first ref adds, "no, not for coaching."

Communication 101 people - be very SPECIFIC when you ask questions, lol.

Game Face

Back in Feb when I went to my Dad's memorial in Virginia, his wife and his wife's sister both suggested I do my eyebrows different, as they are world renowned make up artists.

So, they plucked away at my eyebrows and taught me how to reshape them to make my eyes look bigger, younger, and my face more open and happy.

I was coloring them thin and then down on the ends, and they said I need to thicken them and for sure not draw them down.  Drawing them down makes you look sad, instead you need to open up your eyes.

So, as I shaped my eyebrows the morning of the last day of the BCAPL Nationals Singles competition, I joked with myself that I should draw my eyebrows into an angry look.  You know, drawing them like this to make me look angry and mean for my opponents:

 (for all you Seinfeld fans)

I thought it was pretty funny!  It would definitely had distracted my opponents, lol!

I then just practiced my angry, game face:

But in reality, I play best calm and cool, not angry or mean.  :)

Finally Finished Well at BCAPL Nationals!

After all the years I have been playing at BCAPL Nationals, I can finally say that I finally finished well!!

I placed 5th out of about 250 players!

I cannot begin to express how happy and accomplished and ecstatic I feel.  I can't even put it into words, really.

I have wanted to place well for so many years, had the talent to do it the last few years, but could never come with it during game time.  This year, I did!

WOW!

Still honestly, can't believe it.  I.am.so.happy!!

The girl that put me out of the tournament went on to win the entire event - the BCAPL Women's Open Singles!  VERY proud of her as she played GREAT!  Even though I had a few chances against her which may haunt me (lol) I am happy to have been beaten by the eventual winner.

And, her name was Toni and since that's my Mom's name, that was cool, too.

Further - I placed high enough to finally get moved up as an ADVANCED player.  YAY!!  So happy!   And, I was ONE match away from becoming a Master - dang it, so close...  :(

But still very extremely happy to finally place so high in this event that I have played in for about 15-20 years.  Feels awesome after all those years of thinking I can do well to finally actually play well enough to place high.

Go me!

And congrats to Toni Sakamoto for winning the entire shebang!

Everyone keeps saying how can I leave the competing after placing so high, but I have already made up my mind - no more leagues.  So, super glad I went out on a high note!  Wow - still can't believe this....  :)

Taking Advantage

I mowed my lawn and edged and trimmed the yard on Sunday.  You know, when you own a home you have responsibilities and have to get things done.

So, while I did all that (and also getting exercise and great sun on my skin), I took advantage of the perfect opportunity to listen to my self-help tape, The Psychology of Winning, to get my mind ready for BCAPL Nationals.

I LOVE taking advantage of situations like these:  Multitasking and doing things for yourself; and all were very fruitful!

See you in Vegas!

Pressure for BCAPL Nationals?

I have written over a 100 times probably on my blog over the years that expectations are pretty much the root of evil for me.

And yet here I sit, less than two weeks away from the 2015 BCAPL Nationals, so do I have any expectations?

You bet I do!  I am a pool player, after all ;)

I shouldn't be nervous though - I haven't prepared or hit balls, so I should feel any nerves.  And while I know I play my absolute best not thinking of the future, I admit I am not doing well with that.

The last few times I was unprepared for State events, I earned first place trophies in the BCAPL Texas State tourney in 2014 and 2015.  But this is a national BCAPL event.  One I haven't placed high in singles before.  My highest was 9th, and that was prolly about 12 years ago.

However....

• I KNOW I'm better now. 
• I KNOW I know the game of 8 ball very well.
• Physically, I am doing better than usual. 
• I KNOW after playing good scotch doubles I should be really be warmed up well for singles.
• I think my partner and I can do real well in scotch doubles.  REAL well - we have a great chance - IF I can hold it together and NOT think ahead of the possibilities like I already am  :( 

I should be going over these two books in the next week and a half to mentally prepare myself:

But will I?  I am being pretty lackadaisical for sure this time around.

Since pool isn't a priority in my life right now, I'm really not doing anything to prepare for this big tournament.  But yet - it means a lot to me and I would LOVE to finish well as my last hurrah.  Kinda of like gaining weight, ya know?  We WANT to lose weight, and it's on our minds, but we don't really put a lot of effort into it lol.

