Stacy Mendrick "The First Lady of Trick Shots"

The Machine Guns!!

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Ok... so there is the original Machine Gun and the Machine Gun Masse. Lets start off with the one that you can do in ANY pool hall!!

Here is the table layout: Ok.. I couldn't get the 9ft table to work at www.pool.bz so this is a bar table layout, and I actually hate how the table comes over now.. I'm sorry they are so small now.

As you know... I always try to shoot off of the 5 ball. Kind of my thing. I like the brightness of the ball and can focus on it really well. First line up balls from the middle diamond to the middle of the corner pocket exactly one ball width away from the rail. The number of balls varies with with size table you are playing on. Every ball in this line NEEDS TO BE FROZEN to each other. Once they are all in a nice straight line... you are going to move the first two balls out a little further from the rail to create a sort of 'funnel' for the cue ball. The last ball in the line needs to be a little off center also, but this ball can not be too far off center or it will kick the ball next to it into the 'make ball'.

Next, place two balls, about a chalk width apart from each other, surrounding the first diamond on the short rail. In the above picture this is the 5 ball and 8 ball. Don't forget to put a ball in the pocket ... I watched a player once do a similar shot to this at The Masters, they forgot their make ball and hit the shot. No points. The shot was good too, but the player was not rewarded and had to continue on to his second attempt. Aaahhhem... we won't mention names.

The cue ball placement in this shot makes or breaks it. This isn't just a force follow shot... you need to FIRST hit the 5 ball, clear it out, and THEN hit the 8 ball clearing it out... AND THEN your cue ball will carom and skid down the rail into the line of balls. This angle is critical. if too steep, the cue ball will come off the rail to sharply. If the angle is too shallow, it might not clear out the 8 ball or not enter the line of balls.

Do not crush this shot. Hit this too hard and it just doesn't flow. You don't get massive force follow by using your muscles, you get it by a smooth stroke at the top of the ball. This goes in your game also. If you notice even when you are hitting the ball hard and you aren't getting follow - it's probably because you are jamming your stroke. Let it flow. LOVE the ball. Don't hate it.

This shot looks hard... but trust me... a few tries and you'll be close. A few more and you'll get it.

Now.. let's step it up to the harder Machine Gun Masse shot:

Cue ball gets placed on the long rail at the middle diamond. Three balls are frozen to it toward the corner pocket on the rail. I use the 1,2,3, ball for the balls next to the cue ball on the rail. I think it's a trick shot artist thing. But notice... the 5 ball is in the mix :) You need the four ball next to the one ball. Frozen. From the 4 ball, a line of balls is frozen to it all the way to the side pocket. Every ball is frozen to the next and EXACTLY a balls width away from the rail. You get this exact width away from the rail by placing balls along the rail as you are making the 'machine line' and removing them after the balls are tapped into place.

Tapped. Not 'pound the shit out of', TAP. If you want a ball to stay EXACTLY where you put it (sometimes the cloth already has an imperfection or is flattened already and the ball will roll from where you put it), you need to hold the ball in place and TAP the top of the ball. This makes a slight indent that is very temporary in the cloth and the ball will 'settle' into this 'divot'. You've all seen the idiot players that take the 8 ball and pound the shit out of the head ball in the rack because they can't get the ball to stay on the spot. THIS IS SOOOOO WRONG. DO NOT be this idiot. A small light tap is all that is needed. Sometimes a small light tap twice.. but you get my meaning.

Again... don't forget to place your make ball in the side pocket. Now elevate your cue and hit the cue ball on the 'edge' behind and left. This is so hard to describe. You know where the cue ball sits on the rail. As you are looking straight down on it (as per the above set up picture) you are going to hit the right and slightly down (toward the rail) edge of the cue ball. Stand at the table and try to get my perspective. Hayner and a lot of other players put their leg up on the table and bridge off their leg, so their view of this set up is slightly different from what I just described. (To see pictures of this move on to my blog about bridges :)

Me? I'm short as hell and just old school air bridge and hit the snot out of the ball. Oh. Yes. You do indeed need to hit the shit out of this shot. A masse stroke is different from other strokes you use on the pool table. Depending on your grip type, you throw or use the weight of the cue to make the stroke, or you use a little more 'arm' and stroke down not moving your shoulder. I guess truly you don't have to hit the crap out of this shot, but it sounds much harder than other shots because yes indeed, your cue comes through the ball and slams into the slate... making a well known 'BAM' noise that every single pool hall owner can recognize. Over loud music. Over turning around to get someone a beer. Over outside grabbing a smoke. TRUST ME.. you will be caught. So unless you have the prior authorization to bang up some pool hall owner's tables... do this only at home.

This shot is harder than the first, but totally within your wheelhouse if you try. I know Hayner is the exception to almost every single person I've ever seen pick up a cue... He listens. He doesn't question when being told something mechanically new. He thinks. He tries... over and over. Within a week of meeting him.. and the 1st day he ever tried a masse stroke, I had him hitting this shot. He got it on his 3rd try. He can step away from the table and not play for months and he can pick up a cue and hit this shot within 3 tries all day. Once you get this shot... you have it. Forever.

Of COURSE I have a pic of Hayner's first make on this shot. ;) Click.

Ok. I rarely do this. But wanna' see me making this shot??? Ok. Ok. Twist my arm. Here's a link to the shot on the Golden Cue youtube account.

http://youtu.be/8EAXoUkUd24

Bear, Ninja, Hunter

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:03:00 +0000

This is how my friends Hayner, Kervin and Doc were trying to decide who goes first in a game of ring 9 ball. Basically, what pool players do when they are bored. :)

This was taken at the Golden Cue in Albany, NY

http://youtu.be/iqSCQKSSqD0

Bullying

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:31:00 +0000

That girl you just called fat? She is overdosing on diet pills.

That girl you just called ugly? She spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her.

That boy you just tripped? He is abused enough at home.

That man with the ugly scars? He fought for our country.

That guy you just made fun of for crying? His mother is dying.

Think.

The Golden Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:35:00 +0000

Or should I say bridges?? There are oh so many more bridges than the standard TWO most people talk about. OK... so there really is only two (open and closed) but those two HAVE to be adapted to almost every shot! And NO ONE talks about it!!! Leave it to me to talk about it! ;)

First and foremost I'd like to thank Mike Hayner for playing the part of male model. HA. I have a male model.. WOOT. Actually he shoots INSANE so I'm lucky he helped me!

OK. Let's start with the open bridge. First you lay your hand on the table flat with all of the fingers touching. Next, keeping the base of the thumb tight to the forefinger, stick the top of your thumb out. This actually creates a 'V' grove for your cue. Like this:

See how only the top part of the thumb is sticking out in the picture to the left? That's what you are looking to do. Next, spread out your fingers for a nice comfy stable base.

NOT LIKE THIS!!!!

Keep in mind that the most important part of an open bridge is the side of the thumb to the first joint staying tight to the hand. I tend to tuck my pointer finger under because of my smaller hands. This creates a guide for the cue on the left side. Depending on the height of the bridge needed sometimes other fingers will be used to raise or lower the bridge. Note in the picture to the left that Hayner has his middle finger tucked under to raise the cue to hit a follow shot.

