Dennis "The Hatchetman" Hatch at ACS Nationals

There were a couple of photos on facebook that included Dennis Hatch and I from the ACS National Championships.

I was very happy (and shocked, lol) that Dennis came to watch my team play, but the rumor mill is a funny thing, lol.

I finally figured out that not many people know that Dennis and I have known each other for years, but more so that Dennis lives IN Vegas now.  Some people thought he came all the way from New York (where he used to live) to watch.  No wonder people were intrigued, lol.

Dennis moved to Vegas for Bonus Ball and so he visited friends at the APA tourney the two weeks before, and then at ACS Nationals, as well.

He came to watch my women's team compete and he was SUPER supportive!  If you've seen Dennis in action, in tourneys, or at the Mosconi Cup, then you know he has more heart and cheer and support than any player, really.

Here are some photos from the Mosconi Cup in 2009 when he got MVP.  It was his first time on the USA team, but he cinched the MVP easily with his talent, play, and enthusiasm!  You can see his personality resonate in these photos:

The following years I went to the Mosconi Cup in the USA and again he was a team member.  And he again be the one to pump up not only his teammates, but the entire crowd!  He was awesome.

BTW, Dennis is a leftie in pool, but is right-handed, just like me.  :)

I should have known what a great impact he would have on my team.  But, although I've known him for years, we've never really hung out in this type of atmosphere before.

His was very down to earth and treated us like HE was a part of OUR team.  I was really impressed.  He would clap and cheer (not rudely, but enough for us to hear), and he was very complimentary to each and every one of my teammates.... at very crucial times during the matches.

When he first showed up, my teammates heard him cheer (he would use their name) and they were like, "he's someone important, right?"  lol.  It was really funny.

He watched our matches Wed evening, Thursday morning, and Thursday night.  Then he watched us win the Women's 9Ball Team division Friday morning:

He had to leave during the 8ball finals, but he sent me a message about the team and the dynamics, because he noticed something and wanted to help.  And he was right - we had more emotion and energy during the 9ball finals, just an hour before.

At that point, I tried to pump up my teammates - well, wake them up a a little bit more.

As captain, I had thought the previous night that if we win or lose the 9ball, the team would be "tired" from emotions and the 8ball finals would be kinda tough for us.

I then told my teammates all these tips to "wake up" and get more energized (we had just lost the first set in the finals). 

I told them:

• drink COLD water,
• eat a small snack,
• jog to the bathroom (it was kinda far anyway),
• take a shot if you need it, lol,
• do jumping jacks in the bathroom to get energy,
• put your hair up (it was warm in there),
• suck on some mints, or
• even use paper as a small fan

It was really warm in the room, also, and we needed ENERGY.  All the above can get the juices flowing in our body!

Besides the advice above, I told them what Dennis had said.  I noticed that they all already really appreciated Dennis and I knew they would listen to his words.

Sure enough, we each pepped up.  And we ended up winning the second set and won our second ACS Nationals title that day!  (8ball)

I, personally, was really appreciative that I was able to ask Dennis about my outs or shots after I was done with a game. Dennis either confirmed I made the correct out, or if he offered another solution, it was very positive and upbeat, never negative.  But to pick his brain was AWESOME.  

He also gave advice to one of my teammates (that I will share in another blog) and it was so smart the way he described the advice.  I will learn from it forever, actually.

He was very complimentary to each teammate.  It really helped our self confidence!

One of my teammates is a bartender and she heard that Mike Massey was scheduled to do an exhibition while she was in Vegas for ACS.  After a couple of days around Dennis, she confides, "I'm not even mad about not seeing Mike Massey anymore, I got to know Dennis and hang around him!"

I shared that with Dennis because it was cute and his response showcases his personality so well.  He said, "Wow, that's nice.  I like Mike Massey- he's a great guy, but that's cool she said that."

