Some thoughts on running balls from a guy that plays OK, but not great....
About 3 years ago and hit a new level where I was consistantly hitting 40's and 50's on any given day. Every so often I'd pop in 70's or 80's. One time, I ran 260 balls in 6 innings. Like Bill, I've had 6 or 7 runs over 100, with a high run of 148. I managed to accomplish this by studying the game as much as possible. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not sure that I really know what I'm doing. Some of my best runs have come when I feel like I am freewheeling somewhat. although it feels great at the time, I've always tried to search for a way to play that is "structured", "predictable", almost "robot" like. I guess what I tried to find is that place where I can "repeat" my performance at will....to ideally play the same every time. The goal, I suppose, is to ultimately be one of those players that can practically run 100 at will.
I'm not sure what it takes. To Schmidt, and a handful of others, it must just flow, they must just see the table and connect the dots. I had a taste of that when I made my high run. The feeling that I could not miss, the balls opened beautifully, and the runouts were easy. I felt I could go on indefinately and for a brief time, I could understand how it could be possible to run 700 balls. Unfortunately, I've only had the feeling a couple of times. More often than not, transitioning racks is painful and problematic. My confidence level nowadays seems to dictate that I run maybe 40 tops and then miss. In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if I "deserve" to run more....am I knowledgeable enough. I'm overcome by doubt, etc...
I suppose that the difference between 50 and getting to 100 for me is that all cylinders need to be working. The typical flaws in my game are not showing up, and the table is perfect, particularly the cloth. The pockets are neither too tight, or too lose.
There will come a day when I will make the investment and search out Schmidt or some other top player and try and jump up a level or two. I owe it to myself to see where I can take this game. You are very lucky Marop to be mentored by Schmidt, you've become an excellent player from what I've seen in your videos. I think that you are starting to achieve the consistancy that is necessary to get that 100 more often. The fact that you've run so many 50's in that period of time indicates this. As you continue to "iron" out your game, I would imagine that todays 50's will be tomorrows 70's, and so on.....
What a great game.