Let's be honest. An open bridge is really NOT meant for beginners. It's for the player that already has a straight stroke. Period. No joke. I am not kidding. Unless you can go up and down the table (foot spot to head spot to rail and back to foot spot) and hit the tip of your cue 10 times in a row... you are hereby NOT ALLOWED TO USE THIS BRIDGE. Unless you play snooker... totally different story. (Balls are smaller, cues are smaller... it's a view thing...) Also, if you are putting draw on the cue ball... you are not allowed to use an open bridge. And, if you are putting force follow on the cue ball... you are not allowed to use an open bridge. Oh.. and if you are putting massive right or left on the cue ball... you are not allowed to an open bridge.

I know, I know. When are you allowed to use this bridge? Center ball, stop shots, 1/2 tip of follow, and 1/2 tip of right and left. That's about it. Unless you are Alison Fisher... give it up, this bridge is NOT for you. And don't bother to argue, you can do whatever you want... you'll just continue to shoot bad.

So what bridge can you use? That would be a closed bridge. I don't want to hear about how small your fingers are, how uncomfortable it is.. blah, blah, blah. Hayners hands are literally a whole joint bigger than mine... and I can do it. It was so important to learn that The Black Widow had this unfortunate accident with duct tape. (Buy and read her book ... it's an awesome story!)

These are correct closed bridges:

This is a draw closed bridge.

This is a follow closed bridge.

Do you see the difference in Hayner's hand in the above pictures? To elevate his cue to hit the follow shot, he has actually moved the tips of his fingers closer to his palm. Put your hand up, palm out and 'wave' using just your fingers. See how your fingers get closer to your palm? THAT'S what you do on the slate to raise up the closed bridge. As your finger tips get closer to your palm, it will bring UP your thumb and forefinger that are creating the loop of the bridge. Note how the shadow in the above pictures change as Hayner's thumb raises off the slate.

I have small hands, so sometimes I even tuck my middle finger under to get a little more height, just like I explained in the open bridge section. But just because I tuck my finger under does NOT mean I raise my palm off the slate. Never never raise your palm off the slate unless it is an open bridge.

This is an off the rail closed bridge.

All masse bridges are closed, but some float and others do not. A floating masse bridge tucks the elbow tightly into your side... there should be tension because your hand is FLOATING thereby NOT ON ANYTHING!!! Without the elbow pulled in tightly, your bridge will wiggle.

Now.. the next masse bridge can only be used by... ummmm... slightly TALLER people. ie: NOT ME!! Actually... I can if I stand on something.. which I'm allowed to do in the trick shot tournaments!!! Judge me on my shots not my height! Ha! The following masse bridge is insanely stable and should be used whenever possible!

Let's talk jump shots. The most important part of a jump shot is the back hand. I teach the dart grip, because it is indeed the better form for jump shots. I personally use a overhand grip (regular pool grip), but this is a 'do as I say, not as I do' lesson. Deal. I did take other pictures of Hayner using the dart grip but I just had to use this one. I'm pretty sure the reason is self evident.

This is an open high bridge on the rail. The cue is elevated and it is an open bridge... it's safe to say that this is indeed a jump bridge. He's aiming (from his point of view) at the middle of the cue ball. A jump shot shoves the cue ball into the slate so hard and fast that it rebounds back into the air. A jump shot is NOT A SCOOP. In order to jump, you have to hit DOWN on the ball. The higher the cue is elevated, the more angle the cue ball will leave the table (more vertical.) The harder you hit the cue ball, the farther and higher the cue ball will travel. Since you have to hit down on the cue ball, the hardest shot to hit on the pool table, hands down, is the jump draw shot. In order to hit a draw shot, you have to hit low enough for the ball to spin backward. But in order to jump a ball, you have to hit in the middle of the face. So there is obviously a very fine line here. Hit too low and you shove the cue ball forward before it jumps which means it'll take off late, which means you've probably just hit the ball you were trying to jump. If you don't hit low enough, when the cue ball is done jumping... it will not draw back. So. What's the solution? Practice. Sorry. No short cuts here.

Let's get tricky. To the left is a slightly different back hand grip than the jump grip I showed earlier. This grip is for a one handed jump shot. Just have confidence... and do not try this at your local pool hall. Consider yourself warned.

So lets talk rail bridges. There are three basic rail bridges. The one you use depends solely on the distance the cue ball is away from the rail.

The first is just an open bridge that is placed on the rail. This is used when the cue ball is pretty far from the rail but you still can't put your hand comfortably on the slate.

This bridge is used when the cue ball is closer to the rail, but not resting against the rail. Lay your hand flat on the rail palm down. Rest the cue next to your thumb. Now bring your pointer finger over the cue. The thumb must be on the 'inside'... it acts like a guide.

This is the same bridge as above except it's used at an angle on the rail.

Remember that the whole idea is to keep the bridge at a comfortable distance from the cue ball and to keep your cue LEVEL!!! The following bridge is for when the cue ball is actually resting against the rail.

This is almost just like an open bridge on the rail. Place the tips of your fingers on the edge of the table. Then tuck your middle finger down and push it against the table. A lot of people do this bridge without the finger pushing against the table, so go ahead and try it that way... your whole hand moves up and down very easy. Now tuck the middle finger against the table and all of a sudden you have a VERY stable bridge. Having the cue ball directly on the rail is one of the most hated shots. Admit it. You hate it!! This bridge will help. Oh.. and see how Hayner can get a wicked level cue? That's what you should be striving for!

Now lets talk about bridges in a pocket. Sometimes where to make a bridge and which bridge to use can get confusing and awkward. Note how Hayners fingers sometimes rest on the slate AND rail at the same time!

The last bridge I'm going to talk about is the hated high bridge. I saved the best for last. This is an open bridge. And everything I wrote earlier about open bridges applies. This is a bridge you use when the cue ball is up close to another ball.

The strongest shape in the world is a triangle. Therefore... you should have THREE points of contact on the slate. If you stick your hand out and look at it, you'll notice that your middle finger is the longest finger. Which means... you can NOT just go up on the tips of your fingers with this bridge. How could you? Your fingers are all different lengths and your bridge would be so wicked unstable. To compensate for the differing lengths of fingers... tuck under the middle one. Some guys even tuck under two fingers, their middle and ring finger. Look at the picture to the left and notice that Hayner has his middle finger tucked under. 1. This makes the bridge stable because his actual palm is supported now. And 2. He can actually get his hand closer to the 5 ball to make it easier to get up over it.

See Hayner's ring finger in these pictures? It looks funky right? Yeah... well... it is. Not funky bad.. but as in funky odd. Hayner has found this position more comfortable rather than tucking both his middle and ring fingers under. He also has really long lanky fingers. And I'm totally ok with this weird funkyness. No two bridges are going to be alike. The main thing is to have a stable.... let me say it again... stable... one more time for good measure... S.T.A.B.L.E. bridge. His is dead stable, so he's good.

I can not also stress this enough: THE MINUTE YOUR PALM LEAVES THE SLATE YOU HAVE TO USE AN OPEN BRIDGE. None of this funky 'up on finger tips and closed bridge loop' crap. 'Cause that's exactly what it is. CRAP. JUNK. You need the pointer finger for the stability of the base not to loop around the cue.