And this is what I also know:

• I am not as mentally tough as I have been the last few years for some reason.
• I haven't prepared AT ALL for this event.
• I am slowing down in playing league and pool in general, and what if this is my "last hurrah" to play BCAPL Nationals and I dog it?

Well, let's put this in perspective:

Will it be the end of the world if I don't place well?

Nope. 

Will I still be a good person in life, even if I don't place well?

Yep.

Will I still be proud of myself?

Yep.

And what if I don't even get in the money? (although my personal goal would be to get deep in the money)  Would I be okay?   Would I be okay knowing I didn't get moved up yet again?  Would I be okay knowing I might have lost my last opportunity to do well in this event because I may not play in it again any time soon?

Absolutely!

I have had so much success in many other tournaments in the past few years, if I don't do well in this one this year, I should be okay with myself.  Because, as I said - it wont be the end of the world if I don't place well.

As one of my friends has told me over and over in the last few years, winning or losing doesn't define me.  

Glad I wrote my thoughts down.  Whew!  I already feel better and much less pressure!

No, go out there and have fun, Melinda!

Bad Practice and Two-Stroking

I mentioned that I played poorly during the BCAPL Nationals this year in July.

I have been trying to figure out why.  One of the reasons is because I didn't get enough sleep .  But truly, the other reason, once I thought about it, was because I was practicing bad.

I have written numerous time how I hadn't practiced not even ONE time before my two recent big wins (BCAPL Texas State Ladies Single title and ACS 9-Ball Ladies Single title).

Well, this time I decided to practice before the BCAPL Nationals.  While that may seem like a good idea, it bit me in the ass instead.

I thought practicing straight pool would help me, but it did not. 

While straight pool is suppose to hone you in and help your rotation games, I ended up two-stroking my shots (literally only stroking only TWICE and then shooting) b/c I was playing by myself (no pressure) but more so because the shots seemed easy to me.

I no longer had that good stroke that everyone talked about.  And two-stroking is NOT good for me.  Hurts my shot making ability 100%.

I was even playing bad on my Thursday night ladies league before Nationals.  I knew something was off, but I didn't know what until in Vegas I was missing shots I don't normally miss b/c I was back to two-stroking.

"Any day of the week, no practice is better than bad practice."

-Randy Goettlicher, Pool School Instructor

Once I figured this out (too late during that big event), I have been playing much better at my ladies league and even played well in the last Omega!  Got 17th out of 80 players :) :)

Be An Example At All Times

I posted on Facebook my disappointment with my bad play at the BCAPL Nationals,  both in scotch doubles and singles.

I said after my first singles loss:  "I hate playing badly.  Oh well."

Then after my next match, where I was put out of the tourney I said, "I love playing badly!  At least I had fun.  33rd place out of about 250 players."

I was going to rant more, explain more, vent more, but the two posts I put up, several responses reminded me of a couple of important things.

1. Some people, actually look up to me.  And I am a representative of the sport.
2. I really do need to be careful how I word things so I do not discourage anyone. Honesty is good, so everyone can relate to bad play, but careful wording is important IMO.

Some people, actually said things like this:

• "You've accomplished more than 99% of players will ever accomplish in their life. From this point on, it really doesn't matter how you play."
• "One trip at nationals doesn't define you as a player."
• and from the editor of Billiards Digest, "Sorry. But, to be honest, it was gonna be hard to justify writing about you and posting photos of you again!!!"  (he is super funny and cool)

And they were all correct.  So what?  I had a bad tourney.  So what?  I didn't play well.

Doesn't mean I need to spew off about my bad play and discourage people.  I wanted to instead be an example that bad play happens to us, and we are still human for that.  And, that it's not the end of the world to play badly.  

So, I added this to FB the next day: Reflecting on my tourney.... I knew coming in I was playing badly, but still disappointed with my lack of good play in both events. I love the BCAPL Nationals so much and wish I would have played better, that which I know I'm capable of. But, I was blessed to hang around great friends, tho, the whole time and run into a lot of friends. I laughed a lot and had fun with them. Bonus part of the trip for sure!!"

Not Sharing Magic Rack

One of our scotch doubles teams in Vegas for BCAPL Nationals was using a Magic Rack.  We thought they should have told us we could use it (we broke first and didn't see they had a magic rack) because I remembered that if one uses it, then both can use it.

After they broke second, we asked if we could use the rack. They told us they asked a ref in the previous match and the ref said they didn't have to share it!

Really?!? 

They said the ref said we would have to buy one.

Wow!

