2010 VA State 14.1 Championships = Mental/Physical Exhaustion
Posted 03-02-2010 at 10:29 AM by Hierovision
The evening before this tournament I watched some of the John Schmidt/Danny Harriman DVDs to get myself in the right frame of mind. I went to sleep around 9pm after setting my alarm for 6:25am.
I didn't have to set the alarm. My son woke me up at 5:45am (probably due to the molars working their way into his little baby gums) so I showered and got cleaned up. My hair was being extra difficult so I forced it into submission with some extra-hold hair spray. Please don't hate. I have what my friends like to call a "jew fro" that gets exponentially curlier the longer it gets. I went downstairs and ate a giant bowl of lucky charms... and they are magically delicious, if you were wondering. I still had plenty of time left before I had to leave so I did a few house chores... cleaned up the dog crap, took out the trash, and got some laundry ready.
On my way out the door around 7:40 I downed a 5-hour energy to hopefully give me an edge early on. I got to Obelisk Billiard Club around 8 followed closely by Josh (JMD in VA) the tournament director.
We admired the trophies and the setup of the tables, and chatted about some recent AZB topics. We swapped cues and shot a few, admiring the hit and design of each. He has a nice steel-jointed scruggs... and honestly you can't go wrong with one of those. He also liked the hit of my thin-walled steel jointed Carmeli and said he was a new fan .
Soon after that around 9 or 9:30 Greg Ferguson (manager and soon-to-be owner of Obelisk) came out and released the few of us that had trickled in to start practicing on the tables. I set up and fired at a few break shots all the while trying to convince myself I had a chance to place in the money.
Matches started around 10:30 and since I had no idea who was who, I just hoped I was in stroke and didn't draw Bobby Chamberlain. I was not in stroke, but I also didn't draw Bobby Chamberlain. I got several chances from my opponent (a nice middle-aged black fellow) but failed to capitalize. I was pretty nervous, and several times could hear my heart beating in my chest. This was by far the biggest tournament I've ever played in. The next biggest on my list was a Saturday tournament at Q-Masters or the Friday 9-ball at Obelisk (in which my best finish is 2nd). This was definitely a huge step up. I kept reminding myself that I've played there hundreds of times, and that seemed to help a bit. I ran a few 11 or 12 ball runs and took the lead, but I couldn't seem to get my aim down for some reason. 1/3 of the way through the match my opponent passed me by and kept going. I gave him so many chances I lost count. I ended up at 68 points to his 100.
I ended up getting a bye in the first round on the loser's side, so I sat down for a while to rest my feet and watch the matches. After 10 or 15 minutes I couldn't wait any more and hopped on an empty table to practice. I was slowly getting my confidence and stroke back over time, and making break shots I was missing in my match. Before I knew it over 2 hours had gone by and my feet/back were getting sore. I sat down for another 10 or 15 minutes and got antsy again. I didn't want to lose my stroke right after I found it! I played for another 45 minutes before I was finally told my next match was ready. The match I was waiting on had a very slow player and went over 3 hours. Turns out the slow player lost.
I don't remember his name, but this guy must've been a CPA. He analyzed every little detail of every little factor when I missed and gave him the table. He studied it like his life depended on it, easily taking 1 to 3 minutes PER shot. Sometimes MORE. I was shooting pretty well in the beginning, but over time the pace just wore me out mentally. All I could think about was that if I missed, I would have to sit for 10 or 15 minutes so this guy could run 4 or 5 balls and miss or safe me. I learned really quick that I don't have the mental discipline to handle that kind of opponent. By the time he (it felt inevitable) won, my feet, back, and mind were so worn out I felt like I couldn't shoot another ball.
Despite shooting much better in the early half of the second match, I only ended up at 71 points. He sank the final ball after I failed to execute a decent safety.
On my way home around 7:45 (that's right... almost 10 hours for 3 rounds) I kept seeing angles and shots superimposed on everyday objects. Storefronts became overhead views of pool tables, flagpoles became cues, etc. I came home to my wife Sarah, who had some friends over at the time. I know they were talking about various topics, but all I could think about was how their heads were pool balls, and I imagined shooting them all in the corner of the room where I was imagining a pocket. Not much later I was fast asleep dreaming about the tournament and pool in general.
