A Saturday Night Out Lessons

I was conversing with a friend of mine at the end of last year, who is also a frequent contributor to billiard magazines. We chat every so often comparing notes and sharing ideas.

 

After we discussed our most recent interactions with certain players for our respective magazines, he shared he had recently played pool (I thought he hadn't played in quite some time, so I leaned in towards the little chat window, anxious to see what he would type next.

 

"On a side note, " he started out, "I'm starting to get the Jones to play again. I actually got out on Saturday and played in a tourney. "

 

He then shared a photo of him and another player. They were holding up 20 dollar bills like a fan, lol. Then as I looked closer, I realized my colleague had more 20s than other player next to him - he placed first! My colleague is an introvert and shy (especially with photos), but I could see happiness and accomplishment on his face.

 

"Not bad for someone who has played in maybe two tourneys in the last 12 months, " he quipped.

 

"WOW! Look at you!" I gasped. I was so happy for him! Then added, "Sometimes breaks are really good for our game," not knowing I was foreshadowing his next comment.

 

He asks me, "Tell me if this makes any sense. I am a Fargo 560 and my buddy is right around 590-600, depending on the day. When I decided to go play, I didn't tell him because I knew he would come out to watch. I wanted a chance to play without feeling that I had to play up to his rating. "

 

We have all been through this right?

 

We sometimes play better in front of certain people, or sometimes play worse in front of others. Are we showing off, trying to prove something, being over confident, or on the contrary, are we afraid to be play bad in front of our friends, or feel embarrassed if we lose, etc.

 

The "clear" atmosphere allowed him to finally JUST PLAY POOL. I talk about this a lot, but that's what he did this Saturday night. He played pool! No distractions. No considering how he plays because his friend was there. Just played pool.

 

Again, mental distractions (whether we are aware or not) can keep us from just playing pool, and giving our best on every shot.

 

But wait!

 

He had more to share about his Saturday night escapade:

 

He continued, "I also told myself that contributing to a billiard magazine doesn't mean that every table is a Cosmo for me, and it's okay to have to stop and study, work out a plan, and bear down trying to make it happen. "

 

Uh, what?

 

He lost me.

 

I asked him to explain.

 

"I sometimes get the idea that since I watch a ton of top level pool to get ready to contribute to the mag, that it should be easy for me to run out on a bar box and that I shouldn't have to ever stop and study a table or shot for more than a few seconds."

 

Oh wow, what a great reminder! Sometimes we get too cocky or maybe lazy about our game. Don't get too comfortable or think you know the game enough to not study the table or take your time. Every match give it your all and don't presume you can slack off on planning or looking at options.

 

Congrat's to my colleague! (leave your buddy home more often and take your time, haha!)

 

Stay safe out there, fellow players; social distance.

Stop Checking Our Score - The Cueist Project

I'm still catching up from my long list of blog topics. But this month is due for a Cueist blog post, so let me get right on that today!

The Cueist (the pool player of The Cueist Project section of my blog) described a match from a regional tournament he played in last year and I wanted to chat about it. I know, you all are soooo surprised!  lol

Here it goes:

"I had to play my next match against a guy who I lost in the 1st round last year, so I wanted revenge. I got to the table early, hit balls, and was ready to play. I jumped out to a 4/1 lead and he broke and ran. Then he took a potty break, and during this potty break, someone asked me what the score was. Now with that one little question, my concentration was gone. Poof! Just like that. I don't remember anything that happened in that match prior to that question [i.e. he had been in the zone]. And no matter what I did, I couldn't run out after that. My opponent came back to beat me hill/hill and I was deflated, devastated, and wanted to be drunk right then and there. I was SO upset with myself and my mental game that I've worked so hard on. And to top it off, as a result of the loss, I was going to have to face last year's winner, ugh!"

I can completely relate to what The Cueist shared.

I don't like to ever tell anyone the score during my match. Why? If I'm down in the match, I get embarrassed. If I'm up in the match, I sometimes get cocky or start thinking too much.