So. That's about it. Any questions? Ask away. I'll answer... probably. And Thanks goes out to Hayner for all the help ;) click!

You didn't think that was it did you??? Here are pictures of Hayner's and my FAVORITE (as in sends us into eye rolling laughing fits) BAD, DO NOT DO, HORRIBLE, TOTALLY WRONG bridges. None are made up. We've actually seen each and every one of these bridges in action. Cover the kids eyes.... this is gonna' get ugly!!! This is like a bloopers reel for pool.

Ok. I'll start out easy and nice. This is a closed bridge that is ALMOST correct. You can really see the problem in the right picture. Hayner has not turned his wrist and has not spread out his fingers. Your middle finger must be under the cue shaft. Go back and look again at the correct bridges above.

Remember how I told you that the minute your palm leaves the slate, you should be using an open bridge???? Yeah... the above and below are perfect examples of someone NOT following that rule. The above picture shows the thumb on the slate, the one below has the thumb tucked up. I know they look the same, but really they aren't. At least the one above is trying to become a stable bridge, whereas the one below is wicked unstable.

This is such a typical bar shooter bridge. We've seen this one a million times.

Again... pretty typical. Someone that knows that the finger should be over the top of the cue.. but really has no clue as to why or how.

Ummmm...... yeah.

Really... I can't say enough.

This is not a joke. We've seen this. More than once even. It blows the mind.

This one is a fairly typical open bridge. Not bad... but again not good either. Without the base of the thumb tucked tight to the first finger, there's no groove for the cue to follow so it will wiggle sideways in this bridge.

A friend of mine shoots with this bridge. Shoots PROFESSIONALLY with this bridge. No lie. His nickname is The Praying Mantis. He plays great and shoots unreal... with that said, Do. Not. Do. This. I'm pretty sure no one out there is teaching kids to swing like Jack Nicolas... so again... Do. Not. Do. This. Thank you.

I don't have words for this. But again... we aren't making it up.. we've seen this.

This one I call 'Death Rail Grip.' And we've seen it like a million times. I guess it's better than just shooting the ball one handed with no bridge at all... but only barely.

Last... but FAR, FAR from least... we have the behind the back shot. This does NOT make you look cool... it makes you look like an absolute TURD. Hayner and I go to unreal lengths to get each others attention when someone is about to attempt this stupid shot. And it's the whole thing... from swinging the cue around to get it behind the back... 3 out of 5 times the cue gets whacked on the table next to them... to the actual shot.. which 9 out of 10 times is missed horribly. And the people taking this shot??? ALWAYS, ALWAYS thinks they are cool. The person that attempts this shot almost always also 'twirls' their cue like Tom Cruise in The Color Of Money. The MINUTE Rocky installed ceiling fans... this became MUCH MUCH more enjoyable to watch. Inevitably the look on the poor smucks face when the cue goes 'BANG' on the fan and gets thrown out of their hands is so freaking funny.... it's all fun and games 'till someone loses an eye... and since that hasn't happened yet... please, please keep doing it.. it makes our night!!

Whoever sent me an email about the BOE... Your email is blocking my reply... try again!

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:05:00 +0000

Definition of the word Bully

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 22:26:00 +0000

bul·ly
/ˈbʊli/ Show Spelled [bool-ee]
Noun:
1. a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.

2. Archaic . a man hired to do violence.

Verb: (used with object)
3. To act the bully toward; intimidate; domineer.

Verb (used without object)
4. To be loudly arrogant and overbearing.

Those of you following this whole sorted mess, know where I'm going with this, those that don't... don't worry... we'll get back to pool shortly ;) click!

The term bully is really quite the buzz word lately. From concern over children acting out to children killing themselves over being bullied is all over the news lately. But what happens when the person being bullied is a child, but the bully is an adult????

Take for instance, February 14, 2011, Lansingburgh School District, Rensselaer Park Elementary School, second floor, afternoon. A child, 10 years old, is walking down the hallway to his classroom. The adult that he has a court order of protection against is walking down the hallway towards him. The adult stops and stares at him as he walks by, is this an act of a bully?

Oh.. ok... twist my arm. The adult was, of course, Kelley Bristol- infamous school board member of Lansingburgh School District, who has charges currently pending against her in the Town of Schadicoke which led directly to a court order of protection against her for a 10 year old child. Since criminal court only meets once a month, she has successfully avoided court for two months, so far, by adjournments. Eventually, however, Judge Arnold will become annoyed, as he always does from too many adjournments (oh... by the way Kelley.. you should meet his dog.. he has the MOST beautiful dark German Shepard I've ever seen- spot on trained too- you could probably learn something from him!)

So, you ask, how does she manage to get into the school? Well, normal court order of protections do not cover situations such as school, especially if the person has children attending the same school. Fair enough. Really. I'm totally and was totally fine with her being in the school to go to her children's class parties, plays, picking her children up from school, or what have you. I was assured by the principle that was the limit as to her being in the school.

For the last few weeks Kelley has been overheard in the hallways saying (add AS MUCH tone as you can here...) "..I'm not allowed to walk around the school..." So, instead of taking her lumps and doing what was right, she asked the school board (remember... she's a member of that school board) to allow her total freedom in the school. Please... look above to the definition of a bully again. Within three days of this new found freedom, she stops and stares down the 10 year old that has the court order of protection against her. Again.. please refer to the above definition of bully.

At 2pm on February 14, 2011 I removed my children from the school. I had no choice. I can not be in both of my children's classrooms at all times and the Superintendent refuses to limit Kelley Bristol's access to my children, so I sincerely had no choice. Both teachers are working with me, as far as work goes, and I bring them in for any testing and wait outside the classrooms.

Instead of Kelley Bristol waiting for this whole thing to be done, and suffer the consequences of her actions in the meantime, she pushed and pushed and now the only people suffering consequences of HER actions are my children. Again. Look at the definition of bully.

A judge normally does not change a court order of protection once it is issued, however the District Attorney is going back to him to see if it can be changed to also cover school, so my children can start attending again. So, instead of being happy with the access that Kelley had to the school, she could be looking at a full order which would not even allow her on school grounds. Ever. Is this what I wanted? Nope. Is it what I want now? Yup. Why? Because she pushes and pushes... she honestly thinks that chasing down a school bus, boarding it and confronting a 10 year old is perfectly ok.

She actually thinks it's her RIGHT to walk around that school intimidating a 10 year old! Imagine that!!! Seriously! Imagine if it was your child that had to walk down hallways hoping he wouldn't run into the very person the police would arrest if they got close to him outside the school!! The school should be a safe zone for children, not a place to cause panic attacks!

On February 14, 2011 I informed the superintendent, George, that I was removing my children. His response? Well... mind you... he's the worse kind of $108,000/year puppet I've EVER seen, he hadn't conferred with the school attorney or the school board so all he kept saying over and over was "I'm not discussing this now." And "She's allowed to walk around the school." Over and over.

At one point I even put my hand on my sons head and said "George, this is Colin. Would you like to apologise to him directly for what happened on the bus?" His response? "I'm not discussing this now." No joke. You'd think that for over $100,000 per year he'd be able to realise that him saying "I'm sorry Colin that you had to go through that." Does not imply guilt. It just shows empathy for a child, in his school district, that went through and outrageous experience. Over $100,000/year and the man can not think for himself. Why bother? He retires this year, the board should just keep the 100k, skip the middle 'puppet' and dictate to the schools directly.

