Well i broke down today and played pool! i havent played in 8 years well i take that back, i played about 2 hours just knocking balls around about 3 years ago and i played about 1 hour 6 months ago, but it was social pool and i could tell that i didnt have a stroke or the concentration considering i was about half a pint in the wind!
So today im 39 and its my last day of that tomorrow im 40. (this is not a midlife crisis)I was determined to play in the US open in 1998 but my plans were canceled, Ex-wife divorce drama in life....after playing seriously for 9 years i quit i gave up my mind and heart wasnt in it anymore. For the next 2 years i half heartedly played in tournaments won a few but there was no passion in it for me, I quit.
I have, every since i started playing in tournaments, and gambling at pool kept up on paper everyone i played and every tournament i played in. I have won well over a hundred tournaments, because i played in at least one a week. NOt pro tournaments but ones where you can at least make 500-1000 for first place.I Have played pro's in tournaments & Gambling and beat on a few severely when they had no clue who this kid was that was firing down on them. "Suprise" your down 6-0 and this kid is breaking again....lol. I used another name in tournaments so when the road warriors came to town i always had action because they were playing the wrong guy thinking that another guy in town was me, I have a screwed up name for a redneck "White Boy"...lol also I ducked alot of bigger tournaments to keep the action up for me for gambling which only deminished my desire. I wanted to play in all tournaments and wanted to be the best!i didnt know what to do and i didnt have guidance...
I have sit here since july farting around on this site talking about this crazy game of pool until ive noticed that im noticably agitated, smart mouthed and generally in a bad mood, and negative. I have come to realize that i am like a smoker one week after i have quit and severly having withdrawl symtoms. I am having seperation anxiety from a pool table? This is insaine!
So today i have decided that if im going to play then im going to play and be serious about this and my goal is to play in the 2010 US Open. I dont expect to win, but im going to give it my best and will not regret doing it and will always remember that at least i tried and didnt just quit and lie down.
So back to my playing today. I was excited (Really strange) like a kid in a toy store to play today. I scheduled 3 hours today to play, when i got to the table a 4 1/2x9 Diamond pro. i felt like i did in my first tournament a little light feeling inside my belly. I didnt just start shooting, i know i have to work on my stroke before i can do anything. I didnt want to destroy my Hindsight 20-20 rememberance of what i did years ago. I knew what to do i just had to get my muscle memory back.
I tossed a few balls out for my first shot, I thought about this the whole drive there, anticipatating how it was going to feel and hearing the ball hit the back of the pocket....I got down over the cue and noticed that my stroke was veering from some funky place i dont remember. i got up and back down again. Still my stroke was crooked as a clothes hanger. I couldnt believe it! This stroke was comming from me? i knew then i had my work cut out for myself....i got back up and tried to unconciously approach the shot and got down and stroked the shot...now its straight.
Having to remind myself not to over analyze what im doing and just let it come natural. I set up a spot shot and i one railed it in the side almost trying to cut it in the corner.....it aint funny! well if you had a camera at about 45 minutes in you would have rolled all over the floor laughing at my little come-apart fit i threw for miscueing 4 times in a row trying to draw the ball 4 feet! It took me 5 minutes of self "Time Out" to get over that tantrum. So i practiced alot of cuts from different angles a few banks for about 30 minutes. My speed control and soft touch is still hung up in 1998 im making calls though to find it.
at about the 2 hour mark i found a glimmer of focus and i held it there for about 30 minutes.I was totally aware of what i was doing but i was in the "zone" i kept tossing balls out and running out, not watching my stroke, stance, just focusing on what i had to do. Not thinking about if i was or wasnt going to get the cueball over here or there. I had done it a million times before and just put it on cruise control. You see i thought it was 30 minuted but in reality it was a hour and 1/2. Suddenly i was snapped out of my zone by my wife calling me, thinking i was on the was home wanting me to get something from the store. Christ! can i have 2 more hours please??????????????????
I missed that feeling, i was totally lost on the table focusing on what i was doing and not knowing who was around me or anything...Time stood still! I have a goal and im going to reach it. On the way home i feel calm not negative, no anxiety, relaxed. That was therapy! I have one year to put this together and make myself buckle down and get my game in gear
$600.00 Entry Fee for a Lifetime memory........Im at home now and im already there
Also im gonna give more updates on this later this week and see if im feeling the same or gonna strangle myself for attempting this journey!
