Helena 'The Hammer' Thornfeldt

[Snapshot9]

I always pick out a few players that are considered underdogs from the TOP
pro players that I like and root for. Helena is one of those, but she drives me crazy.

She has a good game.
She breaks real good.
She plays with good logic mostly.

She always makes that 1 mistake that gets her beat by the top pros.

She will be playing excellent, and then do something uncharacteristic that ends up being a mistake that might cost her the whole match.

And it seems, not to be a variety of errors, it seems to be 1 thing that
repeatedly causes her to make 'that' mistake over and over. She knocks on the door so much, only to fall short so many times, when she has the game to get there.

I would like to see her 'get over the hump' and fulfill her potential, but she just seems to fall short so many times.

I also like Romana's game. And Jennifer Baretta is surprising me with her game lately.

 

[landshark77]

How do you define "top" players? Everyone you mention has been in the top 10 at one time or another, as a matter of fact Helena is ranked number 7 post Great Lakes.

 

[Snapshot9]

Top players ....

How do you define "top" players? Everyone you mention has been in the top 10 at one time or another, as a matter of fact Helena is ranked number 7 post Great Lakes.

I would say the top 3 for sure, maybe the top 5.

 

[Egg McDogit]

what kind of mistake? mental mistake? or laying up a shot or something?

 

[Snapshot9]

It is like ...

what kind of mistake? mental mistake? or laying up a shot or something?

A mental mistake, I think, that only pops up now and then, but always seems to show up when she plays the top players, and in the spirit of her game, seems to be uncharacteristic. Kind of like a brain fart thing .... lol
But, it drives me nuts with her. It seems like 1 little light bulb needs to go
on for her game to be top flight.

 

[Rich R.]

I always pick out a few players that are considered underdogs from the TOP
pro players that I like and root for. Helena is one of those, but she drives me crazy.

She has a good game.
She breaks real good.
She plays with good logic mostly.

She always makes that 1 mistake that gets her beat by the top pros.

She will be playing excellent, and then do something uncharacteristic that ends up being a mistake that might cost her the whole match.

And it seems, not to be a variety of errors, it seems to be 1 thing that
repeatedly causes her to make 'that' mistake over and over. She knocks on the door so much, only to fall short so many times, when she has the game to get there.

I would like to see her 'get over the hump' and fulfill her potential, but she just seems to fall short so many times.

I also like Romana's game. And Jennifer Baretta is surprising me with her game lately.

I know exactly what you mean.
It is hard to believe, with all of her experience, but IMHO, I think Helena gets nervous playing in the TV rounds, especially against Allison and Karen. Because she is trying so hard, she ends up making mistakes.

Romana has a very solid game and it is only a matter of time, and her hard work, before she gets over the hump.

From everything that I have heard, and seen, you will find very few players who work harder at improving their game than Jennifer. She has come a long way from when I used to watch her play on the Chesapeake Area Tour.

 

[akaTrigger]

A mental mistake, I think, that only pops up now and then, but always seems to show up when she plays the top players, and in the spirit of her game, seems to be uncharacteristic. Kind of like a brain fart thing .... lol
But, it drives me nuts with her. It seems like 1 little light bulb needs to go
on for her game to be top flight.

I think I have seen this a few times. What I have seen is if she comes across a difficult shot toward the end of the rack, she jumps up a little and kind of whacks at the shot, instead of playing the shot the same as she did all the other balls before that. I know a lot of male and female players who do this, though.

I have especially watched Karen and Allison in these situations and no matter how difficult the shot, or how hard they have to hit the ball, they still stay down and keep to their pre shot routine.

Melinda

 

[sjm]

I always pick out a few players that are considered underdogs from the TOP pro players that I like and root for. Helena is one of those, but she drives me crazy......I would like to see her 'get over the hump' and fulfill her potential, but she just seems to fall short so many times.

I wonder whether this is fair. How can you say that a player that was #3 as recently as the end of 2003 has failed to reach her potential? In case you need a refresher course, the WPBA rankings have looked like this in recent years.

A lot of what "happened" to Helena is Monica Webb, Ga Young Kim, and Kelly Fisher, players that have really stepped up their games.

 

[Barbara]

I've once played against Helena and lost 7-5. I would've gone hill-hill if I didn't scratch on the 8-ball at 6-5. She's a sweet person and gave me advice after the fact of what I should've looked for. I still remember it to this day.

I know what you're saying about "Shake and Break". At that time (2001 (2000?), NJ State Ball Championships), she had the most awesome break at 9-ball and was doing pretty good in the standings.

And I hear what another poster says about knowing when someone is going to miss a shot. I see this in another top pro. She gets a glitch in her giddy-up as she's shooting. It's a "stroking through the shot routine" type of thing, and when this glitch happens - before she pulls the trigger - I can tell she's going to miss.

Barbara

 

[X Breaker]

I am not sure about this one, Scott.

I am not sure, Scott. I think Helena has one of the most solid mechanic and fundamental among the ladies. I like her pre shot routine. She does the same thing everytime especially when she is under pressure, I think that is a good habit.

She is also a great teacher, she has the ability to make things very logical and easy to understand.

Nowadays, the WPBA is full of great players and is therefore very hard to win no matter how great the player is. Sometimes, bad luck or bad rolls can also really turn the match around.

Richard