Secaucus Fats
Banned
There’s a middle aged Filipino-American lady on my APA team. She’s a mom, and a grandmother. I’ve known her for at least a dozen years.
The first time I met her was when I was putting together a team for a non-handicapped local ‘money’ league. She’s a dynamite player, a wicked shot-maker who knows position in and out, and she has heart like a lioness.
She was my team mate when, after two years of trying, my money league team finally won the league championship, and was my team mate when we went on to repeat our first place finish three times in a row.
She is all offense, offense, offense. That’s her style. She’s just not big on safety play although she will play the occasional safety. The all out offense may seem crazy, but it works for her.
Last night, during APA (8 ball) league (after I’d won the first match), she faced a 6-2 race (her 6 to his 2). She was up three and then the other player (SL2) won one. She didn’t get nervous, instead she played beautifully and won the next three for the victory. When it was over, she smiled, sat down next to me, and watched as our team won the next three, to inflict a a 5-0 beating on the number one team in the division. I believe it was the way she handled herself, when faced with having to give up so much weight, that galvanized the rest of our team and brought out the best in them.
I love the way Filipinos have such a love for pool and I love the combination of easy going confidence and killer instinct that so many of them display. It’s as if darn near everybody from the Philippines can play well. I also love the friendliness and warmth that seems to come so naturally to them. Put it all together and it’s a winning combination!
The first time I met her was when I was putting together a team for a non-handicapped local ‘money’ league. She’s a dynamite player, a wicked shot-maker who knows position in and out, and she has heart like a lioness.
She was my team mate when, after two years of trying, my money league team finally won the league championship, and was my team mate when we went on to repeat our first place finish three times in a row.
She is all offense, offense, offense. That’s her style. She’s just not big on safety play although she will play the occasional safety. The all out offense may seem crazy, but it works for her.
Last night, during APA (8 ball) league (after I’d won the first match), she faced a 6-2 race (her 6 to his 2). She was up three and then the other player (SL2) won one. She didn’t get nervous, instead she played beautifully and won the next three for the victory. When it was over, she smiled, sat down next to me, and watched as our team won the next three, to inflict a a 5-0 beating on the number one team in the division. I believe it was the way she handled herself, when faced with having to give up so much weight, that galvanized the rest of our team and brought out the best in them.
I love the way Filipinos have such a love for pool and I love the combination of easy going confidence and killer instinct that so many of them display. It’s as if darn near everybody from the Philippines can play well. I also love the friendliness and warmth that seems to come so naturally to them. Put it all together and it’s a winning combination!
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