I hadn't planned to enter the event largely due to taking about a month "off" from playing regularly and was feeling out of stroke as a result. No one likes to do something poorly, not up to their own ability-- so I had ruled it out and just planned to spectate. The night before however, the thought struck me-- how do you get back into stroke? Play. Duh. Spectating would have driven me insane. Thus, I entered.
I played pretty well in warm ups. Not awesome but well. My first match was a shut out. I felt good-- position play was a little off but I made some very good shots and plays. Second match was a battle of me against me-- a mental struggle to stay focused as little things were distracting me and position play was off. Again, I made some great shots but ended up losing the set. I made some interesting errors and chalk them up to lack of concentration or just being distracted and not resetting.
My third match (b side, double elimination) was baaaad rolls and a few just bad shots and again, over thinking my game. I was three in the whole off the cuff-- two breaks with the 9 hanging in the pocket for my opponent. The next game provided a straight on 9ball combo. It was hard to get traction after that.
All in all though, its all good experience and practice. Lessons learned from this one? Practice more. Study the physics of game re: position play. Find a way to quiet the mind and to not be so easily distracted by movement around you. Learn to always reset when you know you have lost your focus in stroke. Play loose and confident. Learn to jump better and more consistently. Enter more tournaments.
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