A collection of the best writing in pool.

This article is part of the 25th edition of PoolSynergy, a monthly collection of the best writing on pool. Our lovely hostess this month is Melinda and her appropriately selected theme is “Thankful”.

First, before I begin, I’d like to thank Melinda for giving me the perfect kick in the butt this week to start writing again. I know I’ve totally been slacking but that thing called LIFE just keeps getting in the way.

Where were we? Oh, yeah. Gratitude is one thing in life that I have always tried to be pretty conscious of. More so a couple years ago when my amazing, long-time friend gifted me my very own Gratitude Journal. I committed to writing in it every night before bed for one year and that’s exactly what I did.

Being grateful is a frame of mind. It requires constant awareness and positive thinking. Believe it or not, it takes practice. It’s not easy to be thankful for the most simple things in life that we usually take for granted. When we can truly appreciate how fortunate we are to have a warm meal and a comfortable bed somehow all the other problems can seem pretty insignificant.

So, for this month’s topic, I thought I’d reflect on:

The 10 Wonderful Things Pool Has Brought Into My Life

Basically, had it not been for my involvement with this beautiful sport, I never would have…

1. learned to speak on camera. It was never my intention to end up holding the mic but being in the right place at the right time, and loving the right sport opened this door for me.
2. become a writer. It’s funny. I have only recently referred to myself as “a writer.” I never considered myself a very good writer at all. Heck! English is not even my first language. But, through the surprising support of my peers and community, here I am now, with a syndicated monthly column, a couple feature columns, and a couple blogs, including our baby, PoolSynergy.
3. self published my own book. Had a group of us not been sitting around my friend’s pool table at his Halloween party throwing around D-player-isms, the concept never would’ve come together and I never would’ve researched and learned how to publish my own book.
4. learned to always give 100%. Not that I didn’t always do my best before, but in this sport, you get what you give. Ain’t that the truth?! I have never learned this lesson better than I have with pool. “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good,” Malcom Gladwell (Outliers)
5. realized my passion for teaching pool. Who would’ve known? Over the past couple years, what’s become just as rewarding for me as playing is teaching. I taught violin lessons for nearly 10 years before ever teaching my first pool lesson. The look on my student’s face when he gets it or she shoots her first stop shot is absolutely priceless.
6. acquired such an extensive library. Through our individual years of collecting miscellaneous pool books and magazines, my husband and I have combined our collections, along with some generous donations from other thoughtful friends, to form the massive super-library that occupies a seven-foot tall book shelf filled with magazines spanning 15+ years, and the rarest books and videos that a player could dream of.
7. met so many special friends. Many of whom have graciously invited me to stay in their homes, and even to meet their friends and families. I cherish all my unique friendships.
8. learned so much about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Pool has taught me so much about respect, not only when it comes to earning respect from others but also about giving proper respect where it’s due. This game is humbling. There are a lot of dues to be paid before any winning can take place. Respect is something to never take for granted.
9. experienced pool therapy. When life gets hectic, I sometimes forget that pool is my friend. It’s that friend that no matter how long you go without communicating, you still just pick right back up where you left off. Yeah, pool is there for me whenever I need it.
10. met and married my soul mate. If it were not for pool, I never would have found my one true love that could possibly put up with all my quirks and silliness. For this, I have all the reason in the world to be thankful…

These are some of the many reasons I am so ever thankful I was introduced to pool. Of course, there are so many more things I could am thankful for but I’ll let you have your turn now.

This article is the 25th of a series of posts written in coordination with other pool bloggers entitled “PoolSynergy“. This month’s theme is “Thankful” To read other articles on this topic, go to: http://pooljourney.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-thanks.html

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A collection of the best writing in pool.

Welcome to the 22nd Edition of PoolSynergy!

I’m so thrilled to be hosting this edition! I can’t believe we’re only a couple months away from our two year anniversary.

I hope everyone out there has been enjoying your summer. And speaking of summer, since that’s traditionally off-peak for pool, I wanted to keep this month’s topic pretty simple. As a result, you’re in for a real treat. I love the variety of submissions we got this month!

The theme: “10 Things”

Basically, list 10 things or reasons for something pool-related, e.g. your 10 favorite ???, 10 reasons why you ???, 10 tips on ???, 10 random pool thoughts???, essentially, a list of 10 anything pool-related.

It’s always a good PS month when the number of contributors are in the double digits, especially when we can welcome some newbies. This month, we are treated with 20 talented writers, and some I think you’ll recognize. *Our first seven are first-time PS’ers.

So, without further adieu, here are this month’s contributors…
(click on photo for summary)

1. Mark *

2. Suzanne *

3. Frank *

4. Marc *

5. Tim *

6. Ivan *

7. Jennifer *

8. Ace

9. Jarno

10. Markus

11. Mike

12. Melinda

13. Michael

14. Jake

15. Gail

16. Mike

17. Gary

18. Samm (me)

19. Alison

20. John

1. Mark Greenhaw

Welcome our first new contributor! Mark began playing in Birmingham, Alabama in 2009 and has since also introduced his loving wife of 20+ years to our world. Next will be his daughters. Mark’s been blogging about his experiences since December 2010 at Pool Padawan. “Padawan” is somewhat of a Jedi rookie which makes “Pool Padawan” quite an appropriate title for his blog.

