Austin Murphy

I have observed Austin many times ...

at various events in Northern California and Nevada ... He exudes natural talent, the level of which most of us only dream ... However, his behavior at the Annual Jointed Cue Tournament was deplorable (he actually went into the bathroom and cried like a baby after losing to Damian Overton) ... Placing 3rd in that Tournament was no small feat and he should have been content ... I have been a Competitor in Drag Racing, Shooting Sports, and Pool during my 65 years of existence and have experienced the "Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" thousands of times ... Winning is EVERYTHING and Losing is inevitable ...
 
I had heard about Austin from several players over the last year. But last month I got the chance to see him in action, first in Sacramento at the monthly tournament at Hardtimes. Saturday was the 1-Pocket event and there he was, shooting like he had 20 years of experience. He wasn't just shooting straight, he was playing real smart! I'm not sure how he finished but I was impressed.

On Sunday he was in the 9-Ball event and got a few veteran players rattled along the way to a high finish. I would have got the chance to play him if could've just got by that pesky Damian Overton. Maybe it was best I didn't play him because I think I would've been rattled too.

A few days later I see him again at the pro event at the BCA. On his first match he gave Markus Chamat a good scare but ended up losing.

I'll be watching this kid closely as he develops as a player. As for any unsportsmanlike conduct, I have not seen any. I'm sure his parents are going to reign in any bad behavior on his part as they seem to be doing a good job raising him.
 
I have respectfully disagree with you on him crying after the match. I think that is ok,as long as it's not during the match which he has done.Then that is disrespectful

I think we have all seen professional sport competitors shed a few tears after
after a tough loss.





Str8PoolPlayer said:
at various events in Northern California and Nevada ... He exudes natural talent, the level of which most of us only dream ... However, his behavior at the Annual Jointed Cue Tournament was deplorable (he actually went into the bathroom and cried like a baby after losing to Damian Overton) ... Placing 3rd in that Tournament was no small feat and he should have been content ... I have been a Competitor in Drag Racing, Shooting Sports, and Pool during my 65 years of existence and have experienced the "Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" thousands of times ... Winning is EVERYTHING and Losing is inevitable ...
Click to expand...
 
justnick said:
I have respectfully disagree with you on him crying after the match. I think that is ok,as long as it's not during the match which he has done.Then that is disrespectful

I think we have all seen professional sport competitors shed a few tears after
after a tough loss.
Click to expand...

Yea but I have seen him play and if nobody slaps some sense into him soon, then he's on the path to becoming worse than earl
 
Zirroe said:
Yea but I have seen him play and if nobody slaps some sense into him soon, then he's on the path to becoming worse than earl
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Don't get me wrong i agree with you,I've seen his actions many times first hand.if my child acted the way he does during a tournament i would have no problem correcting his behavior on the spot,something his parents should do
and if the problem continued there punishment would be no tournaments for a while
 
My thoughts in a way.

Russ Chewning said:
Noooooooo.. I am saying don't teach these kids "Hey, don't worry, it's just a game. Better luck next time!"

IMHO, there's too much namby-pamby talk about how all the kids are winners, as long as they compete. Guess what? They're NOT all winners. Some are losers. Nutchin' wrong with the kids realizing this. Then, they can decide on their own whether they want to be a winner or not.. :D :D :D :D

Russ
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All of this "everyone gets a trophy" crap is teaching kids in sports that mediocrity is acceptable. Maybe it is to some. But these people will never excel past a certain level. When they get older, they won't care about trophies. There WILL be a winner and a LOSER. The last time I reached on the light to grab the cash (or post up again) I was very aware of who the winner was. Teach it early.
 
crawfish said:
All of this "everyone gets a trophy" crap is teaching kids in sports that mediocrity is acceptable. Maybe it is to some. But these people will never excel past a certain level. When they get older, they won't care about trophies. There WILL be a winner and a LOSER. The last time I reached on the light to grab the cash (or post up again) I was very aware of who the winner was. Teach it early.
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I see what you are saying, but there are many things in life more important than pool. No reason that a person can't be a gentleman after he has already given his best and fallen short. You don't improve by being a poor loser.
 
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Some people are talking like "learning to be polite" and "having a drive to be a winner" are mutually exclusive. They aren't.

Does anyone think super nice and polite guys like Efren Reyes just happened to get world class skills without being competitive? Do you figure if his parents never taught him to rein in his temper, he'd be an even better player today? BS... he'd be worse. Failing to control emotions is probably the #1 reason why a good player loses to a weaker one.

If anyone's kid wants to be a professional at the table, then encouraging him to act like one away from the table won't hurt anything.
 
CreeDo said:
Some people are talking like "learning to be polite" and "having a drive to be a winner" are mutually exclusive. They aren't.

Does anyone think super nice and polite guys like Efren Reyes just happened to get world class skills without being competitive? Do you figure if his parents never taught him to rein in his temper, he'd be an even better player today? BS... he'd be worse. Failing to control emotions is probably the #1 reason why a good player loses to a weaker one.