I witnessed over and over again players coming up to Dennis saying hi.  This is how EVERY convo went (I was VERY impressed):

"Hi Dennis, I'm Jack, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Jack" (he shakes their hand).

"I saw you online, a footage from the Mosconi Cup.  You played great."

"Thanks, Jack - means a lot.  So, how is your team doing?"  As he leans his head toward Jack's team.

And Jack would respond.

Dennis was never about himself.  He made the player approaching him feel like a rock star and that he was really interested in how their team was doing.  It was very refreshing and really unselfish.

Then he would share how OUR team was doing.  "They're playing for the hotseat," for example.

For a top pro, he was very impressive, down to earth, and not selfish at all.  And he really cared about all the players there.

My entire team was very flattered he watched our matches and that he was genuinely interested.  I told him he was lucky we played well, because players that can't make balls are boring to watch, lol.  

Dennis is very smart when it comes to the mental part of the game.  He suggested we go to dinner on Thursday night, and he did it intentionally.  We had shots with him and his friend, and he did that to get our minds off the fact we would be playing two final matches tomorrow.  He told me, "this is good for them," and he was right - we had fun and were distracted.  Just what the Doctor ordered!

A BIG thank you to Dennis Hatch from Nina, Courtney, Janet and myself!!!

What I Know For Sure

So, what has happened the last few years that propelled my game?

(Don't worry, I'm curious, too, lol.)

This is what I know for sure.  (btw, in case you don't get the reference, this is a column Oprah has at the end of each of her monthly magazines.)

First, let me say obviously I wish I had taken stock in the things that have helped my game the last few years.  Notice I didn't say, "wish I knew sooner."  Because, I knew these things, I just didn't know what to do about them.

STAY DOWN.  I heard this the first 15 years of my life of playing pool (and I've been playing for 25 total years).  Stay down.  Yea, I KNOW.  I just didn't know HOW to stop it.  What I know for sure is, you need to try all different kinds of "tips" til you find out what works for you.

I was told many things:

• Stay down til the ball falls in the pocket.
• Have someone hold a board above your head when you practice (seriously, a coach did this for one of my friends).
• Stay down until the cueball stops.
• Count to five after you hit the cueball.
• Take your time, it will come naturally.
• A quote from a friend, "Stay down and admire the shot."  (it helped for a little while for me)

Here's the interesting thing about STAYING DOWN.  It's part of your shot routine.  So, get solid, secure, redundant fundamentals, and staying down becomes part of your shot routine.

LOOKING AT THE OBJECT BALL LAST.  What no one told me that I found out through experimentation, was what helped me most to stay down was to look at the object ball last.  Now, this was also about the same time as when I learned a smooth stroke.  But, if I personally look at the object ball last, I'm less likely to move my head or jump up.  Like my friend Mark Garza told me around 2005, "you already know where the cueball is going after years of playing, why are you so worried about looking at that?"  Because when I looked at where the cueball was headed, of course my head moved more to see if I "got shape."

Granted, there are THOUSANDS of differing opinions on if you should look at the cueball or object ball last.  All I know for sure is, looking at the object last helps me stay down and pocket balls better and more often.

SMOOTH STROKE.  I heard this from Sylver Ochoa back in 2010.  I was like, "uh, okay."  It was his number ONE advice.  And once I figured out NOT to whack at a ball, my game improved.  Here's the deal, players do not realize that you don't have to hit balls hard if it's a tough shot.  If you "whack" at a ball, then you hit it too hard, you then jump up, you hit the cueball at the wrong spot, and you don't make the ball.  The players with the BEST, SOLID fundamentals will hit every single shot the same - no whacking, no hitting hard.  SMOOTH stroke on all shots.  I figured out that if I use a SMOOTH stroke on tough shots, I'm less likely to JUMP UP.  Do you see the connection? This is what I know for sure: Smooth stroke, staying down, good fundamentals.