Oh right, there are laws governing against doing that. Just like the laws that the Commissioner upholds... by the way Kelley.. He's waiting with baited breath for your conviction so he can remove you from the school board. The longer you wait, the longer it will be before you can run again. Good by me.

By the way. Mary Sweeney, the Chairman of the School Board, 'followed' me on Twitter, to read my tweets, and then 'unfollowed' within the hour. Too bad she didn't realize my tweets aren't protected and she could have read them without the 'follow'. Although, I fully appreciate the 'follow' so I got an email as to her 'following' me. Weird right? Why would she do that? Who's pocket is she in?

By the way, all of the isp addresses for all of the threats left on this website have been traced by a private detective and all of the information has been handed over. Hope it was worth it! People really are dumb. Anonymous doesn't actually mean anonymous in the computer world.. how do people not know that?

I can not promise that this will be my last post on this issue.. however... I can promise that my next post will start covering bridges. And if you don't know what that means.... why are you reading this blog?????????

Peace Brothers ;) click

Short and Simple

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:08:00 +0000

Here it is short and sweet. Not once have I EVER said my child was perfect... he's far from it in fact... thank God. But that is not the point. I really don't care what the kids did on that day. That's not the point. Here's the point:

Under NO circumstances is it ever ok to get in your car, chase a bus for a 1/4 of a mile, barge your way onto the bus, and confront a child that is not yours. NEVER. Don't tell me it's in defense of a child... that starts the whole she did- he did crap. Besides, the child was home safe and then BROUGHT BACK ON TO THE BUS. (I won't go into what that actually teaches a child.) That's it, that's my point. You CAN NOT CHASE A BUS FOR A 1/4 MILE, BARGE ON TO IT, AND CONFRONT A CHILD THAT IS NOT YOURS. In other counties in NYS the minute she stepped foot on the bus she committed a crime- which is exactly the same law I want statewide. The school board has told her that if she does it again they will press charges... which means THEY COULD HAVE THIS TIME!!!

Stay on topic folks. She could have come to us at ANY point and said she was angry and she is very sorry... instead she chose to sedans (sedans???!! Lol keeping it!! iPhone auto corrected 'defend' into sedans.. classic!!) the act of getting on the bus. Nope. Doesn't fly.

Posting Comments

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:33:00 +0000

New rule. If you can't/won't use your real life name in a comment and feel the need to hide behind some screen name... perhaps you shouldn't be making the comment. I work and make a living in the public eye- if I want this hill to be the one I die on, so be it... but if YOU want to portray me as something... you better get it right. Liable can only be proven in court of the person has LOST something. If I suddenly find a sponsor that says they won't back me because of YOUR comment.. that could be THOUSANDS. #1 Female Trick Shot Artist in the World. This isn't a joke. Think.... is this the hill YOU want to die on? Comments can all be tracked back to isp's- you can't do anything on here without leaving a trail, and seeing that I live in the pool world, trust me when I say I can find lots of people that can do the tracking.

My blog... my rules... ENJOY!!

;) click

WHAT IS GOING ON????!!!

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:33:00 +0000

Why is this happening?? This chick, MRS. KELLEY BRISTOL, jumps on the school bus, screamed and yelled and THREATENED MY SON and instead of me and the school against the _____ that threatens a 10 year old boy, it's the school AND the _____ against me.... PERHAPS it's because the ______ is on the school board???? MMMMMmmmmm... maybe.

My son has a court order of protection against this woman. So... how is it that the woman is still serving on the school board???? No. Really. I want to know. There are CRIMINAL charges pending against this woman.. and she's admitted to EVERYONE that she got on the bus... why has she not been removed??

NOT ONLY has she NOT been removed, but the Lansingburgh School District is willing to SHELL OUT MY TAX MONEY to have former Albany County Court Judge Larry Rosen conduct a MEDIATION PROCESS!!!! WHAT???!!!! WWWWAAAAHHHTTT?????!!!!!! OMG WHAT????!!!! Is this a JOKE??? There are CURRENT CRIMINAL CHARGES PENDING AGAINST HER! And mediate WHAT??? There is NO mediation to be HAD here. There would only be US letting HER off the hook... WE didn't do ANYTHING WRONG! What EXACTLY is there to MEDIATE???? Quote from our letter from Mr. George Goodwin (Superintendent) "The session would be held at the District Office, and all expenses associated with the session would be borne by the District." He also states in it "... and offer you a few more days to consider it before rejecting it out of hand." OUT OF HAND???? Ahhhh. NO. Not 'out of hand' out of 'I have a brain and you aren't going to run all over my family because you think we are stupid.' How's THAT George?????

Holy God. They have the AUDACITY to SPEND OUR MONEY ON THIS????? She's admitted to EVERYONE that the bus driver actually had to threaten to call the police before she would remove herself from the bus... MEDIATE???!!!!!! Does the entire DISTRICT know that they want to spend their hard earned money on this?????? NO. Why? Because I can't get TV coverage of this. Why? Because... ahhhh... actually... I don't know. The Times Union researched this... THEY printed it. But imagine what would happen if this actually got TV time. I would HAVE to believe that the people of this school district would be APPALLED to find out that they have a sitting BOARD MEMBER who CHASED DOWN A BUS, GOT ON IT, AND SCREAMED AT A 10 YEAR OLD!!!!! All over a God damned GAME, no less.

If ANYBODY... ANYBODY... other than a board member did this.. not only would they probably already be in JAIL... but they definitely wouldn't be being DEFENDED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. If in the future I have a beef with some OTHER parent in the school district... are they going to pay for mediation then also????? You know, I wasn't going to sue the school. But. Acting the way they are... causing THIS MUCH STRESS (especially after just losing my Grandfather and then my good friend) I'm totally thinking about going after them. They did NOT have to do this THIS way. I think THEY think they are covering their asses... what they are actually doing is driving me to an early grave. Stupid, stupid lawyers.

She admitted to the act. They aren't scared of HER.. they are scared of ME. Can I please, PLEASE sign something saying I won't sue so they can STEP UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING?????? I've NEVER.. NOT ONCE.. gotten an "I'm sorry. This shouldn't have happened to your child." NOT ONCE have they said that the ACT of getting on a school bus is WRONG. NOT ONCE!!!!

This is NOT a 'she said, she said' thing like GEORGE likes to tell the press. There is no 'she said' about the woman chasing the bus for a 1/4 mile to a different neighborhood and getting on it... SHE ADMITS TO IT!!!!! She admits to not getting off the bus until the bus driver threatened to call the police... WHAT is 'SHE SAID' about that???

I'll end with.... I wonder if it's obstruction of justice to offer 'mediation' in an ongoing criminal case without letting the party know about the legal consequences of such an act??? MMMMMmmmmm.... dig, dig, dig.... bury yourselves more....

In Memory Of Frosty

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:06:00 +0000

Recently a good friend of mine died unexpectedly. He was only 42 years old, and he will be greatly missed. He started the organization named Quicksticks. Here are a few pictures that I hope everyone will enjoy.

Last Ball Hiccups!

