So I reached my goal, now what?

Gotta find the fire you had to get to get to 100! It might happen in a different game.

You could always get a lesson, that's guaranteed to give you something new to think about and motivate you to keep playing and improve.


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You may have reached your goal but you sure don't sound like you were having fun or even for that matter, enjoying it. It's a game. it should be fun.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Hello everybody! I apologize in advance for the length and general whinyness of this post.A short while ago I reached my goal and ran over 100 balls in straightpool. My entire pool playing life has been leading up to that moment, being my sole goal for all my pool playing practice over the last 8 or 9 years. I think I originally set the goal, because it seemed so extremely unlikely it would ever happen.:) The day I made it was in the top 10 of my life, easily.

I am a very untalented player, in fact if you saw me play you would probably be surprised that I ever ran 50, much less 100. To have any kind of run at all I have to grind extremely hard, bearing down on every ball. I have a long checklist I have to go through to make sure I make the shot and position. On top of that I feel like I am very unlucky as well, and I seemingly have to be twice as careful as everybody else to avoid disaster. If you saw how my previous high runs ended you would laugh in disbelief.

For a several years I was stuck at 60, then 71 balls. I thought up a drill where I would put all the balls on the table up in the open, making sure none of them were touching and just pocketing them. When all were pocketed I would put them up in a different pattern, but open, and do the same again, until I had pocketed 100 balls in a row. Making sure I pocketed 100 balls at least a couple of times per session to desensitize me to the number. The drill did the trick and then suddenly one day I ran 109 in normal straightpool. Ever since that time I have played very little pool at all, and the little I have been playing have been rather disappointing. I can't grind anymore, and playing seems more of a chore than fun. After the first rack it's like my mind gets tired, and I just start playing haphazardly. I tried to make a video the last time I was playing, but I could not get past 28 balls before my focus slipped. My physical game is better than ever, but my patterns and position play are pure crap. I keep making rookie mistakes and the fire is just not there anymore.

My question to all of you is: Have any of you been through something like this before? Did you get out of it, and what did you do to rededicate yourselves? I've tried to set my new goal at 150, but I just can't get the same kind of feeling and excitement that the goal of running a 100 gave me. I guess maybe I should go back to try learning 3 cushion again for a while?
Click to expand...

First (and foremost), a hearty CONGRATULATIONS to you for joining the 100 club with a 109!! That's such a great number, because not only did you breach the 100 barrier, but you added 9 more balls, to show that the number wasn't just a fluke, and that you'd a full head of steam into that number.

Second, it sounds like you your primary focus during the time leading up to the "breaking the 100 barrier" goal was just that -- to break that number. In fact, you prove this theory by your drill of running (in series of 14 or 15) "loose balls" on the table that you'd manually set back up by hand, until you reached a goal of 100 pocketed balls, to desensitize you to this number.

Here's the problem: you've programmed yourself that playing this wonderful game of 14.1 is all about achieving "that number." Once you did, the attraction to playing the game was gone. Done. "Been there, done that."

You've forgotten how to immerse yourself into (and enjoy) the beauty of unfolding the patterns on the table, of running balls to execute those patterns, and of eating the fruit of pocketing a well-thought-out break ball and breaking the next rack.

I suspect now that you've turned your attention to 3-cushion, the same thing is going to happen. Although running a 15 in 3-cushion is arguably more difficult than running 100 in straight pool, if you ever achieve such a mighty number, you might lose interest in the beauty of 3-cushion as well.

Summary: don't forget to learn how to have fun, to enjoy what you're doing. Otherwise, it becomes a task (or worse yet, chore), and once you achieve it, you strike a line through it on your list and move on to the next "task" or chore.

P.S.: ask yourself everyday why you play this game. This will help remind you to have fun and enjoy the experience.

-Sean
 
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Congrats on your 109 ball run. I would love to see a video of one of your runs, maybe a 50 would be nice. If you set up a video recorder that will give you that drive feeling as you had when you were trying to reach that 100 goal that you had set. Give it a try!
 
Very Nice Achievement of breaking the 100 goal with a 109 !!!

another thought would be to set a nice run during a competitive game, nothing like keeping your opponent in the chair for a little while !!!

Congrats again !!

-Steve
 
very well done! I hope to follow your footsteps someday.

The destination does not matter.
the real joy is the journey.
Once you get there, I can't comment on, I've got some miles left to travel.

I say get your sights set on 150 or 200. It might be doable.
This is a road not often traveled.
Made of only stone and gravel. very bumpy I would think.
You have that opportunity.

I can't believe you are thinking of hanging it up after all it took to get there.
I might say take some time off, and when you are ready jump right back in there with all you got.

It just might be the ride of your life, or maybe a top five.

best of luck
steven
 
Congrats on your run.
Running a 100 should not be your destiny just part of your journey ! After running a hundred a few times you will find more satisfaction in it . Some top players have run a100 hundreds of times .A100 should not be a goal once reached you stop, it should be a accomplishment once reached makes you hunger to repeat ! IMHO
 
On May 2nd, 2014, I shot 105 balls in a row while playing 14.1 and was very elated to have done so. This topped my previous all-time high of 59 balls.
On May 7th, I shot 116 balls in a row while playing 14.1.
On May 10th, I shot 118 balls in a row while playing 14.1.
On May 16th, I shot 105 balls in a row while playing 14.1
To date, 118 is my record.
I shot 74 balls tonight out in the shop.

I, too, have become distracted and lose my concentration now. Hope it goes away. I'd like to make 150, too.

Congrats to you. :)
 
I get frustrated with my lack of skills playing straight pool. I'll play 14.1 for a few weeks and then go back to 9/10 ball to sort of get loosened back up, of that makes any sense. Beating the 9/10 ball ghost in a race to 10 or so is a lofty goal that keeps my attention.
 
I think you should pay attention to the fantastic words of wisdom from Strawberry Brooks, "One Pocket, it's an epidemic, and there ain't no cure."

kollegedave
 
Congrats on the 109. 100+ is awesome, remember you are playing pool and it is fun so if it is not fun take that break and come back with a new mindset.
 
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