While we thought balls go in more easily with the magic rack, my partner made a ball or more on the break every time and we didn't worry about it anymore.

However...it got me thinking.  So, I could use a magic rack during my singles matches?  I wasn't breaking well and maybe that would help.

But then I realized how horrible I would feel if I didn't let my opponents use the magic rack as well. Just thinking about it made me feel uneasy.  Like I would be cheating or trying to have an advantage, EVEN THO the rule is I don't have to share.

But I have such a huge heart (versus a competitive heart) and couldn't even fathom doing that.  Just not in my nature at all.

I would feel like I was being mean.  And I just could not do that. 

Not Looking at the Crowd Surprise

I have written before not to look at the crowd during matches.  This really helps me stay focused entirely on my match.  It also helps me from being distracted from anyone in the crowd.  Nothing worse than seeing someone you don't like watching, or you notice someone who gives you bad vibes (we all have that person(s)).

I have "trained" myself so well with this tip, that something kinda crazy happened in one of matches in Vegas for BCAPL last weekend.

I was in the middle of a really tough match.  I noticed a guy sat down to watch.  Then a couple came to watch.  I thought , "dang, my opponent has a lot of support!" 

I got up 3-1 and prolly played my best pool of all week in this match. But a bad leave on an 8-ball cost me the 4-1 win. 

Next thing you know, I'm fighting for my life.... it goes hill-hill!

And even MORE people have come to watch her play!

At this point, I have run out of water.  I had two small short containers of water, but I ran out.  And I'm the type of player that needs to stay hydrated in my matches.   And being hill-hill,  I REALLY didn't want to not have my water.  Water also gives me energy and wakes me up, which I have written about before.

My opponent played really well and we were in a long safety game.

I REALLY didn't want to leave while she was at the table, but I needed my water!

I finally walked away quickly while she was at the table, all the while I'm looking back to watch her so I could wave I was down the long aisle getting water from the free water cooler.

I walked very briskly back and apologized for leaving. "Sorry, I had no one to ask to get me water."   Feeling kinda silly saying pretty much I have no friends, lmao.  Just kidding, I have a few ;)

She was super kind and said no problem and then I immediately took my turn to shoot another safety.

Long story short,  I managed to win hill-hill!   

Whew. 

As I am putting my cues up, the first guy that came to sit down to watch her play says, "Great win, Melinda."

I finally look up, and look AT him for the first time (because I don't look at the crowd).  Oh my goodness, he was MY friend!  Not hers!  LOL.  The whole time I did have a friend, cheerleader, supporter, but didn't even realize it, lol.

He even tells me, "I could tell you needed water but could also tell that you were really focused and I didn't want to ruin that."

I laughed as I told him, "yeah,  I don't look at the crowd when I'm playing. "  He laughed some more and said "I noticed so didn't want to disrupt your focus."

Which I REALLY appreciated.

He was from Kansas and flying out that afternoon.  He was only in town for work and stopped by to see some friends play.  He scudded quickly off to watch another friend as I went to my next match.

Funny - I had no idea til that match just how dedicate I am to not looking around!

Interviews Posted

Well, this may jinx my upcoming play at BCAPL Nationals, lol, but the two interviews I mentioned just got published!

:)

The first one that came out was Bad Boys Billiard Online Magazine.  Here is the cover:  OMG!  I can't believe this!!!  I'm on the cover of their first edition?!  WOW! 

And they said they have a surprise for me at BCAPL Nationals.  I'll share what it is when I come back.

They asked me several questions (interview is on pages 4-5) and this was my FAV:


BB:  Who have been your biggest influences on your game over the years?

Melinda:  "Tough question.  I guess I would have to say that I have learned something from every competitor I have ever competed against.  So, they are my biggest influence. "


And then the second interview came out the same day!

Billiards Digest!!  :)

The author interviewed me and then wrote up a story about my finals for my ACS 9-Ball Nationals win.  I reiterated how I just tried to do my best to stay in the moment of every step to the finals.

The only thing it didn't mention was I won it on Mother's Day, and dedicated the win to her.  I mentioned that on Facebook and someone replied so sweet, "Anyone who knows you knows you dedicate more than a pool match to your Mom. She must have been an amazing person ( I know mine is). That is one of your most impressive traits."    

I'm so honored and shocked by the two articles.  I don't even know what else to say.  I actually feel weird sharing all this.  But, if I am to share about my Journey with Pool, then this is part of it.

Til next time, Friends.