Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Edging up my game

So, tonight I have my first opportunity to put into action my new approach to annihilating my opponent, so I just wanted to record a little something about my preparation so far. Not very interesting, but sometimes I just want to track of what I've been doing...

I had a free weekend which allowed me to have good practice sessions both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday I got to play on a 9-footer with tight pockets with one of my favorite sparring partners. He's a level above me and both an instinctive and methodical player, which is nice because I have a chance of holding my own, but it challenges me. And because he's methodical, he can actually discuss his choices and we can talk through options for different situations. Plus like me, he wants to improve and not just pocket balls.

Most of the people I know who are 4s have been 4s forever. They grew up playing pool. They have a good aiming eye and a feel for shape and patterns, but they struggle with coaching because its all automatic.

Anyway, this guy's great to play with. Plus he has a car and can give me a ride.

At first I really struggled with the tight pockets. Got my ass kicked in 8-ball, but we switched to 9-ball, I adjusted to the table and started being more precise in my aiming and voila, I was giving as good as I got.

In solo practice I've been better about incorporating more drills, although I probably won't implement the boot camp regimen until after the first of the year. But, I've been much better about not just banging the balls around when I practice shooting. If I am just "piling rocks," I'm being careful to do my pre-shot routine, know exactly where I'm going to hit my object ball and then not pulling the trigger until it feels right. It feels good and I can feel my game coming back into focus......

We shall see how tonight goes....

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