If anyone's kid wants to be a professional at the table, then encouraging him to act like one away from the table won't hurt anything.
Click to expand...

Tap, Tap, Tap.
 
CreeDo said:
Some people are talking like "learning to be polite" and "having a drive to be a winner" are mutually exclusive. They aren't.

Does anyone think super nice and polite guys like Efren Reyes just happened to get world class skills without being competitive? Do you figure if his parents never taught him to rein in his temper, he'd be an even better player today? BS... he'd be worse. Failing to control emotions is probably the #1 reason why a good player loses to a weaker one.

If anyone's kid wants to be a professional at the table, then encouraging him to act like one away from the table won't hurt anything.
Click to expand...

That deserves another tap. And rep if I can figure out how to give it.
 
CreeDo said:
Some people are talking like "learning to be polite" and "having a drive to be a winner" are mutually exclusive. They aren't.

Does anyone think super nice and polite guys like Efren Reyes just happened to get world class skills without being competitive? Do you figure if his parents never taught him to rein in his temper, he'd be an even better player today? BS... he'd be worse. Failing to control emotions is probably the #1 reason why a good player loses to a weaker one.

If anyone's kid wants to be a professional at the table, then encouraging him to act like one away from the table won't hurt anything.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to agree. Take for example super polite Mike Tyson. If he hadn't learned to control himself he would have never been a world champion and he might have bit someone's ear off. Good thing he learned to control his emotions early in life or he would never have been a champion. (or that Earl Strickland, or Tiger Woods, or Ron Artest, or Maurice Richard, or Roger Clemens, or John McEnroe, etc. etc.)
 
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wayne said:
Yeah, I have to agree. Take for example super polite Mike Tyson. If he hadn't learned to control himself he would have never been a world champion and he might have bit someone's ear off. Good thing he learned to control his emotions early in life or he would never have been a champion. (or that Earl Strickland, or Tiger Woods, or Ron Artest, or Maurice Richard, or Roger Clemens, or John McEnroe, etc. etc.)
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Not always a fair comparison. Being a vicious sonofabítch is built into boxing =) If pool were about how hard you hit the other guy, then yes, letting go and getting pissed could definitely help.

But in pool, it's not so helpful. You mention earl strickland, but I think reyes has the edge on strickland... and I've heard various commentators say strickland may have more natural talent than efren. So maybe being able to control emotions is the difference between the two.

Tiger is, as far as I know, mostly polite. Pumping your first and having a celebration yell isn't the same as being Happy Gilmore. The other guys... shrug, maybe you have a point, maybe not. There are exceptions to anything... I don't advise anyone to use a bad stance or a funny stroke just because a few champions get by with those.
 
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wayne said:
Yeah, I have to agree. Take for example super polite Mike Tyson. If he hadn't learned to control himself he would have never been a world champion and he might have bit someone's ear off. Good thing he learned to control his emotions early in life or he would never have been a champion. (or that Earl Strickland, or Tiger Woods, or Ron Artest, or Maurice Richard, or Roger Clemens, or John McEnroe, etc. etc.)
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But Wayne, take a look what happened to Mike Tyson..


And comparison between Earl and Efren is good, as Earl has more majors, but Efren has probably 1000 times more fans + all the trophys also.
And then Earl is never content and wondering why nobody respects him.

To win without ethics, is not worth praising IMHO.
 
Marvel said:
But Wayne, take a look what happened to Mike Tyson..


And comparison between Earl and Efren is good, as Earl has more majors, but Efren has probably 1000 times more fans + all the trophys also.
And then Earl is never content and wondering why nobody respects him.

To win without ethics, is not worth praising IMHO.
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I am nice, polite and friendly when I play. I much prefer playing with players who are this way and I will not play obnoxious people.
My point was being polite and friendly and not getting angry do not determine whether or not someone will become a champion. It is quite possible that many of the champion players became that way because they absolutely hated losing. If someone had knocked out this hate for losing early in their venture they might not have become champions.
A lot of nice people turn into not so nice people when they are getting pounded on.
A lot of people believe being nice and polite are how you get ahead in life.
Unfortunately, a lot of the leaders in all fields are not polite and really don't give a hoot what other people think but they can get things done.
Efren is the biggest draw in pool. If he is in town or in an event people will turn out to watch. Who do you think would be the next biggest draw for a 9-ball event? I think it would be the infamous Earl.
A super nice guy like Souquet could barely draw a fan when he was playing Marcus near the finals of an event at the Bicycle club.
 
crawfish said:
All of this "everyone gets a trophy" crap is teaching kids in sports that mediocrity is acceptable. Maybe it is to some. But these people will never excel past a certain level. When they get older, they won't care about trophies. There WILL be a winner and a LOSER. The last time I reached on the light to grab the cash (or post up again) I was very aware of who the winner was. Teach it early.
Click to expand...


i agree, all the PC BS is just going to make everyone a Pu$$y, get out there and go down swinging, life is hard why sugar coat it?
 
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