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:24:00 +0000

Ok... I'm going to start off by being honest here... I totally stole the idea for this particular blog from www.pool.bz This is the same place where I create all of my table layouts. They have this forum that I occasionally post things in that's pretty cool. And one of the topics was from Dave Manasseri "To spin, or not to spin?" Which got me thinking... and writing. Lucky you!!

Have you ever missed an easy 8 ball or 9 ball in a game? Be honest! Most people have! And still do!!! When I said 'easy' I meant easy for YOU. An easy shot for me may very well not be an easy shot for you and vise versa. But it's a shot that clearly you can make at any other point in time. So why did you miss it? Pressure? Maybe. Wanna' know how to make it next time?? Keep reading.

I teach a lot of people that get to the point in their game that they miss 9 balls or whatever 'out' ball we are talking about just because it's the money ball. And I don't care if it's actually for money, or for league, or just for pride... it's the money ball- that's the lingo :) They know how to make the ball... and do it all the time so why miss it just because it's the last ball?

What's the difference between the LAST ball we have to shoot in and every other stinkin' ball we shot in before it? Ahhh... SHAPE. That's the difference. Normally you occupy some of your brain thinking about shape. This is how hard I have to hit it.. this is the english... this is the side of the pocket I need to hit... etc... You get down on that last shot and if you aren't thinking about shape... you are actually shooting that shot totally different from any other shot you shoot!!!

Not to mention the approach to the last shot. Instead of thinking about shape you might be letting your mind wander to... 'OMG I could win' or 'OMG I could loose' or 'this is so easy' or 'this is sooo hard' or 'I wonder what Brad had for breakfast' you get my point.

You've set yourself up perfect, straight in shot in the side. Why do you have to think about shape for goodness sake? Because you don't want to FOLLOW THE CUE BALL IN AFTER!!!! Geeezzzz...

I know I'm going to get "Yeah, yeah, yeah... pro's don't think of shape off their last ball" Oh WAIT... they think about scratch shots... therefore... they must have thought about the cue balls path after making the ball... thereby... thinking about shape!! I love it when I'm right. Ok.. so I love it more when Hayner is wrong but.. oh, did I say that out loud????

Anyway.. back to shape on that last ball. If you look to see if that last shot has a potential scratch to it, you already are thinking a little about shape. Now all you have to do is pick a spot and get the cue ball there. And trust me it'll get to the point that you don't even realize you are doing it... it'll just be part of your game. And that's the point right? Making the money ball just part of your game.. no unneeded pressure, no random misses... just a clean flowing game.

Here's a couple of shots to set up and do this with... some are intended to scratch some are not. Enjoy!!

Skins and the Rear View Mirror

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:38:00 +0000

Ok. So. I'm totally stealing the following analogy from a former pro player. I'd name him.. but I think it would be more fun for y'all to guess :)

What would happen if you drove down the road looking only into the rear view mirror? You'd crash into things in front of you, right? Pretty hard to make good, consistent forward motion that way, huh? Well. Same in pool. If you are so caught up in what happened before it's hard to move forward. I know I've talked about this before, therefore, you can conclude... this is probably pretty gosh darn IMPORTANT!!!!!

Let it GO. And that means to LET IT GO. Stop dwelling on the bad things, don't sweat the 'small' stuff. Fine. If you loose the whole darn match.. stomp off and dwell about it for days.. but if you're in the middle of a match??? LET. IT. GO. You popped a cue ball off the table in an effort to draw the ball like 20 feet? Woohoo... move on. You missed a safe by 6 balls leaving them straight in? Yesssss.... move on. You missed a straight in shot 2 feet away from the pocket? Sweeeet.... move on.

Actually.. I'm totally not kidding about the whole losing the match thing (unless you have more matches to play that day,) and dwelling about it for days. See, if losing doesn't affect you... you will NEVER EVER be better. Seriously. Confused yet?? :) What I'm indeed asking from you is for you to CONTROL your emotions. God forbid right? I don't want you to like missing a ball or shape. What I want is for you to DISPLAY the dislike of doing something wrong at the appropriate time. And in the middle of shooting... isn't it. But at the same time, if losing doesn't piss you off, you'll never become great.

Ok... so on to the fun stuff!! Sooooo many people think that practically every shot is a scratch shot. They hardly are. Actually... I lie.. almost EVERY SINGLE shot is a scratch shot... they just aren't natural scratches. Meaning you really have to do something to make the cue ball scratch. When I coach someone and they constantly ask if they'll scratch on the shot.. that's when I pull out the following two games. Scratch 9 Ball and Skins. The first game is for beginners and the second is for more advanced. Ugh.. there I go trying to lie to you again. They both are pretty hard, the first is just meant as a learning device, while Skins is an old time gambling game :)

So.. this is the table layout for the break on Scratch 9 ball.

Yes. You are breaking with the 1 ball with the intent of pocketing said 1 ball. Every ball you intend to make.. you must shoot into the cue ball and then into a pocket. For example, here's the shot after the break:

You shoot the 2 ball into the cue ball making the 2 ball in a pocket. Easy right??? HAhahahahaha!!! Ok.. so here are the rules: push off the break. No 3 fouls. Scratch by not hitting the cue ball means ball in hand of the OBJECT ball to the incoming player. Scratch by pocketing the cue ball means ball in hand of the CUE BALL to the incoming player. Called pockets (you wouldn't learn anything otherwise.. and I don't want to hear about 'this is nine ball..' it's only 9 ball because the game is quicker :P) No combo's allowed... caroms yes.. combo's no. My game. My rules.

Once you feel like you are doing pretty good at that game. Move on to Skins. Here's the table layout for the opening shot:

The 1, 2, and 3 are on the foot spot, frozen in a line straight back. The cue ball is on the head spot. The object of this game is to pocket all three ball in a single turn. You must call your shots. And just like Scratch 9 Ball, you must hit the object ball into the cue ball, pocketing the object ball. As you can see from the set up, the opening shot is probably the most difficult. You must bridge over the 2 and 3 ball. Oh, and I just used the 1, 2, and 3 ball.. this is not done in rotation. However.. bridging over the 2 and 3 ball means you will be jacked up and applying follow onto the 1 ball making pocketing the one ball slightly easier. Aim for a slightly fuller hit and hit hard. If you make the one the cue ball should come back around the table and 'break out' the 2 and 3.

Keep shooting until you miss. If you make all three.. wooohooo!!! .. you are the first on the board. The balls are set back up and you go again. Winner breaks. If however, you do not make all three.. lets say you make one.. that ball comes back up on the spot and the incoming player has the table. The only time the table is reset back to the opening position is when all three balls are made. If the cue ball is pocketed it gets put back on the head spot and it's the next persons turn. You can play this with just two players or ring it up. Once you ring though.. remember that the etiquette for ring games is different and could get noisy... but personally... that's the whole fun of it!

Well have fun and remember to only glance into that rear view mirror!!

Fire Dancing On Tuesday Night

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:17:00 +0000

I normally blog about pool here, but this time I wanted to post about my Tuesday night.

It all started last Tuesday night when I wanted to do something different with my kids. The Corning Preserve in downtown Albany is a pretty neat place, so we went to McDonalds, got food, and brought it to the preserve to 'picnic'. There's a playground there so after eating we played tag. Then we walked down the path along the river to get to the floating dock. We watched the bait fish jumping for a while and then started to head back since it was starting to get dark. That's when Caitlin heard it.

