@ShortBusRuss, why aren't you entering all the Eurutour events? Put on a 5 pack vs one of the pros
ha ha ha
I am currently in a practice cycle right now, to correct quite a bit of laziness and apathy in my game, mostly dealing with working night shift for the past 7 years or so, and not having opportunity to play many smaller local events, so basically having "nothing to practice for".
I am making some progress, and working on straight in shots, and really smooth, gentle draws from extreme angles, into these small 4 1/8" pockets. It is a matter of repetition at this point. Initial results are.. I "thought" my vision was failing, and my misses were attributed to that.. But work on my fundamentals has shown me my aim is fine, and it's my stroke that needs work.
I am getting 60-90 minutes a day of practice right now, even after a 10 hour shift, and trying to ramp up my daily practice on my 3 off days. My wife is about to go to the states without me for a few months to visit our kids, so this is going to free up a significant portion of time where I don't have to commit to making breakfast with her, sitting for a few minutes watching the news with her before I start practicing, etc..
The goal is to get in as good of stroke as I can before June/July, then go visit Alex Lely for a few days in Italy for some coaching, which I will take an improvement plan away from to work on for the next few months, until I go back to the states for the International Open 650 and below + minis.
I very much feel an awareness for the need to leverage these next few months as much as I can. What it preliminarily "feels like" to me, is that I have much better knowledge of "professional" position routes these days, and can probably still get back to the "stroke" I had around 22-23. Since I have been in Germany, I have put 3 packs down occasionally in league, in 8 ball/9 ball, but that was only when I was really practicing, but did not have the Diamond I do now.
I just replaced my Simonis 860 with 860HR, and can already feel the positive effects it is having on my stroke, opening up shots that I simply do not see the club players here playing.. Re: a "tensionless" stroke delivered at the absolute minimum "accelerating speed", with maximum spin. An example of this sort of shot is a ball on the center line of the table, far enough up so that it looks like a pure scratch in the side when cutting the ball into one of the far corner pockets, but hitting it so smooth that it draws back 1 to 1 1/2 diamonds above the side, and draws back one rail to the rack area.
I have observed small improvements in my game relevant to changing cue ball paths much more precisely by small adjustments above/below center. The sort of shots you need when you need to get tight position on a ball that only goes in one pocket, and for example requires one to stun back across table, coming in to a 'specific" diamond, or half-diamond. The more work I do on my stroke.. The more precise these cue ball paths will be.
I feel myself slowly but surely working myself into the sort of play that has had me beat 650 level Fargorate players in the occasional 7-2 set, or similar. Funny aside story on that.. I watched the Anthony Meglino interview that popped up recently, and it was extremely motivating this is a working class guy closing in on 800 Fargorate, because he has made the conscious decision to priortize improving his play every single day.
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