Bogies Wrapup

As I sat on the floor of the usual gate E4 awaiting my return flight to Minneapolis, reflecting on my weekend in Houston, I can admit that there are a few things that I could’ve done differently to have better prepared for this tournament.

From Little to Big
It’s unfortunate that the timing for this trip could’ve have been reversed. I would’ve much rather come prepared to play big table 9 ball before spending ten days competing in bar table 8 ball events. Not only would I have been in a better frame of mind for 9 ball, but I feel I would’ve still had the loose fluid stroke I had worked so hard to hone just before leaving for MN. There’s something funny that happens to your stroke when playing too much bar table pool. It’s easy to end up a bit pokey.

Nature vs. Nurture
It’s really amazing. There are two different worlds of players on the Hunter tour; the North and the South. In the South, you have the Austin crowd like Heather, Shayla, and Cristina who all have coaches and are so perfectly, mechanically sound and textbook. Then, you have the Dallas girls, Tara, Amanda, and Melinda who have more natural ability than the rest of us could dream of. Not that they’re not mechanically sound, but they don’t have coaches, they don’t even practice, and maybe don’t even play leagues at all, but play just as well, are just as competitive, and are just as successful at these events. Sorry for giving away your secrets ladies, but it’s just astounding to me.

So, when I get letters from readers asking me about the perfect practice formula, how much they should warm up and how hard they should work before competition, I have absolutely nothing to contribute. Of course I believe in practice and practicing the “right” way, but there’s a lot to be said about having paid your dues and just sitting back to reap the rewards from it. Personally, I’m just not there yet.

Friday Night
This weekend’s tournament was, to my standards, a complete disaster. After the 19 hour scotch extravaganza Wednesday, I didn’t hit a ball again until we arrived at Bogies on Friday night. Since we got in at such a reasonable hour, we were able to join Terry, Jilli, Spetty, and Sherry for a nice meal before my night of practice. We played a few games of 9 ball and immediately, I could tell that I really needed the practice.

A couple hours into it, former Colorado resident, Tim Byrum approached me about some cheap sets with a guy called Ray who just wanted to play some race to 5’s for $20. Sure. I obliged, so long as he’s respectful and there’s no haggling involved. I appreciated the light pressure and a new competitor.

He was a worthy opponent and it was a fair match up. I could’ve done without the chit-chat though. That’s what I love most about 9 ball… no talking. The only word absolutely necessary to mutter is, “push.” And even then, it’s usually pretty obvious.

I lost the first set 5-3 and was down 4-0 the second set after handing him just about every single game. He caught a gear and I started struggling. Then, at 4-0, when he didn’t put me away, he made the 9 ball and scratched. He missed his first shot of the next rack, I ran that rack and broke and ran the next two to make it hill-hill. In the final game, I broke dry, of course, he slopped in the first ball and missed the 3 ball and hooked me. I kicked it in and played an almost ideal safety on the 4 ball but left him a looksy for the runout.

So I lost 40 bucks, but I felt really good about how I ended the night and I was excited for the tournament to begin.

Saturday
I won my first round 7-3 to Ashley. Though she may have unorthodoxed mechanics, she can pot the balls with the best of them. We were neck and neck at 3-3 until I really bared down and took off for the match.

I lost my next match to tour champ, Heather Lloyd. I’m really getting sick of this. I am glad, however, that I didn’t totally dog my brains out against her. I broke and ran the first rack and played pretty decent. I don’t feel I made any super dumb decisions. She struggled initially but then came back with her typical Heather-self. I missed a couple kick shots and it was all over. UGH!

I would win a few more matches on the B-side before losing to Helen who just made everything from everywhere. The table was breaking tough. I made balls, but the 1 ball kept ending up in the middle of the head rail. When I tried taking some off, I wouldn’t make a ball. I couldn’t figure out the break and she just didn’t miss. This one was a frustrating match. Win this one and I’m guaranteed 9-12^th with a fresh start in the morning. I REALLY wanted a chance to come back in the morning. Unfortunately, the match did not go my way.

An Unpleasant Surprise
A group of us ended up at Carrabba’s for dinner on Saturday night. I wasn’t really feeling very hungry, but joined for the social value. All I had was bread, two bites of the day-old minestrone soup, and a Caesar salad. I would find myself making three separate visits to hug porcelain from 1-3a.m. that night. Ironically, I had a deadbeat roommate that worked at Carrabba’s so I never went there because it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Now it REALLY does, literally!

I consider myself to have a pretty high tolerance to spoiled foods, compared to most, but it must’ve been a bad Caesar or minestrone??? I don’t know but I was absolutely miserable on Sunday. I skipped the second chance, called for a late check-out and stayed in bed until Carter came to pick me up at noon. I was a complete mess. There’s no way I could’ve played a 10 o’clock match that morning. I could barely walk.

Carter and I took off early on Sunday to head back to Dallas where I caught my early Monday morning flight back to Minneapolis. I logged in my current miles and tournament winnings and enjoyed a peaceful, uneventful final day with my boyfriend before I fly home to Denver tomorrow. I have a busy schedule from now until the time I leave for Vegas.

I would like to extend a huge congrats to Nicole Keeney from Denver that showed up for the tournament with her boyfriend Elijah. She finished second in the tournament but won the WPBA qualifier. Great for her! She really played well this weekend and deserved it. She took down Lisa Marr and Susan Mello in the semi-finals.

I know things didn’t work out the way I hoped in Houston, but I’m really looking forward to the rest of this year. I have big things planned and I can’t wait to share all the details. Life is great!

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