Mark’s 10: Ten Things I’ve Learned Since Beginning

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2. Suzanne Smith

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3. Frank T. Dawg

Let’s welcome our four-legged friend Frank, the PoolDawg mascot. He’s been to more big events than most pool players. Since one of my favorite things to do is eat, Frank joined the bandwagon and listed ten of the places I’ve taken him for grub during our travels.

Frank’s 10: 10 Places Samm’s Taken me for Chow

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4. Marc Vidal Claramunt

My sweet husband came to my rescue this month when one of our writers backed out at the last minute. I suppose I could’ve just changed the title to “19 Writers. 10 Things.” but it just didn’t quite have the same ring to it. Well, when you’re dealing with 19 different lives with 19 different things going on, this sort of thing is bound to happen. Marc threw this quick list together for us and believe me, the man has seen a lot of pool.

Marc’s 10: The Ten Best 9/10-Ball Players in the World Today

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5. Tim “Trick Shot Tim” Chin

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6. Ivan Lee

We’re graced by the presence of the one and only , Mr. Ivan Lee himself. In the 11th hour, I asked Ivan, Man of the Decade and President of Simonis Cloth (my personal cloth of choice), to send me a quick top ten list so I could complete my circle of 20. Within minutes, I had about 15 items. We whittled them down to 10 but it wasn’t easy. Maybe this will help you make a decision the next time you get your table recovered.

Ivan’s 10: 10 Great Reasons to Choose Simonis Cloth

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7. Jennifer Barretta

Another newcomer that requires no introduction is the “9mm” herself, Jennifer Barretta. The uber talented professional player, body builder, model, actress, and mother has graciously agreed to contribute this month with a clever topic. Since 2009, she’s been giving us a little peek into her world through her blog as she cleverly puts it, “eviscerating my soul for your reading pleasure.”

Jen’s 10: 10 Ways to tell the level of a player without ever seeing them hit a ball

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8. Ace Toscano

We are joined once again by our Ace in the hole. As he puts it, “I’m not one of those ‘give me lemons, I’ll give you lemonade’ kind of guys,” so his list of ten is quite appropriate. Though he’s an infrequent contributor, his blog is always up to date and I hope we will be seeing more of him in the future.

Ace’s 10: Ten Poolroom Things That Make Me Grumble

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9. Jarno Virtanen

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10. Markus Hofstatter

Everyone’s favorite Austrian photographer, Markus Hofstatter has attended and photographed just about every big pool event around the world. This month, he’s sharing some of those great memories with us.

Markus’s 10: 10 Most Exciting Pool Moments

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11. Mike Feiman

Mike’s 10: 10 Things I Love / Hate About Pool

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12. Melinda Bailey

We’re so proud to have on board the lovely Melinda Bailey and her BD’s runner-up for Best Blog of 2010. Though I tried to keep the topic light, Melinda admitted that she struggled to decide on something to write about. I like what she ended up going with. I’m sure we could all use a bit of this advice to ourselves.

Melinda’s 10: The Top Ten Things She Wish She Knew 10-15 years ago

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13. Michael Reddick

Michael Reddick, our official BD’s Best Blog of 2010 award winner also went through a few topics before finally deciding on his list for this month. If you’ve been following his journey through his transformation and progress as a player, you’ll understand why his blog received such acclaim.

Michael’s 10: 10 Quick Ways to Improve Your Game

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14. R.A. “Jake” Dyer

No matter how many different takes we get on a particular subject, we can always count on Jake to remind us of where it all came from. This month is no different. He reviews a list of 10 key players from before our times that were each significant in their own way.

Jak’s 10: 10 Important Dead Guys

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15. Gail Glazebrook

I always love Gail’s stylings! Her witty posts keep us entertained and add a certain spice to the synergy pot each month. I’m sure we can all relate to her list of 10 things this month. I know I can!

Gail’s 10: My Top 10 Donkey Moments

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16. Mike Fieldhammer

“I waded through my collection and plucked out 10 good ones that have meaning to me,” said Mike for his post this month.

Mike’s 10: Top 10 Favorite Pool Photographs

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17. Gary Frerking

What the heck do Kung Fu Panda II, Forrest Gump, Eddie Van Halen shredding through the Eruption solo, and Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun have to do with billiards? Find out in Gary’s article. Hope I didn’t give away too much. His posts are always worth reading and this one is no exception. What a great topic!

Gary’s 10: 10 Ways to Quiet the Mind

Gary will also be hosting our special two-year anniversary edition in October, When Sharks Attack. If you’re interested in contributing, let me know.

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18. Samm (Diep) Vidal

I must have an obsession with “10 things.” Find out why in my post.