As a matter of fact, when I used to play in state and national tournaments where you would mark your wins on a piece of paper, it would thoroughly distract me when someone would come up and look at the score.

For friends and loved ones and well, everyone, I think it's important to think about what happens to the player when you are checking out the score or when you whisper to them, "Hey, what's your score?"

OMG I'm playing a match! Don't talk to me. Don't distract me. I have enough of a hard time to remain mentally into a game, lol.

Because this exact situation has caused me to lose focus as well a-many-times, it has changed the way I check the score on other player's matches. What I normally would do if I wanted to know a score of a match was instead of walking by and trying to sneak a peek without the player seeing (and trust me, they ALWAYS see you no matter how stealth-like you try to be!), I would ask people sitting near the match. Or, even better, text them, "Hey, you are close, what's their score?" without even moving NEAR the match, lol.

I never wanted my friends to see I was curious about the score because it's sharked me so much in the past. I didn't dare want to take a chance to accidentally shark them.

So I can relate completely with what The Cueist went through - and oh, I feel for him!

You might think that this means we're not mentally strong. Wrong!  That's really not the case at all. It's more of an unfortunate jolt and distraction that kind of throws off our momentum.

Sometimes we can recover, and unfortunately sometimes we can't.

I know what you are thinking... sheesh, Melinda, I can't do anything around my friends while they are playing.  Come on, that's not what I am saying!

Let me put it to you this way, if your friend was shooting free throws in key basketball game, would you be sitting in front of the basket?  No. You'd be doing all you could to sit like a statue on the other side of the room, maybe even hold your breath so he doesn't see you breathing, lol.

So, help a sister and brother out!

I'm sharing this and suggesting (okay, maybe begging) that you please don't go check people's scores or make it obvious that you're checking their score. This will help your friends out!

Distractions - Project Hunger Games

Katniss (of the Project Hunger Games series of my blog) recently told me a disheartening story that happened during one of her recent tournaments.

She was playing a match and on another table a verbal altercation started between two players.  She lamented, "I know I shouldn't have let is bother me and distract me..."

I kinda cut her off (sorry, Katniss!) and told her that while yes we can try to not let things bother us, this was a different situation where we can't help but be distracted.

You see the two players argued for quite some time and were loud.  Katniss had to go to the tournament directors (TDs) (who were watching the altercation, not doing anything about it) and had to ask them if they could handle the situation because it was so disruptive to the matches going on.

I admit I have seen this a lot.

And what people don't realize is, altercations between two players distracts all the matches around them as well.  It's disruptive and therefore causes other players to lose their focus, it interrupts their rhythm, and interferes with their concentration.

However, I do admit that in order to resolve the conflict means more distraction because TDs normally address the situation/players at their table which means other matches around them are still affected until it's resolved.

BTW, Katniss was able to regroup and win her match.  Yay!

And this is a great reminder!  Remember that there are a ton of things that can happen unexpectedly during a tournament that you cannot control.  And being able to refocus is key.  I have written about both of those things a lot, and although it's unfortunate Katniss had to go through that situation during her tournament, I selfishly am glad because it provides me the perfect opportunity to remind you peeps of these two important things that will help you in tournaments.  :)

1.  Things will happen you don't have control over and try to not let them bother you.
2.  Getting distracted is normal.  Refocusing is the key for all great athletes.

Sparring on Video

My friend Tina and I had a sparring session yesterday.  I really love our time together - it's nice to get to know her better every time we play.  She has a great heart and soul, and I love learning from her about life-things.

Then it's time to hit the table and get good practice in!

When we spar, I talk about shot selection - reasons why to go for outs or why not, lol.  We talk about runs, break outs, safeties, etc.

