Well, league hasn’t been all that great lately. I lost to a guy I shouldn’t lose to, because I missed THREE 9 balls – and he won by 3 games. So, I absolutely gave that match away. But, I’m pretty sure I know the reason behind that. Last week, after my 2nd real domination in a league match, I stopped to eat some food, then got into some action. The game was one pocket, and we negotiated a fair game, 10-7 – me going to 7. The first came I won by 2 balls, then he won the next 6, then I got one back, then he got it. I called it quits down 5 games. I knew it would be tough action, the guy moves well, plays a lot more one pocket than I do, and can run balls. But, still, after I calmed down and thought about what happened, it was apparent that I didn’t really do too many things wrong – I just didn’t execute the plans. I’d miss an easy shot that he wasn’t supposed to leave me; I’m supposed to get 4 or 5 balls from that position, but I’d be lucky to get 2. I just wasn’t punishing him for his mistakes. Okay, lesson learned. But, it did really put a dent in my confidence level. Which is probably what caused me to lose my next league match; I just didn’t feel like I was owning the table. After that horrible loss, I took a break, had some dinner, and again matched up with the same guy, same game (10-7). And again, we traded some games, but I still ended up loser, (basically a 3-ahead set, so I quit down 3 games). And again, after review, I made the mistakes I did last time – not executing my shots/plans. Well, there’s another big dent in my confidence.
So, last night, I went to go practice. I hit some balls for a while, then was asked to play some, a race to 7 in 9-ball. I lose the first rack by missing the 7. The 2nd rack, he breaks dry, I *run out*!! He gets another game, then I get the next 5, putting me on the hill and him on 2 – at which point, he buys out. I played really well, good position, took my time, didn’t force anything and I got a few rolls.
The sweet icing on this cake is that I quit smoking over the weekend and I wasn’t sure how playing pool would go; since I tend to get pretty upset if I dog too many balls (something else to work on). But, since I wasn’t dogging, I wasn’t getting upset – and I had the e-cig available when I did miss a ball.
I’m going back tonight to see if it was just a fluke, or if I really have regained some good composure. 🙂