Calling all players!

[Holly]

Thanks Jay for this thread and giving a plug to all the major U.S. events, including our U.S. Open 10-Ball tourney. All those involved in these events do so because they love the sport and want to see it succeed, I been to each of these event other than the Miz event produced by the exceptional team with the Seminole Tribe. It is important that the players support these events, it allows us to continue the cycle of also supporting you.


I"M ABOUT TO GIVE A PLUG HERE... BUT IT IS VERY RELEVANT
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE USA POOL LEAGUE AND PROFESSIONAL POOL IN THE U.S.

One of CSI's goals with the USA Pool League (www.playusapool.com) is to take the following amount from CSI to a pro fund: $.50 (cents) per USAPL league player per week of league play. From day one, we've been putting this money aside as intended.

We soft launched the USAPL, as they say, in 2009 and have been more assertive this year. The league has been growing. Here are some hard numbers to put this in perspective:

for example:

USAPL 10,000 members (we are not here yet, but are growing)
Average of two 12 week sessions (24 weeks of play annually - which may be conservative, but a decent average)
= $120,000 annually for the pro fund

CSI will be using this money to fund pro level events in addition to pro to amatuer outreach and training events. It is vital for the sport in the U.S. to develope a real relationship between the various segments of the sport.

Thanks again and hope to see you soon Jay...prolly at The Swanee at Hard Times in Belflower in Feb.

 

[Holly]

All those tournament sound great! But not just the players need to support them the fans need to show up at the events and suport them, next year I'll be planning some of my vacations to attend some of them and do my little bit to help ( and have a ton of fun in the process!)

Agree. This past May we were very appreciative and thrilled with the support by the players at our BCAPL National of the U.S. Open 10-Ball. We work continously to bring the two together. The large monitors and feed into the Riviera Guest rooms of the tourney were also a hit.

Thanks for your support and if you are at the Riv. next May would love to meet and say thanks in person too.

 

[Koop]

With my tournament entry fees, I've been donating to The Professional Pool Player's Retirement Fund for a long time now I usually try and go and play in two events a year and maybe go watch a third, like the Mosconi Cup. But... there is nothing like sending in your monies, practicing up, and stepping into the arena.

Playing pool in a tournament is a unique experience, in someways unlike playing it at any other time. The conditions are different, your competitors are unknown, as are their skill levels and strategies. There are distractions, there's pressure, and you must adjust to all of this immediately. It's an interesting test of what you think you know.

Ferinstance, you may think you know how to kick three rails. But under tournament conditions, it really is the acid test. Do you really know how to instantly calculate the path the cue ball must take, the right amount of spin, the right speed, and compensate for the new cushions, cloth, and balls? You either know how to do it, or you don't. Whether you do or not is out there for the whole world to see and there's no hiding what you can and can't do. At an even more basic level are the simple shots you think you should be able to make. During a tournament, you can learn that there are a whole slew of shots you thought you knew, but can't execute consistently when the heat is on. I'm not talking about really tough shots, I'm talking about shots that you think you can make 10 out of 10. Maybe going to play in a tournament is like getting dressed in the dark and then you go out into the bright sunlight and discover that you've got socks on that don't match. Playing in a tournament will alert you to things you should work on to reach the next level.

A tournament, because of the severity of the test, also let's you see what works and what does not -- tournaments provide you with the ultimate "where the rubber meets the road" venue. Kinda like taking your little hot rod that you've been lovingly tinkering with, out for a spin on the Mercedes-Benz test track in Stuttgart.

A tournament also gives you the opportunity to see a wide variety of approaches to the game. You get to see shots that you might not regularly play. But if you see how they're executed and whether they're effective, you can practice them and make them part of your personal arsenal. That's another great learning opportunity.

Lastly, I think playing in a tournament, imbues you with a sense of confidence you can't get any other way. Stepping into "the arena" and taking on all comers on a level playing field, so to speak, gives you a very accurate sense of where your game -- and you yourself as a competitor -- stand in the universe of pool players.

Soooooooo, I guess what I'm trying to say is that Jay's suggestion is a good one worth taking to heart. Hopefully, some of you, in the very near future, or at least the next time you have the opportunity, will jump in the deep end. It won't be easy, it might not be cheap, and it will take time, effort, and courage on your part. No, I'm not saying everyone should sign up for the next Open, (though there are some of you that should). I'm saying there are tournaments all over the place that, at some level or another, will let you experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. More significantly, it will give you a great way to learn so many different but related things. If you don't compete in a tournament now and again, and test yourself and your game, you're cheating yourself.

Well, that's it. Now get out there and be safe.