My 10: 100 Things

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19. Alison Fischer

Alison Fischer, contributor for NYCGrind.com can be seen at many of the big events and works tirelessly with the rest of the staff to cover our world of pool through their eyes. They can all be truly admired for the work they do and would also be considered some great ambassadors for our sport themselves.

Alison’s 10: Top 10 Best Player Ambassadors for the Sport of Pool

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20. John Biddle

John Biddle has had his hands full recently with all the additions to his family so we’re glad whenever he’s able to get away and join us for the synergy. This month, he shows us 10 shots involving the use of throw, caroms, billiards, rail-first, and more. There’s sure to be something to try here.

John’s 10: 10 Useful (and Fun) Shots

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John will also be hosting next month’s edition of PoolSynergy with his theme: Practice: What Works for You? Don’t miss it! If you’d like to contribute, hit me up.

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A monthly collection of the best writing in pool

This article is part of the 22nd edition of PoolSynergy, a monthly collection of the best writing on pool. This month’s theme is “10 Things” hosted by yours truly.

Basically, list 10 things or reasons for something pool-related, e.g. your 10 favorite ???, 10 reasons why you ???, 10 tips on ???, 10 random pool thoughts???, a list of 10 anything pool-related.

I had no idea when I chose this month’s theme that I would so conveniently have ten very random “ten” lists so it only seemed appropriate that I put those lists into a list, hence 100 things. I guess I’m always thinking in tens.

Here’s my Ten Things on Ten Things (I couldn’t choose favs, so they are in order by date.)

1. Ten Things that Separate a Professional from an Amateur (September 2006)
2. Top Ten Most Unique Billiard Finds – Part I (December 2008)
3. Top Ten Most Unique Billiard Finds – Part II (December 2009)
4. 10 Reasons why Ralf Souquet epitomizes the term “World Class Pool Player” to me (February 2010)
5. Top Ten Goals from 2010 (April 2010)
6. Top Ten Ways to Stay in Shape During the 2010 BCA Expo (without using the $20/day fitness center at the host hotel) (July 2010)
7. Ten Things I Love About Pool (August 2010)
8. 10 Resolutions to Improve Your Pool Game (December 2010)
9. Top Ten Reasons to Leave Town for a Tournament (December 2010)
10. 10 Proven Ways to Deal with Performance Anxiety (February 2011)

This article is the 22nd of a series of posts written in coordination with other pool bloggers entitled “PoolSynergy“. This month’s theme is “10 Things” To read other articles on this topic, go to: http://www.pooltipjar.com/2011/08/10-things-ps-host/

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Ivan is my guest writer to the 22nd edition of PoolSynergy:

1. Simply put, Simonis cloth plays the best and is found everywhere there are good players.
2. Simonis supports professionalism, honesty and integrity in the sport.
3. Simonis is the most consistent cloth available, helping tables play the same worldwide.
4. Simonis supports the sport by sponsoring federations, events, tours and players worldwide including professionals, amateurs and juniors.
5. Simonis is the only textile mill in the world committed to the production of cloth for cue sports.
6. Simonis has been in business since 1680 and is the oldest and most respected company in the billiard industry.
7. Simonis is an environmentally responsible manufacturer. We use high efficiency heating and lighting at the factory, we treat all post manufacturing water to remove contaminants and we are involved in the Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions as well as the amount of energy required to produce our products. One of my favorite reasons!
8. In addition, Belgium is a first-world economy, so people are paid living wages and treated with great respect as craftsmen of our fine products. Working conditions are safe and clean with no abuses. Another great reason!
9. Simonis has put more money back into the sport that any other cloth company and most other companies in the billiard industry. Ain’t that the truth!
10. Simonis will outlast woolen cloths by three times or more, all the while playing significantly better. Compared to other worsted cloths, Simonis will provide superior play without causing improper ball roll (many cloths will compress forming “divots” in the cloth that will cause the ball to roll off and some cloths are woven in such a way that the ball will follow the weave at the end of a shot). In addition, it has been shown that claims that other cloths outlast Simonis are baseless. Once Simonis is properly installed, it will not require re-stretching like many cloths do. It will not loosen or pucker on the bed and rails like you find with lesser quality worsted cloths.Simonis is not the least expensive cloth, but Simonis will provide the greatest overall value because of the combination of great playing characteristics, excellent durability and superior consistency. Couple that great value with a corporate culture of customer service and support, and we are unbeatable. Agreed!

I couldn’t have said any of that better myself, that’s why I asked for Ivan’s help. Now the next time you’re ready to recover your table, you don’t have to choose Simonis just for the quality. There are plenty other reasons for you.

Order your Simonis Cloth today from PoolDawg

See the rest of the posts here: http://www.pooltipjar.com/2011/08/10-things-ps-host/

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1. Ching-Shun Yang
2. Dennis Orcollo
3. Chia-Ching Wu
4. Lee Vann Corteza
5. Ronnie Alcano
6. Johnny Archer
7. Mika Immonen
8. Shane Van Boening
9. Francisco Bustamante
10. Alex Pagulayan

Click here for the host post:

http://www.pooltipjar.com/2011/08/10-things-ps-host/

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