Returning to pool? - Here is your come-back checklist!
Have you recently decided to dust off your cue after years of disuse? Did job and family responsibilities cause you to abandon your pool game? One of the great things about the game of billiards is that it is something you can enjoy your whole life. From young champions like Junior to super tough veterans like Seco, great pool can be played at any age.
After a long lay-off, you must keep a few things in mind. Don’t be too hard on yourself if your elbow or other parts of the pool mechanism are rusty. Some things are like riding a bicycle, others are not. Don’t expect to play as well as you did years ago. Your memory is probably ‘rose colored’ as you fondly recall running racks, and conveniently forget the missed shots and mistakes. Also, when you play someone today it is likely he plays better than the opponents of yore. In general, the level of play today is much higher than in the past.
Equipment is different too. Today’s cloth is faster requiring not only a delicate touch, but also an unforgiving need for accuracy on spin. On heavy cloth a little unintentional side spin may not have hurt you, but on Simonis cloth of today your cue ball might catch a rail and hurdle two feet past your intended position. Pocket openings are generally tighter too, especially on 7 foot Diamond tables and many regulation 9 foot pool tables. These tighter pockets will accept fewer balls, particularly if you shoot too hard. Ever jaw up a ball that you shoot down a rail with speed and just catch the long rail a few inches before the pocket? Shoot softer and you’ll make more of these errant shots - at least until your stroke becomes more accurate.
What if you have an accuracy problem? It could be related to the glasses that you have been wearing for many years. There is no doubt that keen vision is helpful to slicing in cut shots from 8 or 9 feet away. Check into a special pair of glasses just for shooting pool if your fashion pair doesn’t allow you to see through the lenses when you are in your pool stance. If you must, keep your head a bit higher over the cue stick so that you can see the shot through your glasses.
Your old college pool cue might need some maintenance. Is it straight? Does the tip need some attention? You may not want to use that antique piece of chalk. Have a cue repair expert look over your cue. It may be just fine, but years in the closet may have made it unsuitable for competition. You might be better off with a house cue or a new cue all together.
Get your groove back! Try some drills to ease back into the game. You wouldn’t want to go out and run a ten mile race without some training. Contact me for some good warm up drills to use before you throw yourself into a league match, tournament, or even a couple hour practice session with a friend. You’ll need some time to reacquaint your body to the proper pool stroke mechanics which is more easily done prior to a game. The pro baseball and football players have spring training and fall training camps. Shouldn’t you do some conditioning before you dive back into your pool game?
Mike Fieldhammer
Updates from the U.S. Open
I’m currently at the 2007 US Open 9 Ball Championships in Chesapeake, Virginia where the room is chilly but the pool is HOT!
Even though the tournament room is kept so cold you can almost see your breath, the weather outside has been in the gorgeous high 70s and the pool is smokin’!
It’s Day 5 at the event and the long hours have kept me from posting sooner.
I’ve been busy taking tons of photos for Inside Pool and helping out on the set of the Inside Pool Xtreme Press Box where they’re reporting live twice a day.
Here are some highlighted photos I’ve taken so far. The rest of my work can be found at the Inside Pool Magazine Photo Gallery.
My own results were not as thrilling as I’d hoped. I lost hill-hill to a very solid Canadian player, Tyler Edey (who still happens to be on the winner’s side). I played steady and neither one of us made very many mistakes. When it was 9-9 we each missed the 9-ball. He gave me a shot after the break on the 1 ball and I ran the rack. In the last game of the match, I failed to make a ball on the break and Tyler maneuvered through nicely for the win.
My second match was against Charlie Williams on the TV Table. I’ve never experienced that kind of heat or pressure before. Due to the actual heat from all the lights, the table played extremely tough. The pressure of being on center court made the pockets play even tighter.
Even though the match was earlier in the day and the stands were fairly empty, it was still just as pressure packed.
The most memorable out of that match came when Charlie played a safety on the 8 ball while down 9-8. I shot a jump bank with my full cue leaving me a tough back cut on the 9 ball in side, which I made to tie it up 9-9.
I felt I could’ve won that match had it not been my first time playing on the TV Table. A couple mental errors and a few tight strokes due to the pressure were all that stood between me and winning that match.
Not that I’m done with the competing part of the tournament my main focus has been on taking tons of photographs as well as filming some instructional segments with Samm. These finished products will include a series of several two to three minute instructional snippets called Xtreme Instruction and can be found on InsidePoolMag.com.
BUTTS OUT - CUES TOGETHER
Effective today, October 1, every Pool Room, bar and restaurant in Minnesota will be smoke free.
Whether you’re a smoker or not, please join me today and everyday to support our local pool rooms. Don’t let the smoking ban put them out of business.
Put your cues together and go play some pool! See you in the pool rooms.
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