How come there never seems to be enough time for everything? We had a successful event at the APA Nationals for Mezz USA and Billiard Life. It was a lot of fun spending time with old friends and meeting new ones.
Once back to the big apple, I ended up sleeping for 14 hours straight. I guess I was a bit tired. The past few weeks has been pretty crazy… between managing Mezz USA, Billiard Life, practicing for the next WPBA event and looking for a new home to move to… I feel a bit worn out. I try not to stress but its hard to do.
Anyhow, I am so happy that Mezz USA has progressed in popularity. We had people coming up to our booth during the APA specifically looking for our cues and shafts. We also have been doing well with retail as well as dealer sales. What more can I ask for in this bad economy? 
I have also been trying to put more time into practicing. I have been studying some great players and redefined my pre-shot routine and mechanics. Those are 2 very important things, I believe that makes you play more consistent. Anyway, I thought that I have been playing well since I’ve been placing fairly well in a couple tournaments as well as winning the Amsterdam BCA Team League. And I thought that I would be pretty prepared coming into the WPBA event at Colorado. I had a tough first draw with Kim Shaw but I was going to try my best. I thought I played great, breaking and running 2 racks and playing nice safeties. But I did miss 3 balls and 2 safes…. while Kim did not miss a single open pocket shot. She played almost flawless. If Accustats were rating her she would be .975 at least! But I still played my heart out and lost 9-5. I wasn’t upset just a little disappointed with missing out on a few opportunities. I still had another chance which I hope to take advantage of…. well that was not the case. Today, I played Cathy Metzinger with no confidence. My focus and rhythm was all out of whack! I could not execute what I wanted to do. My decision making was very unsure… What the heck happened? I was a totally different person from yesterday! Why do you think this happens? What causes all of this? Well I think I finally found the answer. ME… I am my own worse enemy. I was the one who put added pressure on myself wanting to win so bad. I was the one who had negative thoughts while down on the shot. I was the one who took shots that I was not 100% sure off. I was the one at the table shooting with no one else to blame! After knowing this, why am I still so stubborn and refuse to learn from my past mistakes. Why is it so hard to quiet my mind and just play like I do when I practice or play against the guys? Why? Why? Why? Of course… I wasn’t thinking all this while I was playing my match but my mind was unfocused and not at the present… that is why I could not get out of racks that were no brainers… that is why I lost and my tournament came to an end. 
I know I don’t suck and I understand that I’m not a World Champion but I also know that attitude plays a huge part in your performance. I have a lot of work ahead of me… practicing harder, changing my attitude and way of thinking and believing in myself to perform at a level that I am capable of. Hopefully, I will be a much better competitive at the next event!
I hope that this gives you some insight on some things. I also hope this might help you if you are going through something similar. Either that or I could just be crazy! Anyway, til the next tourney or something exciting… Peace out!
