played some straight pool yesterday...

[marek]

Hi people!
Yesterday I experienced something interesting I want to share with you.
I took 6 days pause last week from pool and it was my first training after that pause. As I wasnt into some hard training right away after the pause I decided to play a match with my friend. As we both love the game of straight pool we decided to play 2 sets to 100. Surprisingly my game hasnt suffered much due to the pause, I just had little more trouble with long shots with sharp angle than usual. And as I made runs in 20-30s regularly I won the first set 100-29 in 8 innings. I was quite surprised with my good pattern selection as it was subconscious and effortless. Second set was quite different, I had bad luck few times (double kisses, table roll etc..) and I was trailing 33-56 but I was still feeling good about my patterns so I decided to focus bit more on NOT having bad luck... /ccboard/images/graemlins/wink.gif The result of that was 61 point run! /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif I was quite amazed by this as I really havent expected such run after week-long pause. But its true that in the past I have experienced that after such pause my pattern selection improves by big deal but tends to decline with fatigue and great amounts of training.
It would be really nice to have this kind of pattern selection always with me! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Maybe my brain has worked so well thanks to plenty of sleep through the last 4 days.. It is true that I am used to sleep less throught the week and I usually feel quite tired during the week..maybe I should start sleeping more.....Guess what? I ll be new champion through the bed! /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[woody_968]

I think sometimes taking a break is a good thing. I took a lesson from Scott Lee earlier in the year and had been working pretty much every day on my game. I felt like I was somewhat stuck and was going to play in a tournament last saturday, so I didnt touch a cue from Monday untill Thursday. Played a little Friday and played as good as I ever have. Won the doubles tournament Sat without ever loosing a match. The layoff really helped.

[ace895]

I agree with woody. Sometimes a layoff can really payoff. I have sat out for a week or so and came back playing pretty strong. I have a good friend that plays good pool. If he sits out a couple of weeks or a month, he comes back real strong because his interest level is raised and he says it is more fun. When you do something everyday it can get old. However, to reach the top level, you need to play as much as you can for as long as you can, IMO. You may not feel like you are gaining ground during those grueling sessions but you really are.

[Wally_in_Cincy]

marek,

It's good to hear you are playing well. I was hoping you were going to report another hundred-ball run /ccboard/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I was also hoping to see your name in the brackets for the recent European Championship.

[marek]

Well...I think I will get another big one in few months as I decided to devote most of my training to 14-1 for next few months..
And as for EC....I ALMOST made it there..ALMOST! I ended 6th in overall rankings when only top 4 gained the priviledge of representing my country....I needed 186 points and I had 174. To understand our ranking system it goes like this: 3 tournaments in 8,9,14-1 (9 tournaments overall) - you get points for each tournament - 40 points winner, 34 runner-up, 28 semifinalist, 22 quarterfinal...etc..I had good start of the season, totally embarassing middle-season, and reasonable end of the season - runner-up, 17-24, semifinal, 17-24, 17-24, 17-24, 17-24, 9-16, 9-16, runner-up. You can see I really wasted my chances in the mid-season tournaments. If I only played one more good tournament.... /ccboard/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
But dont worry, I ll never give up! Next season will be mine! /ccboard/images/graemlins/cool.gif I wont do the same mistakes again! /ccboard/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Wally_in_Cincy]

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote marek:</font><hr>
...But dont worry, I ll never give up! Next season will be mine!...<hr /></blockquote>

I don't doubt it for a minute /ccboard/images/graemlins/smile.gif