GOOD FUNDAMENTALS.  Everyone HEARS this, but do you work on it?  Do you REALLY have a solid pre-shot and shot routine?  The best one is SPF that I have heard of.  Set.  Pause.  Finish.  Randy Goettlicher teaches this at Pool School here in Dallas (I haven't been to it, not use SPF, but it would help you stay down for sure).  Here is an article I found about SPF that said his ball making improved by 30%.

The key here is good fundamentals.  EVERY pro mentions this.  Why wait to work on it?  Why not take lessons or go to pool school NOW to solidly this extremely important part of every one's game. 

MENTAL TOUGHNESS.  Okay, Melinda, how do you get mental toughness?  Play in as MANY tournaments as you can!  Practicing your heart out wont give you experience.  It only gives you time to figure out how to make balls.  But you wont go through all the ups and down of competing if you DON'T GET OUT THERE AND COMPETE.  Like I said before, every dogged shot led me to my recent wins.  Every moment under pressure gets you closer to being able to handle pressure.  How else have you learned how to refocus early?  BREATHE to slow your adrenaline?  STAY DOWN under pressure shots?  These do NOT come from hitting balls all the time with friends, under friendly conditions.  It comes from gaining mental experience playing in as many competitions as you can.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS (2).  The other way to get mental toughness and that killer instinct is to READ MORE.  I have written how Liz Ford suggested I read Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert because it helped her so much.  And of course I offered mental toughness advice from my friends Lisa Marr and Jennifer Kraber before, that also helped me.  I seeked out how to have more mental toughness.  You should, too!  I also recommend Loehr's book, Mental Toughness Training for Sports.

CONFIDENCE.  I have recently gained a lot more confidence than I ever had in my entire 25 years of playing pool.  Recently someone told my I was more confident.  How did they see that?  But, now that I think about it, it's true.  I AM more confident,  But, confidence doesn't just come out of nowhere!  Confidence comes from gaining experience from competition.  Do you see how these things are all connected?  

I see now looking for links to this blog entry, that I have already written about most of these before, back in August 2011.  There are a few other items on that list of TEN in that blog entry you should check out.  

But, what has changed for me from now til then?  All the above I mentioned back then, and even more.  

I think I have been put in more tough situations because I got better from the topics above.  More tough situations means I have more confidence.  I have more experience in national tournaments in team events; in State events.  And of course I have finally experience enough to shut my brain off, lol.  

But in a team event, I don't think ahead.  I just play good pool now.  By playing on a ladies league, I think I have been very blessed to have been asked to be the clutch for my team playoffs, team state tourneys, team nationals tourney, etc.  I was giving a lot of experience that has helped me.  But, let's face it, I didn't run out (video link here) in 2012 and stay down in this hill-hill match my very first women's national team event from CHANCE.  No, not at all.  Instead, it was all the above!!!

What I know for sure it, Pool is a Journey.  If you want to improve in 2-5 years, instead of the 20-25 years it took me, then I highly suggest you really take in what I state above.  Read the words.  Check out the links.  You'll love me for it!  :)

Omega Tour Representing!

It was pretty sweet when fellow Omega Tour player and I both won titles at the ACS Nationals Championships!

Tony Sulsar won the Men's Advanced 8-Ball division by double dipping his opponent in the finals.  And I won the Women's 9-Ball singles division two days before.

We BOTH wore our blue Omega Tour shirts on the day we won, respectively.  It was pretty cool!

Took me a few days to get our pic taken together, but here we are during a team event break:

Also, after the team event, one of the Omega Tour players stated this on Facebook:  "Really proud of myself this year. I helped out my team getting the wins we needed. Thanx Melinda Bailey for getting me into the Omega Tour. Its really helped out with the nerves!!!!'"

When I read this, I teared up.  It REALLY meant a lot.  One of the reasons for starting up the Omega Tour is to make dreams come true and to help players improve their game.  And there was proof already!  Makes my heart smile.  :)

Omega Tour Rocks!  :)