Bongo's. OF COURSE Caitlin couldn't resist!! I'm pretty adventurous, so I said, "Sure.. let's go see what's going on.."

Apparently every Tuesday night a group of people get together at the amphitheater at the Corning Preserve to Fire Dance. No joke. Colin, Caitlin and I walked into the MOST amazing thing!! To turn the corner and have not only bongo's, but 12 string guitars, a sax, and people flinging fire around like it was cool was just beyond words.

So beyond words.. I just HAD to give the exact experience to others. So, I started inviting friends and family to an event that they had to just go to, but not know what it was. Knowing would ruin the whole 'unexpected' experience. Guess what? People actually came even though they just truly had to trust me! These are the people that went (minus Colin & Caitlin who were also there):

From left to right: Tauss, Camile, my brother Mike, Bill, Stefan, Darla & Hayner

We had the MOST amazing time! We all met at the Golden Cue and left from there. Of course I was late.... what's new. But they were all patient and off we went. I forgot my camera so all the pictures are from my iPhone, which takes the most horrible pictures ever, so I'm sorry the following aren't very good... but you'll get the point!

Here there were three people using what's called Poi. Basically, that is the two balls of fire on separate ropes. The large ball of fire you see is someone that is at the start of their sequence.. they dip the Poi in a fuel then set them on fire.. they have an excess of fuel at the start so to prevent the fire from actually flying off the Poi, they remove it by twirling fast into the ground.

And this is Caitlin :) Last week she danced to the music and someone taught her and Colin how to hula hoop (which, mind you, I then had to go buy hula hoops on Wednesday!) This week she wanted to do the Poi.

Now this guy was just sick!! He actually could juggle SEVEN!!!! And he'd change the pattern of the throws.. this guy was amazing!! And clever... I got to talk to him briefly at the end - neat guy.

This is a better view of how they remove the extra fuel.. check out the line of fire. Some would use extra fuel on purpose and create a ring of fire around them - that was cool.. sorry I didn't get pic's of that!!

This was one of the bars. They could roll this around their necks, arms, shoulders! Colin and Caitlin made a friend that let them use her Poi that lit up with led lights. They had soooo much fun!!

Here's just another cool pic of the Poi in action.

That's the friend that Colin and Caitlin made and the light up hula hoop. But do you see the guy with what appears to be a ball of flame in the background? Well... that's exactly what that was.. a ball of flame! He had on sleeves of fire retardant material and 'played' with the ball of flame up and down his arms!! No joke! He couldn't keep it on his arms very long.. it would drop and the guy would shake his arms, I can't imagine how hot that was!! They were standing way back because this group of people really were very safety orientated. They were all very, very careful. Anyone new to the group had to ask permission to light up and then be watched very carefully with the safety throws. The guy in the next picture could juggle bowling pins on fire and he would stand way far away also. The city knows and allows this group to get together every Tuesday, I can't say how impressed I am! Of the city AND of the performers!!

I'm so horrible with names! I talked to this guy for a while. His dad was a clown and even was in an Elvis movie!! He was soooo good with Colin and Caitlin. He let them touch everything and he even sat and taught them the beginning juggling moves. Great guy!

So..... next time I ask you to do something, but you just have to trust me... do it!

Statistical Annalysis of Pool?

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 22:42:00 +0000

10th grade rolled around. I had moved to a new school. No friends. Except... the JV boys soccer coach lived across the street. Mr. Manny. And he thought the best way to make new friends was to stay after school with him and help him coach. 2nd day in? Two hot shot boys went up to head a ball... one came down with a broken nose. Blood EVERYWHERE. Everyone was racing around like chickens with their heads cut off. I just went right up to the kid, grabbed his nose, and ran my thumb and side of my finger straight down from the bridge to the tip. He freaked. He threw a punch. I tripped over, I don't know what, trying to dodge the punch and landed on my ass, crab crawling away from him. He was the most popular kid in my grade. Who knew?? Once he realized I had just set his nose saving him from the ER rebreaking and setting it (it was waaaaay crooked when it broke) he mellowed a bit. Four hours later he was at my doorstep with his Mom gushing thank yous... apparently the doc at the ER said he couldn't have set it better. And apparently Mr. Manny was correct.

I hung out and did statistics for the team. I noted every shot on goal, where it happened from, and what the results were. For both ends of the field. It was cool to see the data shape the coach. And the coach shape the kids. And the kids improve. What appeared at first to be random became this really cool pattern. To this day I can't watch soccer casually... I get intense and start seeing the patterns.

What does this have to do with pool? EVERYTHING. One... being able to set a broken nose on the fly makes you invaluable going on the road hustling. HA! Totally kidding. Pattern play is what I believe to be the most difficult thing to teach someone regarding pool. I think this has something to do with the fact that in most cases there just isn't only one way to run. There might be a 'better' way to run most of the time. However, depending on an individuals strengths and weaknesses.. your run might and most likely WILL be different from my run, on occasion.

Sooooo.... how do you teach someone how to run then? I don't. And I never will. Totally not kidding. Once the basics are learned, I start playing straight pool with a student. I show them typical break shots. I show them the back and forth runs at the foot end of the table that are so common in straight. I give them the concept of an 'out ball.' And then we play. I talk the whole time. (shhhh... shut up peanut gallery - no comments!) I tell them what shot I'm taking and why. I never correct them with their shot selection. If they ask, I tell them what I would do in a given situation.

After a few weeks of this... I stop talking. We just play. I know, I know... still not at the statistical point yet... I know. Here it comes.... then I get them to play someone else while I watch. Although, I'm not just watching. I'm keeping track in a notebook as to which shots were missed. THIS is probably the most valuable thing I do for my students. Not only does this give ME a list of shots to work on... it can illuminate pattern problems for the student. If you do this in a race in 9 ball... it can even show breaking problems and strategy mistakes.

It does NOT need to be a struggle to learn how to play pool. In the old days I couldn't BEG help from the local pool guru's... now? Totally different... EVEN at the Golden Cue. Players are more willing to help other players. I guess they are even learning that unless new blood comes into this sport.. it won't BE a sport.

Seriously.... there is such a thing as ediquette...

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:17:00 +0000

There is. Etiquette. And there is a line. Do you know the line? You should. Because if you don't know the line, you'll only be guessing if you are right... or wrong. Pool hall etiquette. Sounds like an oxymoron. Or just plain moronic. Take your pick. Here's a quick run down:

Never place the chalk upside down on the rails.
Never chalk your cue when it isn't your turn.
Don't break down your cue until it's over.
Don't talk, move, sneeze, wiggle, jump, tweak, breathe or blink in the line of your opponents shot.
Tip the house man when you win a bet of significant amount if you are new to the room.
Shake your opponents hand when you are done.
Don't pick up someones cue unless you've asked first.
If you are a rail bird... don't talk loud enough to bother the players.