I had some shining moments, but overall I shot below average. Despite that fact, I learned a LOT about myself from this event that helped take my game to the next level. I know what I need to work on. I need patience, a little more confidence, and DISCIPLINE out the back end. I might take up Tai Chi
I'm going to try my hand at the next VA State 9-ball Championships. Hopefully it's not too far away in distance or time. I'm feeling pretty good
I didn't have to set the alarm. My son woke me up at 5:45am (probably due to the molars working their way into his little baby gums) so I showered and got cleaned up. My hair was being extra difficult so I forced it into submission with some extra-hold hair spray. Please don't hate. I have what my friends like to call a "jew fro" that gets exponentially curlier the longer it gets. I went downstairs and ate a giant bowl of lucky charms... and they are magically delicious, if you were wondering. I still had plenty of time left before I had to leave so I did a few house chores... cleaned up the dog crap, took out the trash, and got some laundry ready.
On my way out the door around 7:40 I downed a 5-hour energy to hopefully give me an edge early on. I got to Obelisk Billiard Club around 8 followed closely by Josh (JMD in VA) the tournament director.
We admired the trophies and the setup of the tables, and chatted about some recent AZB topics. We swapped cues and shot a few, admiring the hit and design of each. He has a nice steel-jointed scruggs... and honestly you can't go wrong with one of those. He also liked the hit of my thin-walled steel jointed Carmeli and said he was a new fan .
Soon after that around 9 or 9:30 Greg Ferguson (manager and soon-to-be owner of Obelisk) came out and released the few of us that had trickled in to start practicing on the tables. I set up and fired at a few break shots all the while trying to convince myself I had a chance to place in the money.
Matches started around 10:30 and since I had no idea who was who, I just hoped I was in stroke and didn't draw Bobby Chamberlain. I was not in stroke, but I also didn't draw Bobby Chamberlain. I got several chances from my opponent (a nice middle-aged black fellow) but failed to capitalize. I was pretty nervous, and several times could hear my heart beating in my chest. This was by far the biggest tournament I've ever played in. The next biggest on my list was a Saturday tournament at Q-Masters or the Friday 9-ball at Obelisk (in which my best finish is 2nd). This was definitely a huge step up. I kept reminding myself that I've played there hundreds of times, and that seemed to help a bit. I ran a few 11 or 12 ball runs and took the lead, but I couldn't seem to get my aim down for some reason. 1/3 of the way through the match my opponent passed me by and kept going. I gave him so many chances I lost count. I ended up at 68 points to his 100.
I ended up getting a bye in the first round on the loser's side, so I sat down for a while to rest my feet and watch the matches. After 10 or 15 minutes I couldn't wait any more and hopped on an empty table to practice. I was slowly getting my confidence and stroke back over time, and making break shots I was missing in my match. Before I knew it over 2 hours had gone by and my feet/back were getting sore. I sat down for another 10 or 15 minutes and got antsy again. I didn't want to lose my stroke right after I found it! I played for another 45 minutes before I was finally told my next match was ready. The match I was waiting on had a very slow player and went over 3 hours. Turns out the slow player lost.
I don't remember his name, but this guy must've been a CPA. He analyzed every little detail of every little factor when I missed and gave him the table. He studied it like his life depended on it, easily taking 1 to 3 minutes PER shot. Sometimes MORE. I was shooting pretty well in the beginning, but over time the pace just wore me out mentally. All I could think about was that if I missed, I would have to sit for 10 or 15 minutes so this guy could run 4 or 5 balls and miss or safe me. I learned really quick that I don't have the mental discipline to handle that kind of opponent. By the time he (it felt inevitable) won, my feet, back, and mind were so worn out I felt like I couldn't shoot another ball.
Despite shooting much better in the early half of the second match, I only ended up at 71 points. He sank the final ball after I failed to execute a decent safety.
On my way home around 7:45 (that's right... almost 10 hours for 3 rounds) I kept seeing angles and shots superimposed on everyday objects. Storefronts became overhead views of pool tables, flagpoles became cues, etc. I came home to my wife Sarah, who had some friends over at the time. I know they were talking about various topics, but all I could think about was how their heads were pool balls, and I imagined shooting them all in the corner of the room where I was imagining a pocket. Not much later I was fast asleep dreaming about the tournament and pool in general.
I had some shining moments, but overall I shot below average. Despite that fact, I learned a LOT about myself from this event that helped take my game to the next level. I know what I need to work on. I need patience, a little more confidence, and DISCIPLINE out the back end. I might take up Tai Chi
I'm going to try my hand at the next VA State 9-ball Championships. Hopefully it's not too far away in distance or time. I'm feeling pretty good
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