Forgive me if Im a little excited but I thought I would share this with you all.
Now I am an APA player and my skill is a SL3 and for the past month I have been reading "point the way" by the monk. During each day I would read a few pages, make some personal notes and then go practice a little on what I have learned. I had a lot of self realization during this time frame. For example, I found out my major issue when I was shooting wasn't nerves about shooting, it was my own doubt and the stupid "I told you not to shoot it that way" that got me. I still have it from time to time but I can deal better with it when it happens and its not as bad as what it once was. What worked for me the most was the "ready, set, go" technique. It has helped me really be aware of my stroke, stance, shot and comfort level with it all. If any of those are uncomfortable to me, I stand up and reset myself. Now to top it all off, this past saturday I entered a local tourney just to see what would happen. As I walked in, all the self-doubt started filling my mind and the pit of my stomach started turning a little. I told myself, "you're not getting the best of me tonight". I walked in and signed up. A few people that knew me snickered as I signed up. Cant really blame them for snickering since the tourney was a B tournament race to 2. Mostly SL6's and SL7's and here I am a SL3. However, the only time I went to the board was to see a field was 29 players including me. Stroke after stroke, rack after rack, all that was going through my mind was "ready, set, go" and "you're not getting the best of me tonight". By the time I actually realized what was happening, I was on the winners side waiting to battle it out for 1st. I got lots of "wow you game has improved a lot" and the same old "you're not a 3" as I was waiting. I lost 1st by 1 rack but I had gained so much more through this journey that I wont ever forget it. I not only walked out with 2nd place money but a new found sense of purpose when I come to the table and truly believing that I have the potential to be a good tournament player.
Now I am an APA player and my skill is a SL3 and for the past month I have been reading "point the way" by the monk. During each day I would read a few pages, make some personal notes and then go practice a little on what I have learned. I had a lot of self realization during this time frame. For example, I found out my major issue when I was shooting wasn't nerves about shooting, it was my own doubt and the stupid "I told you not to shoot it that way" that got me. I still have it from time to time but I can deal better with it when it happens and its not as bad as what it once was. What worked for me the most was the "ready, set, go" technique. It has helped me really be aware of my stroke, stance, shot and comfort level with it all. If any of those are uncomfortable to me, I stand up and reset myself. Now to top it all off, this past saturday I entered a local tourney just to see what would happen. As I walked in, all the self-doubt started filling my mind and the pit of my stomach started turning a little. I told myself, "you're not getting the best of me tonight". I walked in and signed up. A few people that knew me snickered as I signed up. Cant really blame them for snickering since the tourney was a B tournament race to 2. Mostly SL6's and SL7's and here I am a SL3. However, the only time I went to the board was to see a field was 29 players including me. Stroke after stroke, rack after rack, all that was going through my mind was "ready, set, go" and "you're not getting the best of me tonight". By the time I actually realized what was happening, I was on the winners side waiting to battle it out for 1st. I got lots of "wow you game has improved a lot" and the same old "you're not a 3" as I was waiting. I lost 1st by 1 rack but I had gained so much more through this journey that I wont ever forget it. I not only walked out with 2nd place money but a new found sense of purpose when I come to the table and truly believing that I have the potential to be a good tournament player.
