The backstory - I played in the Big Tyme Classic over the weekend (drew James Aranas the first round, 10-3 victory for him and a lot of fun for me - super nice guy and a great experience btw).
Was up at the tournament the following night and saw Sky Woodward setting up some shots and just practicing so I had an introduction made and asked him if he'd like to play a set of 8 ball on the bar table for $100.00 - winner break race to 7. The caveat was that I really wasn't looking to gamble as I knew I couldn't beat him - I was looking to learn and he'd need to agree to me asking questions throughout the set and if he saw something that I could improve upon he'd let me know - he readily agreed to both and we were off.
About 75 minutes later the set was over, I lost, but I won as here's what I learned:
1) Adjustments to my stance
2) Why/when to adjust your break depending on the rack and who's racking
3) When not to shoot a combination and why
4) A new way of thinking about patterns
5) A new way of thinking about breaking out balls
I can honestly say that it was the best $100.00 I've spent on pool in a very long time and Sky was a class act throughout the set and afterwards - listening to his thought process as he navigated a rack was eye opening and I'm already applying what I learned - couldn't be more pleased with the way everything turned out.
Was up at the tournament the following night and saw Sky Woodward setting up some shots and just practicing so I had an introduction made and asked him if he'd like to play a set of 8 ball on the bar table for $100.00 - winner break race to 7. The caveat was that I really wasn't looking to gamble as I knew I couldn't beat him - I was looking to learn and he'd need to agree to me asking questions throughout the set and if he saw something that I could improve upon he'd let me know - he readily agreed to both and we were off.
About 75 minutes later the set was over, I lost, but I won as here's what I learned:
1) Adjustments to my stance
2) Why/when to adjust your break depending on the rack and who's racking
3) When not to shoot a combination and why
4) A new way of thinking about patterns
5) A new way of thinking about breaking out balls
I can honestly say that it was the best $100.00 I've spent on pool in a very long time and Sky was a class act throughout the set and afterwards - listening to his thought process as he navigated a rack was eye opening and I'm already applying what I learned - couldn't be more pleased with the way everything turned out.
