Tuesday was my second match back in the APA Masters and I got the pleasure meeting several new players who are on our shared Journey....
My match started with me winning the lag and choosing 9ball to start. This meant since I chose the game, my opponent broke. I didn't get Mike's last name but he was new to the league so we had to stop and ask a ton of questions from time to time about the rules....
Mike had wished me luck before he broke and to my horror when he struck the rack I realized I had slugged him.... I was more worried about where all of my gear was and not paying attention. I had racked the balls and never even looked at them.......
I walked over to him and told him I had slugged him because I was more concerned about getting my chalk out and my cues together than what I was supposed to be doing... I told him I "wanted" to rerack the balls and start over... Our captain looked at me like I was nuts but he knows I am nuts so he didn't object....
For the whole set after that I never had to worry about a slug. Mike was as diligent as I was racking and said he was truly amazed that I had stepped up like I had...
Even after the match he was super friendly and I heard him tell his sons that the way I had acted was how the game was supposed to be played..
I'm not relaying this to toot my own horn but to point out that even in the APA there is always room for us to act the way we know we should act.
As far as how I played.... Like total crap... Glad they don't count innings because I don't think my mind could grasp that large of a number... I think it was approaching a googleplex... I don't have a clue what that actually is anymore but I seem to recall it is quite large....
Promised the captain I would try and get some practice in this week since my job is supposed to be the closer... Closers shouldn't win 7-6 when the team needs a 7-3....
All in all I still had a good time and saw friends I hadn't seen in awhile... Next week should be another adventure as I likely won't get any practice in before Tuesday...
Ack.. Almost forgot something important I learned about myself...
I can't seem to hate my opponent anymore... I tried to when I was shooting poorly since I used to be able to channel that when all else failed...
I just stuck with honestly rooting for Mike when he was at the table and not giving up... figuring that rolls would likely decide how the match ended like they usually do anyway..... I got lucky and won 7-6... Or Mike was unlucky and lost 7-6....
I like being lucky so I think I'll stick with the first way of looking at things.......
My match started with me winning the lag and choosing 9ball to start. This meant since I chose the game, my opponent broke. I didn't get Mike's last name but he was new to the league so we had to stop and ask a ton of questions from time to time about the rules....
Mike had wished me luck before he broke and to my horror when he struck the rack I realized I had slugged him.... I was more worried about where all of my gear was and not paying attention. I had racked the balls and never even looked at them.......
I walked over to him and told him I had slugged him because I was more concerned about getting my chalk out and my cues together than what I was supposed to be doing... I told him I "wanted" to rerack the balls and start over... Our captain looked at me like I was nuts but he knows I am nuts so he didn't object....
For the whole set after that I never had to worry about a slug. Mike was as diligent as I was racking and said he was truly amazed that I had stepped up like I had...
Even after the match he was super friendly and I heard him tell his sons that the way I had acted was how the game was supposed to be played..
I'm not relaying this to toot my own horn but to point out that even in the APA there is always room for us to act the way we know we should act.
As far as how I played.... Like total crap... Glad they don't count innings because I don't think my mind could grasp that large of a number... I think it was approaching a googleplex... I don't have a clue what that actually is anymore but I seem to recall it is quite large....
Promised the captain I would try and get some practice in this week since my job is supposed to be the closer... Closers shouldn't win 7-6 when the team needs a 7-3....
All in all I still had a good time and saw friends I hadn't seen in awhile... Next week should be another adventure as I likely won't get any practice in before Tuesday...
Ack.. Almost forgot something important I learned about myself...
I can't seem to hate my opponent anymore... I tried to when I was shooting poorly since I used to be able to channel that when all else failed...
I just stuck with honestly rooting for Mike when he was at the table and not giving up... figuring that rolls would likely decide how the match ended like they usually do anyway..... I got lucky and won 7-6... Or Mike was unlucky and lost 7-6....
I like being lucky so I think I'll stick with the first way of looking at things.......
