Getting down to the nitty gritty

Photo "Eight Ball Pool" by ArtJsan courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhoto.net

It's over.  The summer, I mean, not my pool playing days.  Not only have the heavens opened to provide us with a long-overdue clean up of the streets, but the glamour of travelling to international competitions of the late summer is now over.  The pool playing season has started, and here we go, head down, cue lined up and...shoot.

It was, though, if you can hold with my reminiscing a moment, a bloody good summer.  The EBA 2015 Nations Cup in Killarney was a brilliant event.  The location couldn't have been more perfect: what a lovely place Killarney is, and what friendly, welcoming people.  The venue was superb and what all competing pool players need when travelling is their physical comforts made easy so they can concentrate on their game. I couldn't fault the Gleneagles Hotel, nor the organisation of the tournament.  And then there was the fun.  I met some genuinely decent people, and had the privilege of meeting, chatting to and learning from some great players.  Here's the photo album:

Yours truly in the middle feeling totally privileged, flanked by Jack Whelan,
current IPA world champion, on the left and Andy Lucas,
also one of the world's best, on the right

In Killarney - just gotta love this place!

As for the playing, it was to a very high standard.  I came away with no prizes but with a degree of returning self-confidence.  I held my own reasonably well and just let myself down in situations where I knew I could have done better.  I have come away with some strong ideas on how to make improvements, and as I said in my last post, a good deal of this will involve my mental approach to the game, not just the physical skills and practise needed.

Terrific venue at the EBA 2015 Nations Cup - a scene from the opening ceremony

A couple of weeks later I travelled to Carlisle with two other GPA players representing Gibraltar in the UK Open.  That was a tougher competition for me.  Again, the standard of playing was extremely high.  By the time I was on the plane travelling to the UK for this event, I had been away from home on numerous trips for three months.  I found myself tired, not just physically, but fed up of hotels and being away from the family.  It was hard to concentrate on playing, and my game suffered.  I have to say that those professional players who travel so often to different venues to compete and consistently improve their game must be tough and so strong both mentally and physically.  They have serious stamina born of the dedication that only comes from love of the game.  Full respect to them.  This said,  again the trip was so valuable in terms of experience, the people I met and learned from, and of course, practising playing at a high standard.

So now we're back.  I'm settling back in and, with the whir of travelling still buzzing in my head, find myself part of a new pool team, The Sharks, as well as part of the GPA committee after last month's AGM and appointed as media officer.  I haven't quite digested all that yet.  But what it certainly means is that this coming season, life is going to be full of pool, and I wouldn't want it any other way!