Bootcamp 2008 begins

The holidays were filled with lots of relaxation and some good pool practice. I'm so glad that pool halls ignore holidays like Christmas in New Year's as it would have been very frustrating to have all the vacation time, and no place to play pool.

Here's recap of this week:

Monday: 2 Hours of mostly piling rocks and shooting 8-ball racks. Although I was pocketing balls pretty well, I walk away and realize that I just spent over an hour practicing how NOT to play pool. Genius!!!

Tuesday: Hung over and sleep deprived. The perfect opportunity to work on focusing in spite of an overwhelming desire to return to bed. I try to earn a gold star by doing some shotmaking drills from Steve Capelle's Practicing Pool. It takes some discipline but feels good. After being a good little soldier, I decide to reward myself by shooting a few 8-ball racks. I don't like how I shoot the first one, so I do another one (because THIS one, I'll get right, which, of course, I don't!). And another. And another. When I leave, I can almost feel the tense, rushed stroke that's been built up in my muscle memory. Ugh!

Wednesday: Its the second day of 2008 and time to really turn over a new leaf. After the last two days, I am no longer willing to waste my practice time. If I pile rocks or play a rack, I decide that I can only do one, so I better make it a good one. I do more shotmaking drills and one pretty good rack of 8-ball. Good enough that I earned the right to play a second one. It feels like my stroke is starting to relax.

Thursday & Friday: More shotmaking drills, and a single rack of 8-ball. I realize that to play well, I can't use pool to unwind from work stress and that I really need to let go of work before I start playing. Or quit my job. I'm still debating....Is an income source really necessary?

So, are you bored yet? Yeah. Me, too. I feel good about this week, but I have to confess by the end of Friday, the shot making drills were starting to make my eyes bleed a bit, and they don't make for great blogging. After thinking about what's best to do to prepare for the regionals, at my level, though, working on the real basics is probably the way to go. So this may be the price I have to pay for greater fame and fortune (and better blog material) down the road...