Oh and that's just the start of the list. I could go on... but really... why bother? I mean, when you are loosing... we don't follow them right? We wig out and don't follow all the rules. Or do we? I know lots of people that do. I know people that are so nice, that during a major tournament a player was down on a shot, another player next to them got down on their own shot practically bumping into the 1st person... the 1st person in an attempt of not getting knocked over, hit the cue ball with their stick. Oh screw it. It was Tauss playing Val. And Val hit the cue ball. Tauss didn't take ball in hand. He let Val continue to shoot. I get it.. the rules are the rules... but some things that happen are just accidents. In a wonderful world that player that almost bumped Val would have not been so selfish and would have looked around him before he bumped into Val. As far as I'm concerned... the opponent of the player that almost bumped Val should have gotten ball in hand due to the fact that he was playing an obnoxious son of a B***H that only thinks about himself.

And here we go... a player was shooting the best pool of his LIFE. His opponent was mumbling 'under' his breath that he wasn't a '5'. Rocky... oh... DAMN... did I just say that???? YES Rocky... who pulls NO PUNCHES... stopped shooting and said to the guy "F**K you, you F**KIN son of a B***H." And finishes his run out. Does anyone run up to Ed and Angela at Diamond Eight to complain about Rocky? Nope. Why would they? One, Rocky OWNES his own pool room and two, Ed and Angela aren't running the tournament... the APA League Operator Matt MacPhail is.

Can you feel the point getting close??? lol... it is ... trust me... wait for it....

I get DESTROYED by this 6 in 9 ball. I mean this kid is OUT OF CONTROL!!!!! The BEST shooters in the local rooms don't give me a run like this kid. After two racks I start playing this kid as tight as I know how. I mean I moved to the 90% rule. Ok... for those that don't understand that... I wouldn't take a shot unless I was 90% sure it would go... if I wasn't? I'd play safe. Trust me when I say that I have a tight safe game. Didn't matter, this kid was kicking in everything, banking everything, I don't think I've EVER been actually shooting GREAT and gotten whacked like that. Kid could have been a nine for all I cared, he still would have housed me. And that isn't the point... I really didn't care that he was underrated, and never even said a word to the league op. about this kid. I shook his hand and guess what I did? I told him we should get together and play sometime. He said "all the girls say that.." to which I said "no, no sweetie... I'm married.. I just want to get you on a pool table." Everyone standing around laughed. I just want to see what this kid can do on a 9 footer... I mean... I might be able to make this silly league player a GREAT player.

The last thing on earth I am is a sore looser. Geeezzz.. I mean... after shooting for 20 years, if I was a sore loser... I would have given up a long time ago. I mean think about it. It's getting close... can you feel it????? lol

So. Down 2-0 in the match, 1-1 in the game spotting a kid 3 games in a race to 5. Seriously... what are our chances? Not good... in fact, so not good, the rest of my team is watching 9 ball, in which we still do have a chance. I never give up. EVER. This kid has ball in hand and is being coached to put the cue ball down to shoot his ball that is tied up on mine. The space between the two balls is smaller than a ball. My ball overlaps his by at least 5mm. sighting it into the EDGE of the corner pocket. A good hit means my ball doesn't move. A good hit means his ball misses the pocket. HOWEVER... he could play safe and play a good hit putting his ball in FRONT of the pocket off the short rail. A bad hit means... my ball moves. The only way to make his ball is to carom off of mine. This isn't a SPLIT HIT because there isn't a balls width between the balls. But this is the type of hit that you have to sight at table level and know about pool. I try to tell them before they take the hit, that he can't make it because it'll be a bad hit. I tell them more than once. Then I call a ref.

The ref. never gets down to LOOK at the shot at table level, as a matter of fact he came over and never looked at the shot in LINE. He just stood by the side pocket and called the hit a tie hit because my ball and his ball moved. Ummmmm... really? My ball is BEFORE his ball... HOW on EARTH does my ball MOVE and it be a good hit???? See.. most people try to judge this by actually watching the HIT. That is the biggest mistake you can make. Sometimes it's obvious that a ball moves first. MOST of the time you actually have to know enough about pool to judge the hit by what happens to the balls AFTER THE HIT.

The ref. called it... I didn't say a word. But how disappointing. Am I supposed to tell a ref. before the shot how to watch a hit? Geee... that would make me a bitch. I loose that game, which ends it. I shake the kids hand. I'm steamed about the hit. Could care less about the loss. The hit is driving me mad. I'm soooooo over the top fair. I call bad hits on myself. I'm over the top fair... and this coach just straight up ignores me, doesn't even want to listen.

I still have 9 ball going on at the next table... I can't think of anything but the hit. The coach who set up the bad shot is standing over me wanting me to shake his hand and 'CONGRATULATE' him. How obnoxious is that anyway??? Go up to the player and be like.. "oooohhhh... nice try... now shake my hand and tell me how great we are..." Really??? I mean Really??? Ok. I shook the PLAYERS hand. Freaking SUE ME that I don't feel like shaking the whole freaking teams hands!!!!! I just put my hands up, shook my head and turned around. Later (5 min. or so) as he's walking by, he says "It was a good hit." Oh. And that's ok to say and get me going right?? I should know better not to bite, but I did. I told him I know enough about pool that it was a bad hit. He tells me that obviously I don't know enough about pool. Huh. REEEEEEallY?????

10 min. later? I see him talking to Ed and Angela. Why? Because I work at Diamond Eight. What does Ed and Angela have to do with anything? What? Go complain to Matt. I'm not working, and compared to what I saw going on, I sure as shit didn't do anything wrong.

We loose 9 ball. Oh well... that sucks. But it was a great match and they played Norm which I thought was AWSOME... hugs all around.

I go to work and get Angela in my face telling me I was acting 'pissy'... blah, blah, blah. What??? Are you kidding??? I've gotten in 4 altercations in the 10 plus years I've been in league. And I don't even COUNT not shaking Scott's hand as one of them. He wasn't the player... he could tell I'm hot... for god's sake give me a freaking minute to cool down. So. Why do I have this bad rep? Because I tell people how it is. Straight up. I don't ever make a big thing about small shit. Ever. But when someone gets in my face I'm not one to back down either. Ever. And because 'nice' people tweak on me... it's MY fault. I've never once gotten in any ones face first. They may not like what I'm telling them, but I do it in a calm way. If they get snotty? Their bad. They get the sarcastic bitch I can be... and I'll win.

So... Angela doesn't get the whole story then straight up lies about my team going up to her and telling her it was a good hit... BAAAAAAHAHAhahahaha... my team wasn't even WATCHING my match!! ANNNNND... they would never call a hit that they didn't go look at. E.V.E.R. Buuuttt... it does make Angela look good in public to say that my team is saying that it was a good hit... it makes me look bad. Like an idiot really. Those around might just believe her. And what in GODS name did I do wrong anyway??? And why is she involved???? What she DOESN'T know.. is that the whole conversation was overheard by several people. And they can't believe I worked for someone like that for so long. Huh.

So. Learn the etiquette. And if you break it? You deserve what you get. Full force. I'll never back a player that is doing something wrong. As a matter of fact I've made my own player stop playing if they can't win fairly. Just who I am. Love me or hate me... just don't go complaining to people about me. Grow up.