We mentioned in passing a few times in the last year about video taping our sessions.  So, I finally came through with our idea, lol.  I brought my camera tripod that my friend Janet gave me last year as a Christmas present, and I captured 10 games on video this day.  But, am only showing one right now.  Main reason is I miss in most of the other games lmao!  And the other reason for not showing more right now is Tina hasn't even seen them yet.  So, need her permission first.  Gots to be proper, ya know.  So, since this one mostly shows me, I figured I was safe.

On the video, you can hear me (hopefully) talking about why I chose stripes and some of the difficulties that were on the table.  I happened to somehow run out this game; not sure how - especially considering I made it tough on myself lol.

One more thing - this is a great example of why I like to practice in the pool room.  Normal distractions all around us, like in a real tournament.  You can hear people around us and even see someone talk to me during the run.  I love it!

Distractions During Practice - In Stereo

I  sparred with my friend Tina a couple of times in early October.  Here we are before the bloodbath:

Both times we met up, we were distracted by another player.  He came in all cocky, and he had his own personal stereo.  He was listening to music, but not via headphones.  Instead, it was clipped on his shirt or something and everyone could hear it.

It was very annoying.  If he turned toward us to shoot, the music was louder.  As he turned away to shoot, we could still hear his song of choice, just muffled a little bit.  He mostly listened to 80s music, but not hip hop like I'd of preferred, lol.

It may seem like this shouldn't be a bother, but it really was annoying for some reason.  Sure, people play music on the jukebox all the time I may not recognize or like, but for some reason that never bothers me.  This guy - bothersome with his personal stereo system we could all hear.  If he was just walking by it prolly wouldn't have been an issue, but it was lingering around us for over 2 hours.  Even when the guy found an opponent (not sure how), he didn't turn it down or turn it off, just kept on his little own world.

I didn't say anything to Tina the first Saturday about my thoughts about him, but when he walked in again the second Saturday, I noticed we both kinda grimaced at the same time lol, and then we talked about how he was a distraction.

Here's the thing about this guy and his personal karaoke system:  I'm glad he showed up!  The whole reason to practice in a pool room is to experience the same non-controlled atmosphere we might encounter at league or in a tournament.  It was almost the perfect set up!  Except, I would have chosen a different annoyance, lol.

A Different Kind of Shark (vacuuming )

I heard once that Tiger Woods' Dad used to make him play golf in the rain.  Why you ask?  Because at times in his professional golf life, he would be having to play golf in the rain.  He was preparing his son for adverse conditions.

It's a pretty cool little thing actually.  And I have written about this before that I would rather practice at the pool room than in the comfort of my home every.single.time.

I want to hear the music from the jukebox that I didn't play, I want to deal with distractions, I want to hear and feel the little bits of atmosphere of a pool room that I might have to deal with during a tournament.  I think one of the worst things players can do is practice solely at home in their slippers and comfy clothes - i.e., clothes they wouldn't wear to a tournament.

You must put yourself in the same environment as those you will be competing in.  This will give you great practice at dealing with distractions.

When I sparred with my friend Tina again the other day, our distraction was front and center!  The cleaning lady comes in around 9-10am and cleans around the pool room, which is the same time we show up ironically.

Here are the cords to her vacuum cleaner, yep right next to our table:

Tina and I have to watch our step and carefully shoot our shots around the cords. 

I even captured this photo, to show you how she vacuums right next to us, which is loud noise we deal with, also:

Now, granted these are extreme examples, but it shows that practicing in a pool room is actually a great experience. 

You might be thinking, "How is this great?"  It's great because we dealt with the cords and the vacuuming and we kept playing pool.  We focused on our game and our shot selections on the table, not on what was going on around us.

GREAT experience.

Paying it Forward With not Talking

One of the highlights of having an Omega tour stop at JR Pockets in Denton, Texas is because I get to run into a fan of my blog!  I love it because my friend usually shares which articles he likes best.

And this past weekend was no exception.

He shared that he still enjoys reading my blog and then specifically pointed out one blog entry that helped him and his friends.

