02.27.07
Posted in Competing, Misc, My Training, Practicing at 2:01 am by Cherry Bomb
Today was one of those amazing, old school 10 hour days of solid pool. My day began with an 11:30 lunch with my friend Denny (I know. That’s way early for me.). Since I was already downtown, I decided to pay my friend Kermit a visit at the Wynkoop. He works Monday days and if I’m ever up early enough, I like to swing by to match up with him. We played a few games of 9 ball from 1:30 to about 3:30 before I left for Shakespeares to meet Bob for our usually Monday afternoon session.
Today, Bob asked, “What do you want to do today?” To which I responded, “Play some 9 ball!!!” So, that’s exactly what we did. We played two sets of 9 ball and I lost both sets 7-2, 7-2. Funny, I really didn’t feel like I was playing that badly. In fact, the racks that I ran were pretty tough and I really felt like I was hitting the ball well. Nonetheless, I lost.
Afterwards, I confessed to Bob that I was feeling a little nervous about my upcoming tournaments. I have a pretty packed calendar of events for the month of March. I’m really excited about and looking forward to all the competition, but I was expressing to Bob some anxiety I was feeling about possibly not being “prepared” or “ready” for next weekend’s Hunter stop.
Well, after the tears and the pouting subsided, Bob very patiently reminded me that next weekend’s tournament is only going to be the first of many, many tournaments to come and that I should look forward to it and enjoy it since I’ve worked so hard. He also told me that if I was feeling stressed out then I was putting too much pressure on myself. In Bob’s words, “You can only win a tournament one match at a time, you can only win a match one game at a time, and you can only win a game one ball at a time.” Wow… That’s deep…
Seriously though, he also reminded me to “HAVE FUN!” That’s a concept that is, believe it or not, reletively new to me. I’d always trained to be so serious and focused that I’d lost sight a bit of why I was playing this game in the first place……….BECAUSE I LOVE IT!!!
Lastly, he reminded me that if my goal was to go out there and “win” then that’s the wrong goal and I can’t control that. Obviously, we want to win, but there are so many variables involved in why we may not win a match or a tournament. If my goal is to do my best and perform at my best, then I just need to focus on one ball at a time. I feel very fortunate to have found Bob. He has so many great things to share and I couldn’t ask for a more compatible coach!
After my brief pep talk, it was time to begin my striaght pool match. Tonight I played my friend Robbie. In an even race to 100 balls, I won 100-33! I had a high run of 27!! And, the entire match was over in 17 innings!!! I was in near dead-stroke. It was SOOO exciting!!! That’s my highest run of the league so far and I’m sure it ended in record breaking innings for me. You see, I’m really not that great of a straight pool player. I love the game, but sometimes I hate it. I just try not to miss or sell out.
Anyway, since we finished up so early, Robbie asked if I wanted to stick around and play some more. I purposed 9 ball and he kindly obliged. In two races to seven, I lost 7-6 and 7-5. Bummer… I was still stroking the ball pretty well and had a lead but made some little goofy errors that were costly. I guess I can forgive myself tonight since I delivered such an acceptable performance during league.
I’m very happy with my 27 ball run and with the way I felt during the entire straight pool match. It was like I was the only one in the room and I just knew I was going to make everything I was going for. When I got in my car, it was 11:30. I was pretty proud of the fact that I’d hit my first ball of the day 10 hours ago and didn’t break but to drive and eat.
Oh! I almost forget! The reason this post is entitled “a work in progress” is because I still consider myself a work in progress. I recently ambitiously and courageously made a mechanical adjustment in my stroking arm and am finally beginning to be at one with it. I’m finally beginning to feel more confident and more relaxed and comfortable. Just give me a few more weeks! 
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02.26.07
Posted in Competing, Misc, My Training, Practicing at 1:30 am by Cherry Bomb
Okay, I guess the cat’s outta the bag now…
As I sit at the gate at the Denver International Airport, awaiting my flight to Texas for the first Hunter qualifier of 2007, I reflect on my recent preparation for this tournament. I just began working with an amazing new coach who, in the very short time that we’ve been working together, has instilled in me one important statement: I’m setting a higher standard for myself.
Okay. So, I’m still a work in progress, but the more I can repeat it, the more I will believe it. Along with that mindset, he also states, “success and failure are determined by your performance at each individual shot – victory is not always an indication of success and losing is not always an indication of failure.” Therefore, reinforcing how I’ve always wanted to feel, it’s okay to be proud of my performance even though I may not win. It’s also okay to feel a bit disappointed when I know I just played barely well enough to win a match.
