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On an irregular basis, the Drifter imparts the wisdom of pool, whether applied to the game or to the world at large.
One never knows when or what the Drifter will add to these bits of billiard brilliance. Check back often.
3/9/2010
Congrats
to the Nebraska Women's Basketball team on an undefeated season! Awesome!
One of the biggest parts of the game
of pool is the mental game. The ability to remain "in the moment" and not let the last shot or the last game
or the possibility or a future result impact what you are doing is highly valued. How easy it is to start daydreaming
about winning the tournament after a big win, only to blow the next match! For the observer of pool, the Husker women
can teach a lot about not getting caught up in the aspects of winning!
Another good lesson for the aspiring pool
player taken from the Husker women is their attitude as a "practice team". They don't consider themselves
perfect. They attack each practice as an opportunity to get better. The work is done during the week - the game
is just for show. For those of us with jobs and families, it is hard to carve out practice time. But it is oh
so vital if we are going to perform our best at the coming tournaments. Make each practice session efficient and effective.
Don't just screw around - proactice your focus as well as your shot making ability.
2/18/2010
I watched with interest the national sportswriters hue and cry about the overtime in professional football.
They are dismayed that one team gets to play offense first, and if they are successful, the other team doesn't get to
play offense. Most pool players probably said "Bah" to that.
Pool is one of thevery few games,
maybe the only one, where you can get beat and NEVER get to show how good you are. The other guy or gal might be
making a sloppy runout, but if he or she completes it, tough luck to you. You don't even get to play defense.
Many a match has been decided on who won the flip. Pro football teams get to have their defense on the field.
Interestingly, it is mostly the sportwriters, not players, that you hear complaining about it, especially when
their favorite golden boys are the ones who don't get to strut their stuff. Maybe some of them should drop on into
Drifters for a game of pool now and then.
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The fundamental shot in pool is the stop shot, or center
ball. Hit the cue ball in the middle. It provides the most predictable movement of the cue ball after contact.
Pool is a game of variables. The speed of the cloth, the rotation of the cue ball, the quality of the rails - all
these things can vary from game to game and shot to shot. The more variables you can control, the better your chances
of success.
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Pool players tend to go through several stages of development.
First Stage: We
learn how to make balls. Then we learn how to get shape.
Second Stage: We learn that we
can't get out every time, and that safeties will help us beat better players. Players in this stage tend to play
too many safeties.
Third Stage: We learn when to play safeties and when to try to get out.
Moving
between stages is a mental thing. Each stage, however, requires practice before the mental movement is possible.
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