He was referring to the blog topic about not realizing you have been talking during matches, which is a distraction to your opponents.

David Bond and I also spoke about this on American Billiard Radio, he entitled it, Are You Rude?

So, my friend tells me sure enough he had been talking during this matches and didn't even realize it. So, during his next night out playing pool, he was playing against a guy he always spars with, and he was trying not to talk.

His friend noticed.  "Dude, everything okay?

"Yes," he said.  "I'm just trying not to talk as much; don't want to be a distraction."  The guy looked at him funny and said, "Good point.  I'm not going to talk as much either."

Paying it forward is the best compliment and I am tickled that this awareness is now being practiced and passed on to others!

Affects of People Watching Our Matches

While I was playing on Sunday at the OB Cues Ladies Tour stop a few weeks ago, one of the top players from the area who hangs out at this particular pool room had walked in.  He walked into the nonsmoking side where we were playing and said hello, and then he went to other side of the pool room and I didn't see him again.

Because I was drinking a lot of water, I had to go to the bathroom a lot and one time I walked by the bar area and I saw him there.  He asked me how I was doing and I said I had won my morning match and was in another match, up 5-2 or something like that.  I asked him why he wasn't watching and he said, "well I just want you to focus on your game."

What's interesting about this is is he recognizes that his presence can influence others.  

I want to say that he wouldn't have bothered me negatively at all.  And he wouldn't.  However, I WOULD be thinking about shots that maybe I could ask him about that he saw if he was watching - which is a distraction in itself.  I should be focusing on the current game, not trying to remember a layout to ask him about later.  I need to focus all my energy on the current situation.

I have talked many times in my blog how certain people watching can have a good influence or a bad influence. Some people don't understand that when they say things about a shot or a match after you have just finished playing that it actually affects us  deeply.  Not only at that moment, but we actually get anxiety when we see them at other tournaments because of their past "practice" of saying things that bother us.  I am afraid to walk by certain people for fear of what might come out of their mouth this time.

That's why I've written about how I don't look around at the crowd during a match.  Which is still one of my favorite tips I have received.

Then there are other people who watch that have a very calming affect on you or I because they don't say anything afterwards.  They don't say anything negative after a match or they don't make any opinionated, stupid comments lol.  

Then there are others that we yearn for them to watch us.  Helps calm our nerves, or makes us feel "loved" so to speak.  And those positive feelings help us when we play.

Coming full circle about this top player....  So, I appreciated that he recognized that he wanted me to focus on the match.  He's not a negative influence at all and he's never said anything to make me second guess myself.  But just having him in the room is a slight distraction that he recognized.

Sly Video Capturing of Good Player

One thing I'm trying to do on the Omega Tour is to do a video compilation of matches/shots during a tour stop and then putting it all together into one little youtube video.  Here's an example video compilation from the Omega stop in September.

Obviously, I have to be careful when I'm taking video.  I stand there and I hold up my phone and I'm trying to ensure that the players don't see me, but sometimes they do.  I sometimes feel like I affect their play so I've been trying to videotape people in such a way that hopefully they don't see me or maybe they think I'm just taking a picture with my phone (which is less distracting than realizing you might be video-taped).

During the October stop I was videotaping a good player and he was on the ball before the 9 ball.  I am trying to take the video and a couple people next to me make remarks that I am sharking him.  The guy next to me joked, "I can't believe you're doing that while he's shooting - it's a pretty tough shot."  And I replied softly, "well I know this player really well and he's not gonna let anything bother him if he's distracted.  He will back off of the shot and prepare his pre-shot routine before getting back down on the shot.  He only shoots when he's 100% dedicated and prepared."

The shot was a very sweet shot actually and glad I captured it on video.  Then I found out he was on the hill and that's scary I could have distracted that key moment!  Yikes.

I asked the player afterwards if he saw me.  He replied, "yes, I noticed you standing there with your phone, but because you were not moving around, it didn't distract me and that allowed me to just focus on the shot."

