Amatuer Tourneys at SuperBilliardExpo

[yankeeguy42]

I was wondering if anyone was joining any of the tourneys at the super billiard expo. Im joining the junior tourney. there are 2 age divisions the 14 and under and the 18 and under. Unforunatly i missed the 14 and under by one month. so ill be doing 18 and under. I think a couple friends of mine are also doig it. On of the is k0h1er from this site. although i dont know why. just messin brian but yeah anyone else doing any of these? or even going to the expo?

[DEATHTRON]

I believe Sanj is going...maybe? Neil Fujiwara from Predator Cues will be there, as well as a Seyberts booth....at the expo, i think, unless im thinking of a different event.

Zach

[k0h1eR]

funny dave

[k0h1eR]

i heard that it was rely competitive

[k0h1eR]

"You will find some of the best pool playing kids in the country, at the Expo. "

thats wat some guy said on the oher forum

when and where is the expo?

[yankeeguy42]

its in valley forge and its from march 17th through the rest of the weekend.

www.superbilliardsexpo.com

[DEATHTRON]

Have fun guys, lots of fun for two 15 year olds....

[spartan]

i go to the expo every year. i love it. its only a few hours from my house. so much to do. i might buy my dad a new cue.

[yankeeguy42]

thanks Deathtron. it should be some great competition and good experience. Hopefully itll be lots of fun.

[spartan]

if you wana practice up for the tourney go to castle billiards in rutherford and bring some $$$.

[k0h1eR]

we mite get our asses kicked but it will still be fun

[DEATHTRON]

Most likely you will...but youre still very young, hit the tables hard the next couple of years and you could be exceedingly good. Some of the best players started getting serious at about your age. Gabe Owen hit the road when he was 17...Danny Basavich started playing when he was a sophomore in highschool....get some lessons and get good and you will have a good talent the rest of your life.

Zach

[spartan]

i talked to danny a couple of months ago and he said he started playing in 7th grade. he played off and on until he turned 15. by then he dropped out of school and was practicing 15 hours a day.

[DEATHTRON]

Ya...its kind of weird...some of the best pool players dropped out of school...I think its because they spent so much time playing instead of doing anything else. I dont condone dropping out of school though for pool....those guys still dont make much money, at least whats reported anyways.

Zach

[spartan]

look at steve mizerak. when he won the us open 14.1 title he was still teaching in his hometown.

[k0h1eR]

do u guys have any tips for us for the tournament

[skor]

1. Play your game and play the table not your opponent.
2. Relax and have fun
3. Smile !!! this way you won't get frustrated when doing an error and you'll move on.
4. get enough table time before your match so you'll be warm up and ready but not too much so you won't get tired
5. Don't underestimate your opponent even if it's a 5 year old girl, she could be the next alison fisher.
6. Don't drink or smoke pot the night before (or at all)

[spartan]

if this is your first tournament just calm down and relax. youre there to have fun. youre not on tour trying to make a living youre trying to have fun and gain experience. if something dosent go your way like a jarred 9 or something like that stay calm. dont let your opponent see you sweat. eat a good breakfast and always have a drink with you. take your time look everything over. play like you do at your local room.

[DEATHTRON]

Also...if one of you isnt playing, you should be there supporting your buddy. I know thats what id want if i was in a big tournamet and my friend was there. Just have fun guys, im willing to say that there are going to be some real BAD(as in good) competition there. Just have fun and relax, its not about winning it all as it is for having a good time.

Zach

[Neil Fujiwara]

Unfortunately I am also one of the kids that dropped out of high school to play pool. This year I hope to attend UNF for some business courses.

For any tournament breathing is essential......for sustaining life and calming you down to focus properly.

[k0h1eR]

thanks for the tips!

[DEATHTRON]

Neil, i am interested, what about people like Thorsten? They arent raised around here...was wondering if they finished school or not. I know that pool is alot bigger in other places outside the US and am curious as to if that made the difference.

Zach

[yankeeguy42]

hey do u guys know if ur aloud to wear headphones while ur playing becuase i think that would help with the distractions that might be going on around.

[DEATHTRON]

Haha..ive thought about that before..bumping my ipod while playing. But then i also thought about how *awesome* id look...a jukebox does it for me.

Zach

[yankeeguy42]

lol true true u can always pull off a Tom Cruise move around the table though.

