On the Cusp of a Breakthrough

[DelaWho???]

I got interested in pool around Thanksgivig of last year. A friend was given a Viper cue by an APA player he knew (Marlboro Miles cue) We went to the local pool hall and I was hooked. A couple weeks later I decided on a McDermott cue and I was in business. We were playing every day......I was banging them around trying to get a game......We shot with the APA player and he told me I didn't deserve a Mcdermott. He was shooting a Cuetec. I started surfing the net looking for all the tips and training aids I could find.....spent alot of time in the pool hall solo trying to work things out....

Then it happened....I read an article about bridge distance and cue stroke. It was like a flash of inspiration an Epiphany if you will....and my game made a giant leap forward to the point where the APA Cuetec guy had to acknowledge that my game had improved.....

I feel like it's about to happen again ..... This time I don't know why .... but I'm on the edge...... In the last two times I've played my friend (we race to 5 straight 8 ball) I got him 5-1 and today I was on the hill he was down 2 he came back hill hill and in the final game I tried a low percentage shot on the 8 kicking at it off the rail and I scratched.....It was dumb but when I play him it's the time to try those shots when nothing but bragging rights are at stake....The night before last I beat one of the local bar box guys, who usually gets the better of me 6-4 ..... He stoppped calling me rack boy after I won 3 in a row..its was exquisite

Anyone else making these types of giant leaps forward? Care to share your story? Thanks....

Oh this is the cue I didn't deserve.....My son shoots with it now

 

[Cameron Smith]

......We shot with the APA player and he told me I didn't deserve a Mcdermott. He was shooting a Cuetec

The guy sounds like a bit of an ass to me. In my opinion anyone who can afford their cue deserves to have it.

I don't really have any stories about breakthroughs. I think that as long as your looking to improve and never assuming your fundamentals are perfect then you should be learning something every time you play. Im constantly getting better and better. My problem is that when I start dogging it constantly I get into those Earl Stricklandesque snits where I just smash the balls in frusteration. However since Im not Earl I can't run 5 racks smashing balls. Which kinda sucks.

 

[CaptiveBred]

I remember those times Once you get serious, progression is fast then it slows. The initial breakthroughs were very pleasurable. Your game will double a few times before the struggling sets in.

Enjoy it while you can, getting to the apex is very difficult. I think I have another 10 years of wondering why I even bother before I get there

 

[pooltchr]

Most players seem to get their improvement in spurts. Initially, the improvement comes fairly quickly, then you might hit a level where you hold pretty steady. Then another period of improvement, followed by another leveling off period. Sometimes, the things you learn take time to develop into a natural part of your game.

After 30 some years of playing, my biggest improvement came when I spend 3 days in class with an instructor. I went in thinking there probably wasn't a whole lot I was going to learn, but 3 days later, my mind was overflowing with all that I had learned. My game actually took a nosedive for a few weeks after school, but when it started to come together, I can say my game went way beyond my previous level. I was so impressed with the class that I decided to become a certified instructor myself to help others learn the same things that I had learned.

Stick with it, but be prepared for some periods of growth and other periods of leveling off.

Steve