I really didn’t plan on it, but I’ve found myself on a third pool team. I’m now not only playing at Shooters on Monday nights, and Sharks on Wednesday nights, but at The Clarette Club on Thursday nights. This is in addition to the semi-regular tournament play on Saturday and Sunday nights. Throw in some afternoon tournaments on Sunday followed by a few hours of free pool before the Sunday night tournament, and you may start to wonder how I have time for anything other than smacking balls around with sticks! You wouldn’t be the only one.

The competition is very tough, and is guaranteed, if I pay even a smidgen of attention, to improve my game. I’ve been trying for a couple years now to get in on the Thursday league, and when I was asked to join up while on the way out Shark’s door Wednesday night, I just couldn’t pass it up, even with the already hefty time commitment. I’m “just” an alternate, which means I won’t play every week, but I’m treating that as a foot in the door, and who knows, maybe I’ll play more regularly than I imagine.

Between fighting for every point Monday night at Shooters and then Thursday night at Clarette, I should gain at least one or two balls on my average by the end of Spring!

I hope so, b/c lately, it’s been really tough to take the game seriously. It’s clear to me that I’ve lost some of that “student of the game” attitude I used to take so much pride in a few years ago. In fact, looking back, I don’t really think I’ve had that hunger for pool knowledge and expertise since I moved out here to KC from Lawrence. One of the guys on the Clarette team may be able to inspire that in me again… none of us had a good night last night, but the sideline conversation about the ins and outs of the game, both the physics and the mentality, was fantastic.

In talking with him I realized that I’ve been too complacent in what I know, and actually (horror of horrors) resistant to new ideas, methods, and knowledge. I’ve just not cared to learn anything new, or perfect/correct what I already know. That. Has. To. Change.

And there’s nothing like being on a team of better players, playing against some of the best in town, to force me out of a rut and make that change.

In a stunning upset last night, Deep Pockets, formerly in 6th place out of 10, defeats the 1st place team 8-Ball Junk-eez 3 and a half rounds to 1 and a half rounds. When asked how she felt about the outcome, one team member replied simply “Hell YEAH!!!” It is uncertain how last nights stellar showing on the part of Deep Pockets will change the overall rankings, but one thing can be certain: they are out of their slump.

Defeating the first place team did a lot to bolster the flagging confidence of the team members. Over the course of the last three weeks, they went from splitting the rounds even, to suffering two 1 round nights in a row. Out of 12 rounds, they won 4.5. While last nights performance may not have improved their percentages enough to put them in one of the top three spots, winning the majority of the rounds against the first place team made the team members feel like they were already there.

Of the four team members, two monopolized the 8-ball, each sinking it three times out of four for 37 points each. While the other two team members weren’t able to pot the 8, they were able to maximize their losses with 5′s, 6′s and 7′s. Only once did our team suffer a significant defeat, when, having been unable to pot a ball, an opponent ran out to the 8 for the win, resulting in a zero to 10 score. That game resulted in a tie for the round, but it wasn’t enough to deter the tenacious Deep Pocket players, who were able to hold on to the point lead through the next round to the end of the night.

Looking forward, we’ll have to wait to see how the rest of the teams managed before we can know how last nights performance affected the overall standings. One thing is for certain, however, Deep Pockets will enter next weeks match with heads held high with renewed confidence.