Lou Figueroa

What a great post and perfectly stated, IMO.

 

[Holly]

Great post Jay.
If I may, I would like to suggest to the promoters/coordinators of these big events to have more of them available via the Internet.

I know they want to fill the seats because attendance is always good for business, but there are more and more of us who cannot attend because of work/personal/financial reasons, and being able to enjoy some of these matches (for a nominal fee) would be great.

There will be those who complain that they should not have to pay to see matches online, but the game does not need them. This is about putting money back into the game we love so we can keep it going.

Thanks and agree. There are excellent live streamers all over the country. Our TAR brother's have worked closely with CSI for a couple of years. The work Justin and his team produced at the NCS and U.S. Open 10-Ball were excellent. At the 10-Ball in particular it was a good sized team with 3 cameras (thanks to Nathan and Run Out Media guys too). We used large film style screens in the Riv. and had a direct feed to one of the channels in the Riv. guest rooms. There were issues here and there with the feed, but was excellent.

The pruduction by Dustin and Samm at this years US Open 9 Ball on AZB was the best I've every seen her do, was top notch all the way. And I could go on for hours how amazing Accu-Stats has been to this industry.

The issue is historically PPV has not covered barely, if at all even, the cost of production. So how do we change that...

What pool needs is more mainstream exposure. I personal include on all press releases I send from CSI to two Sr. writers at Sports Illustrated...and have yet to ever see any story about pool or billiards in the publication.

If anyone in the sport who reads this has any influence whether it's your local paper, a radio station, TV station...anything media related, the sport needs your nudge and support. If you know of any mainstream media group that would legitimately welcome releases about pool and billiard news, please let me know at holly@playcsipool.com.

Thanks

 

[Jaden]

Jay????

Jay, do you know if the Seminole tour is planning on coming back to socal?

Jaden

 

[beetle]

Nice post and nice thread that died too young. <bump>

With my tournament entry fees, I've been donating to The Professional Pool Player's Retirement Fund for a long time now I usually try and go and play in two events a year and maybe go watch a third, like the Mosconi Cup. But... there is nothing like sending in your monies, practicing up, and stepping into the arena.

Playing pool in a tournament is a unique experience, in someways unlike playing it at any other time. The conditions are different, your competitors are unknown, as are their skill levels and strategies. There are distractions, there's pressure, and you must adjust to all of this immediately. It's an interesting test of what you think you know.

Ferinstance, you may think you know how to kick three rails. But under tournament conditions, it really is the acid test. Do you really know how to instantly calculate the path the cue ball must take, the right amount of spin, the right speed, and compensate for the new cushions, cloth, and balls? You either know how to do it, or you don't. Whether you do or not is out there for the whole world to see and there's no hiding what you can and can't do. At an even more basic level are the simple shots you think you should be able to make. During a tournament, you can learn that there are a whole slew of shots you thought you knew, but can't execute consistently when the heat is on. I'm not talking about really tough shots, I'm talking about shots that you think you can make 10 out of 10. Maybe going to play in a tournament is like getting dressed in the dark and then you go out into the bright sunlight and discover that you've got socks on that don't match. Playing in a tournament will alert you to things you should work on to reach the next level.

A tournament, because of the severity of the test, also let's you see what works and what does not -- tournaments provide you with the ultimate "where the rubber meets the road" venue. Kinda like taking your little hot rod that you've been lovingly tinkering with, out for a spin on the Mercedes-Benz test track in Stuttgart.

A tournament also gives you the opportunity to see a wide variety of approaches to the game. You get to see shots that you might not regularly play. But if you see how they're executed and whether they're effective, you can practice them and make them part of your personal arsenal. That's another great learning opportunity.

Lastly, I think playing in a tournament, imbues you with a sense of confidence you can't get any other way. Stepping into "the arena" and taking on all comers on a level playing field, so to speak, gives you a very accurate sense of where your game -- and you yourself as a competitor -- stand in the universe of pool players.

Soooooooo, I guess what I'm trying to say is that Jay's suggestion is a good one worth taking to heart. Hopefully, some of you, in the very near future, or at least the next time you have the opportunity, will jump in the deep end. It won't be easy, it might not be cheap, and it will take time, effort, and courage on your part. No, I'm not saying everyone should sign up for the next Open, (though there are some of you that should). I'm saying there are tournaments all over the place that, at some level or another, will let you experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. More significantly, it will give you a great way to learn so many different but related things. If you don't compete in a tournament now and again, and test yourself and your game, you're cheating yourself.

Well, that's it. Now get out there and be safe.

Lou Figueroa