I am setting a higher standard for myself. It’s a new way of thinking. It’s not necessarily a huge change from the current discipline principles of my training, but in respect to exactly what it is he’s demanding from me and what I am now demanding from myself, this is very different. Quite simply put, merely pocketing the ball is just not enough. Furthermore, just being on the correct side of the ball is not enough either.
I am setting a higher standard for myself. The player that comes out ahead is the one who “fights for the angle.” This is another way of thinking that he’s enforcing. Fighting for the angle, as I’ve discovered, is a very sophisticated way of looking at this game. The player that just plays to a general area or to get near their next ball so they can see it will eventually get into trouble. The one who has the plan and doesn’t just save their problems until it’s too late is the one who will prevail.
“No Lazy Shots – EVER!” he also tells me. Not setting higher standards for yourself and for where you want that cue ball to be is often due to laziness and carelessness. I am often guilty of this. I think we can all agree we have been at one point or another. From now on, good enough is just not good enough for me. From this day forward, I’m setting a higher standard for myself.
Let’s start a movement! Declare it with me: “I am setting a higher standard for myself.” Repeat it… Believe it… Live it…
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02.23.07
Posted in Misc, My Training at 2:17 am by Cherry Bomb
Operation Local Tournament Blitz is currently underway.
For the past month, I have competed in 1-3 of the top three toughest tournaments in town. By far, the most competitive tournament available is the weekly Thursday night big table 9 ball tournament at Paradise Billiards.
In the past few weeks, I’ve won 1-2 matches each time I’ve played. Tonight, I didn’t win one match, but ironically, I felt I played the best overall. I’ve been working hard on always delivering a “positive stroke;” not babying in balls or trying to be too delicate. I made a conscious effort to stroke every single ball confidently tonight. Unfortunately, I didn’t win my matches but I did win some sets afterwards.
After I got knocked out of the tournament, I played some races to 7 with my friend Greg. He’s a great player who could be much, much better if he had the time to practice more. He can pocket balls with the best of them. I lost to him a few weeks ago at a different 9 ball tournament.
Anyway, we played three sets and I won, 7-3, 7-2, and 7-2. I didn’t play perfect pool, but when he didn’t get out, I was out. I felt really great about my performance during those three matches. Had I played like that during the tournament I would’ve went a lot farther.
Discovered a great new player site and pool blog tonight. WPBA pro, Liz Ford has just joined the blogging world and I find her posts delightful and refreshing. I really hope she keeps it up.
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02.16.07
Posted in Competing at 10:51 pm by Cherry Bomb
The following article was from the January issue of Inside English.
A few weeks ago, I was being a railbird at a local weekly big table 8 ball tournament. This tournament is one of only a handful in town that is sure to draw in all the big dogs. As I watched and noticed the choices many of these players made, I learned some new perspectives. However, I was also happy to discover I played many of the same patterns from my seat.
In a semi-finals match, my friend Chris had ball in hand with three balls left. One of them was tied up with his opponent’s only ball. The corner pocket nearest those two balls was blocked by the 8 ball. Another one of his balls was sitting near the neighboring side pocket. With ball in hand, he could’ve played that ball in the side and bumped the cluster and hoped for a shot. Or, he could’ve stroked a different ball into the opposite corner pocket and guaranteed a breakout with a shot at the ball in the side pocket.
Instead of either breakout, he chose a defensive shot. His safety ultimately led to winning the game, but afterwards I inquired about his shot selection. The stroke shot in the corner seemed logical to me. It was slightly aggressive but very make-able, especially with ball in hand. He responded that he had rattled a few balls in that corner pocket in earlier matches and it made him a bit nervous to have to stroke a ball in there.
I understood exactly what he was saying. Some may disagree, but I could completely appreciate his decision. When Monica Webb was recently in town, the biggest thing she emphasized to me was, “Know your own game.” Know your own stroke and capabilities. Basically, play your game and not someone else’s. In that moment, Chris saw the hairy corner pocket as a limitation and chose to play to his strengths. To him, shooting that ball in the corner for the breakout was, at the time, a low percentage shot. Instead, he chose the safety which he knew he could execute.
Of course, there’s always the “right” shot. That’s the shot that ties the entire run together. That’s the shot that if we just make it, the entire rack will fall into place and be that much easier. That’s the shot that in a room full of pool players, 9 out of 10 of them would agree on that shot. However, is the right shot really the right shot when we don’t have the confidence to execute it???
There comes a point when, once we reach a certain level, we don’t always choose the shots that the books/videos or our coach or our teammates want us to. When we’re at the table, there’s only one person that knows what the real “right” shot is for us in that moment, in that game. Regardless of who you’re playing or what the score is, choose the shot that you believe in and believe in the shot that you choose.
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