Here is the video I captured of him (Mike Voelkering):

You can see he did indeed get back up before he felt comfortable about the shot.  He's a very disciplined player (we can all learn from this! - get back up off the shot if you don't feel prepared or 100% committed):

My National Ranking Angst

As I mentioned already, I played in the BCAPL Texas state tournament this past week and weekend.

It's amazing to me how many people complained to my face and also behind my back, and even on social media about my "open" player BCAPL ranking.

Some people are taking is very personal that I'm not an advanced player and I do not know why they are getting upset with me. When in fact, I do not control how national BCAPL ranks their members.

I have not finished well enough in Vegas at nationals to be rated an advanced or master player yet.

Who knows, maybe this year will be my year to place well enough in singles in Vegas at Nationals for BCAPL and then I will be moved up automatically, and naturally.

But for now I am an open player.  And for the few that defended me, I sincerely appreciate it.

I'm out here trying to play my little heart out and play the best that I can under the circumstances of my personal life.  I have a few successes, and instead of people being happy for me, they are bringing me down. All because of a nationally ranked ranking that I have no control over.

I see more haters and drama in competition the last few years and I have to say, it makes the wins less special.

Don’t get me wrong, I'm very proud (and a bit surprised!) of myself for winning scotch doubles and placing second in singles this week!  Just tough to fade some of the negative comments, when in fact I'm just trying to survive in this tough life, while also playing pool.

Gambling Around Negativity

A couple of weekends ago I gambled against a guy who I was suppose to play a while ago, but we never met up.  I happened to be at the pool room for another reason this particular Friday night,  and he was there, too, so we decided to play.

While we didn't play on the 9 foot table for $300 sets like our contract stated, we did finally agree to play 9-ball on the Diamond bar table for $25 a game.

During our play, this one particular guy came over to watch.

The first time he came over, he sat in my chair.  When I was done at the table, I walked up to my chair and asked for it back (I have to have a chair to return to when I play or else I get distracted with the interruptions of trying to get my chair back). 

This guy seems to judge people a lot when they play.

I'm not saying he does, I'm just saying it SEEMS like he does, and I do not play well with those type of people around me watching my mistakes (see how it even makes me word things negatively!  Argh).

He left the area after I asked him to leave my chair, but he was still watching from afar.... but I tried not to look around.

About an hour later, he comes by AGAIN and sits in my chair.  

 Again, really?

I had just got ball in hand, but it was a really tough out with two breakouts needed.  I tried to just ignore that he was so close watching and judging (and in my chair again), and I had enough to deal with ON the table.  I broke out the first cluster, made a few balls,  and saw I would have to use the 4 to break out the 5/8 and hope for a shot after.  I studied each shot really long and took prolly too much time, but I had to be real careful and plan my 3-balls-ahead-shape more than usual because it was such a tough run.

I think I even got bad from the 7 to the 8 for shape on the 9.  I studied it well, though, on what best to do, and never rushed my shots.

Anyway, I get out that tough rack and then he calls me over.  I'm extremely hesitant to even hear what he has to say.

He says, "Hey Melinda, hey Melinda.  I gotta tell you something. "

"What's that?"

Even tho I don't want to know and walk past him to grab my break cue, then start to walk away to get ready to break.

"Hey, hey, that was a really, really nice out.  I mean really nice out.  It was perfect, actually.  You shot it so good."

Wow.  Did he really just compliment me?

While I was surprised he said that, I didn't act arrogant or happy, even though I already knew in my heart it really was a great out on not such an easy layout.  I simply replied, "thank you" and then broke the next rack.

I didn't want to focus on his words because that game was over now, and I still needed to be in the present moment of THIS game, not be over-excited about my last game because over confidence can hurt.

But I admit it was really cool someone saw the tough out and acknowledged it.  Or, was I happier I got out?  Or, was I really happier I overcame his presence in the area while I was shooting?  Okay, all three!  lol