[skor]

Neil, i am interested, what about people like Thorsten? They arent raised around here...was wondering if they finished school or not. I know that pool is alot bigger in other places outside the US and am curious as to if that made the difference.

Zach

He did went and finished school, after he won the World pool championship in 2003 he said that he would use the money for college.

[dags_lax]

To be the one of the best at pool, or anything else for that matter, requires four things. Natural talent, hard work, dedication, and self-sacrifice. Often times school, family, and relationships get in the way the hard work dedication and self sacrifice needed to make it to top.

Another thing that is apparent when looking at the pool, basketball, hockey, players etc .... is that they all started at a young age and worked with a single mindedness toward their goals to the exclusion off all else.

Now before you all jump on me and tell me about a great receiver that didn't play football until their senior year of college, or bring up Bo Jackson and Jim Thorp, realize that these are the exceptions rather than the rule and are very rare occurrences.

The point that I am trying to get across is that the kid who plays baseball in the summer, football in the fall, basketball in the winter and tennis in the spring, and pool when ever he isn't studying hard trying to be class valedictorian isn't likely to be the next Larry Bird, Brett Farve, Pete Samprass or Corey Duel.

[DEATHTRON]

Ya...but also, most people dont drop of out school to pursue these dreams. I find thats its really only in pool, and i think that is because there are no school pool teams. Thats good to hear about Thorsten, i wonder about the out of nation players...since pool is bigger elsewhere and what not that if it makes a bigger difference. But ya, i would like to see what players have finished school and which have not. I think most, not all, but most of the professional players have little formal education. I always look at the world, and look that people that never went/finished college, or highschool, and how well they turned out, just amazes me.

Zach

[CJK]

The reason a lot of baseball players, basketball players, and football players finished high school and in a lot of cases college is because that's how they become known enough to be scouted by the pros. If pool was a school sport, and the best would be drafted by cue manufacturers when they graduated from college, you'd see a lot more professionals going to college.

[skor]

In the past, if you wanted to play in the NBA, you had to go through college first

[Neil Fujiwara]

He is very patient, nice, funny, knowledgeable and yes, he is educated. I don't know the extent, but he is very well spoken and speaks English very well.

Also, he is basically ego-less, he will talk to anyone and doesn't have a superiority complex. Very rare in high level competitors in any sport.

[skor]

I met him at the 2003 WPC he was sitting next to me and I asked him where he was from because he was very unknown, it was the end of the day and he was to play Fransico Bustamante the next day, I wish him good luck although I was sure he's going to get killed, I was feeling a bit sorry for him sitting by himself, he looked as if he was not part of this industry, he didn't hang with other players (not even the german players)
But he surprised us all (Bustamante was on the hill 10-6 and couldn't go out)

[Neil Fujiwara]

He is a quiet guy, which I can appreciate. He has a good heart and has no problems telling you if he wasn't focused when he missed a shot or if he didn't feel comfortable.

He communicates well and is very straight forward, plus he has a dead-pan humor that only someone who doesn't speak the language fully can pull off.

[dags_lax]

Big time college sports are just another vehicle for furthering an athletes goals. Make no mistake about it, the top college athletes are not in college just to for the degree in basket weaving. You don’t have to point out to me the hall of fame players that also happened to be Rhodes Scholars. There are always exceptions.

As for pool in college there used to be intercollegiate competition. Probably not at all schools. And if the program is still functioning any more, I don't know. BCA certified master instructor Jerry Breiseth has coached many intercollegiate champions.

As for the top players competing in college programs, that isn't where the top completion is that is availble to them. So college would only be an impediment to their goals.

[Neil Fujiwara]

Short story:

There is a kid that was the California State Champion 2 years running, he was $4k poorer after our matches.

He was very cocky and gave up weight in a hearbeat if you stroked his ego a little. Very nice guy otherwise, but his ego was his downfall. We were actually friends before and after we played, but I guess I was the feather in his cap that he really wanted.

[Neil Fujiwara]

New forum topic, The Best Cue:

http://seyberts.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=25

Post away about who you feel are the best cuemakers in the world and why!!

[yankeeguy42]

Does anyone know what size tables these will most likely be played on, im hoping for 9 foot but im not sure


It says that they are playedon Diamond Smart tables but i have no clue what those are. :?

[DEATHTRON]

I dont know...if it were me i would be hoping my opponet was on a snooker table and i was on a bar box. Just me though...

[skor]

one more tip that I forgot about:

Wear comfortable shoes and cloths