That Muscle Memory Thing - by Katniss

From Katniss:

In the past, I remember saying, "Oh man. I’m in a slump - I can’t make a ball!"

I have not said that in a while. Not that it has not happened, ha. But, I now realize the reason I can’t make a ball is because of my stance; it doesn't feel comfortable or natural to me. Me missing and not making balls just proves it. 

I try to pay extra attention to my footing, bridge, arm, and aim. Easy enough right? ha! Not so much when you're in the middle of a match, competing, struggling to play decent, and playing your heart out. It’s hard when you're losing and the pressure is on, then all you feel is embarrassment! 

Does every player go through that? 

Is it just me? 

Do all player lose their muscle memory? 

If not, why? 

Is it too much or too little practice? 

Is it that they are always in action? 

Is it solid fundamentals?

I don’t quite understand how to keep that muscle memory active and keep it working for me. It’s so discouraging at times. When everything is going well, it goes well and I don’t have to work as hard - it’s all automatic. Effortless. I get to the table, bend over, and shoot! But when I’m off, I don't play well nor catch a gear. I want to learn how solve that problem! 

I do admit I have more good days than bad. But, dang them bad days can be brutal!

Social Distancing in the Future

My friend Janet was helping run the Midwest ACS Championship tournament in Davenport, Iowa last week. She shared some photos and said they were all wearing masks and social distancing, including the tables, and shared a photo to prove it:

I immediately thought, "hey, every tournament in the future should do social distancing between tables even after the pandemic! "

There have been many times in bar table tournaments where our butts get in the way of the table next to us, or we have to wait for someone to shoot on the next table because the tables are so close together.

How cool would it be to not have to worry about the matches around us in bat table tournaments?!

The Cueist has a Question for You All about COVID

On Wednesday before Christmas, I started to feel a little sick. Just a sore throat and a bit of a cough. By Thurs morning, I had gotten worse and my family decided to cancel the Christmas exchange just so I didn't expose anybody to whatever I had. I just so happened to see a post from a guy out of state saying that he tested positive for Covid-19. He was posting it as a PSA since he was at a tourney the Saturday before Christmas (he had come up here as his wife has family in the area), and started showing symptoms on the Tuesday before Christmas. Now, I happened to be at the same tourney (he had traveled up to my state to play in it) and I was in close proximity to him a few times. So, naturally, the thought of having covid crossed my mind immediately.

Fast forward to the Sunday after Christmas, and I lost my sense of taste and smell, and had a really bad headache. Monday, I started to get a fever and lost all of my energy. So, I went to get tested on Tuesday, and sure enough, I was positive for covid. Ugh! Thanks goodness we cancelled the Christmas exchange so I wasn't around my family! So, I immediately went into quarantine mode. It had already been a week since I was first showing symptoms, and I wanted to quarantine at least one more week before getting tested again. Meanwhile, that player attends yet another tournament here locally again - and this time without waiting for his 2nd test that shows negative. Not only that, he specifically mentioned that he didn't feel 100%, while he was at the tournament.

While I don't want to debate everyone's moral compass, living in fear, or conspiracy theories.... I do seriously see something wrong with this decision on his part....all of us love this game of pool. But at what point do you refrain from going to a poolroom knowing you have a virus which can potentially be fatal to some individuals. Especially in a pool room, at a tourney, where the room is rather full and you're in close proximity to the venue staff, players, TD staff, and spectators.

So, now that I'm fully recovered, I'd like to ask any pool players that have had covid if they've had any lingering effects that have affected their pool playing?

In my case, covid has somehow affected my vision and balance. Not to the point where I'm falling over or anything. But I've not been able to line up properly when stepping into a shot. And in addition to that, I almost feel like I'm swaying while down on a shot. Swaying may be too strong of a word, but I do feel like I'm not able to stay 100% still during my shot. Which, as we all know, will cause all kinds of problems when trying to make various shots. Not only that, but I've noticed that I get tired after about 4-5 hours of constant playing. Whereas before I had covid, I was able to play at least 8 hours before I even started to get tired physically.

Anyone else experiencing something similar?