So today im 39 and its my last day of that tomorrow im 40. (this is not a midlife crisis)I was determined to play in the US open in 1998 but my plans were canceled, Ex-wife divorce drama in life....after playing seriously for 9 years i quit i gave up my mind and heart wasnt in it anymore. For the next 2 years i half heartedly played in tournaments won a few but there was no passion in it for me, I quit.
I have, every since i started playing in tournaments, and gambling at pool kept up on paper everyone i played and every tournament i played in. I have won well over a hundred tournaments, because i played in at least one a week. NOt pro tournaments but ones where you can at least make 500-1000 for first place.I Have played pro's in tournaments & Gambling and beat on a few severely when they had no clue who this kid was that was firing down on them. "Suprise" your down 6-0 and this kid is breaking again....lol. I used another name in tournaments so when the road warriors came to town i always had action because they were playing the wrong guy thinking that another guy in town was me, I have a screwed up name for a redneck "White Boy"...lol also I ducked alot of bigger tournaments to keep the action up for me for gambling which only deminished my desire. I wanted to play in all tournaments and wanted to be the best!i didnt know what to do and i didnt have guidance...
I have sit here since july farting around on this site talking about this crazy game of pool until ive noticed that im noticably agitated, smart mouthed and generally in a bad mood, and negative. I have come to realize that i am like a smoker one week after i have quit and severly having withdrawl symtoms. I am having seperation anxiety from a pool table? This is insaine!
So today i have decided that if im going to play then im going to play and be serious about this and my goal is to play in the 2010 US Open. I dont expect to win, but im going to give it my best and will not regret doing it and will always remember that at least i tried and didnt just quit and lie down.
So back to my playing today. I was excited (Really strange) like a kid in a toy store to play today. I scheduled 3 hours today to play, when i got to the table a 4 1/2x9 Diamond pro. i felt like i did in my first tournament a little light feeling inside my belly. I didnt just start shooting, i know i have to work on my stroke before i can do anything. I didnt want to destroy my Hindsight 20-20 rememberance of what i did years ago. I knew what to do i just had to get my muscle memory back.
I tossed a few balls out for my first shot, I thought about this the whole drive there, anticipatating how it was going to feel and hearing the ball hit the back of the pocket....I got down over the cue and noticed that my stroke was veering from some funky place i dont remember. i got up and back down again. Still my stroke was crooked as a clothes hanger. I couldnt believe it! This stroke was comming from me? i knew then i had my work cut out for myself....i got back up and tried to unconciously approach the shot and got down and stroked the shot...now its straight.
Having to remind myself not to over analyze what im doing and just let it come natural. I set up a spot shot and i one railed it in the side almost trying to cut it in the corner.....it aint funny! well if you had a camera at about 45 minutes in you would have rolled all over the floor laughing at my little come-apart fit i threw for miscueing 4 times in a row trying to draw the ball 4 feet! It took me 5 minutes of self "Time Out" to get over that tantrum. So i practiced alot of cuts from different angles a few banks for about 30 minutes. My speed control and soft touch is still hung up in 1998 im making calls though to find it.
at about the 2 hour mark i found a glimmer of focus and i held it there for about 30 minutes.I was totally aware of what i was doing but i was in the "zone" i kept tossing balls out and running out, not watching my stroke, stance, just focusing on what i had to do. Not thinking about if i was or wasnt going to get the cueball over here or there. I had done it a million times before and just put it on cruise control. You see i thought it was 30 minuted but in reality it was a hour and 1/2. Suddenly i was snapped out of my zone by my wife calling me, thinking i was on the was home wanting me to get something from the store. Christ! can i have 2 more hours please??????????????????
I missed that feeling, i was totally lost on the table focusing on what i was doing and not knowing who was around me or anything...Time stood still! I have a goal and im going to reach it. On the way home i feel calm not negative, no anxiety, relaxed. That was therapy! I have one year to put this together and make myself buckle down and get my game in gear
$600.00 Entry Fee for a Lifetime memory........Im at home now and im already there
Also im gonna give more updates on this later this week and see if im feeling the same or gonna strangle myself for attempting this journey!
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