Jumping

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 19:33:00 +0000

Hold the cue like this. Keep your head down. Put your head up. Hold your hand this way... hold your hand that way. No wait... the BEST thing I've ever heard??? This 'drill Sargent' talking to a crowd of people at the Expo... shocking that he didn't recognize me (baaaaaahahahaha).... says to this glued crowd "Whatever you do, don't watch the trick shot artists. They all do it the wrong way." Swear. That's exactly what he said. I've left the 'political' arena of pool so now I can say... ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????????? Seriously???? I'm gonna take the advice of some wacko in fatigues over the guys (and girl ;) who can not only jump a ball, but can jump a ball one handed, jump two balls AT ONCE... no WAIT... JUMP 3,4 and sometimes 5 balls at ONCE (that would be the most awesome Dave 'Triple Jump' Nangle.) And when I say at once I mean holding 2,3,4... etc... jump cues AT ONCE. But yeah. We don't know how to jump.

Know what a Delta 13 rack is??? Well (shhhhh... see Abram... I didn't even mention you....) the current World Champion Jamey Gray can jump a cue ball out of the center of 3 of them stacked high. With balls between the racks. And make a ball in the side pocket. Like it was cool.

My friends Nick and Andy??? Mmmmm... well I really, really love how they jump 6 balls out of a rack into the side pocket. One handed. And they can do it fast. I don't know what it is about them and that shot, but when they shoot it, it's like butter.

Oh. And then there's the very first time I saw Massey and Dr. Cue playing each other and they were doing a double jump over... I think domino's... and putting both balls into the side pocket. I turned to my mentor and said... pfffftttt.... I can do that... watch.... and guess what? I did. LOL!!! I was just totally bluffing... AND IT WENT!!!! It was crazy. It was exactly a day before I left for my first tournament. Oh... I DESERVE to shoot with them.

Then of course there's The Dragon. Ok... so it wasn't REALLY a jump shot... but he did shoot the Over, Around, and Under with a Railroad... one handed... bridged off his foot... yappin' on the phone. Classic.

Wanna talk fast??? Well this kid Moody out of Texas jumps balls into the side pocket faster than you can even imagine. Don't believe me? I was watching when this video was made:
Go ahead... try it... lol

Did someone say railroad? Huh... well there's this kid... Michigan Kid to be exact.. who takes the railroad, puts the cue ball outside the cues, then jump masses it up onto the cues making the shot.

Oh, and there's jumping balls out of a rack TOWARD yourself into the side pocket. Jumping half the table to hit a carom/combo. And really... who can leave out the 'Most Dangerous Jump Shot EVER'... those of you that were in KY know what I'm talking about there.

And there's Gabi. One handed Jump On It And Beat It. Must I say more???

But yeah... whatever you do, don't let the artistic pool players teach you to jump. They only do it for a living. And they only put more english on jump shots than anyone in the business. So you wanna learn to jump draw? Go to the geek in the fatigues... he makes me quiver. Or throw up. One of the two.

Psssst... by the way.... if you have a steady high bridge, I can get you jumping a full ball in less than 5 min. Even if you've never tried before. Full cue, not even cheating with one of the little ones. But yeah... you don't want to learn from me. I know nothing. ;)

Buuuuttttt... if you feel daring... come in to Diamond Eight... I'll 'try' to teach you. For free. Why? Cause I'm just a typical Artistic Pool player that loves to help people learn. I love my boys. And I guess I am just like the typical 'mom'... I'll defend them till it hurts! :)

Please, please... get angry...

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:48:00 +0000

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it when people get angry when they are playing me. Love. It. Why? I've never lost to them. N.E.V.E.R. No kidding. Those of you out there that get pissed? Yeah... come my way. LOL Oh.. and those that show frustration? Come my way too. I love you guys! Sooooo easy to beat.

It's like I'm beating my head against a wall. Seriously... you almost can never win if you are outwardly showing anger, frustration and especially defeat. I shot this poor kid once that just all of a sudden got angry with himself.. I tested it.. took a crazy shot, made it... and sent him seriously over the edge. Mostly I just smile and sit back and enjoy the show, but that one concerned me - he got really mad. Hit a wall afterward I think. Bloody knuckles... I'm just connecting the dots. Exactly HOW many times do I have to tell you that you can not shoot well while showing so much emotion? Really, tell me. Lets get this over with so you will listen. How many times?

I know you've all heard it before. So why don't you listen? I know. List the things that you do WELL in when you're angry. Go ahead. Oh? Boxing? Mmmmm... don't think so, get angry and you'll drop your hands. What's that? MMA? Ahhhhh NO. Can you say ARM BAR?? Wait, I got one... COP, especially if you're a Troy, NY Cop living down the road from me... oh... did I say that out loud? Bet in the long run it won't work for him either.

So. Now that it's clear that showing emotion isn't good, can you tell me why I say 'showing' and not feeling? Any clue? Well... see, I'm pretty damn smart but not smart enough to figure out how to 'not feel'. But I do know the first step to 'not feeling'. Come on, 3 guesses.. and the first two don't count. Yep. Don't SHOW the emotion. If anger, frustration, defeat, and overall general pissyness don't have a way to express themselves... they will go away. These particular emotions need an outlet to survive. Lock it down. Trust me, it'll go away and shockingly enough you'll find yourself shooting again.

And there it is in a nut shell. Trust. Me. Hard for people to do. I know. But really what on earth do you have to lose? You already ARE losing. To me. And I'm laughing the whole time. No, but in all seriousness, find someone close to you and have them watch you. If they see the anger... try harder. This won't be fixed overnight. But it can be fixed. And do you know what? This will help in all areas of your life. Soon, you won't be flying off the handle and you'll be calm and running racks. Ok, maybe not racks, but you won't be losing to the likes of me anymore and that counts for something, right? Good luck.

Drills

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:04:00 +0000

I keep getting asked about drills. First, let me tell you that drills are boring as hell. Most players might do a few then just walk over to the rail and pick up a game. Wanna' know the trick about doing drills? GET A COACH. Seriously. And preferably one that knows what they are talking about. Pegging a ball into a pocket... walking down and setting the ball up again... walking back... pegging a ball into a pocket... walkin... are you getting the picture? Imagine pegging ball into pocket, pegging ball into pocket, pegging ball into pocket, all the time someone giving you immediate feed back. This is how you shave years and years off your progress toward greatness. I'm not saying this is easier ... it's not. TRUST me... it just saves time. Back, shoulder, and arm fatigue sets in faster. But muscle memory builds faster. Pain. I'm not kidding. Real, honest to goodness pain.

So, lets just say you've either found a coach or you are the dedicated type. Here are some drills I did last night with Hayner. Coaching really is a very personal thing.. maybe if someone asks I'll talk more about coaching, however what I choose to do with Hayner... IS NOT, in all probability, what I'd do with YOU!! I chose these particular shots for reasons applying directly to Hayner's current game/ability.

Note, my placement of the cue ball and object balls is specific. It makes no sense to drill if the shot you take isn't the same EACH time. Chalk the table, lick your finger and dab it on the table... don't care... just make it the same each and every time.

This first shot is just a basic rail shot with up-table shape. This is achieved with about a half tip of top (for Hayner... he has what is called a 'monster' stroke already so he needs to tone it down a lot...) approximately medium speed. Can you get shape on this ball with draw?? OF COURSE. As a matter of fact using draw means you will be going less rails... hit this with bottom left to prevent a scratch in the opposite side, you don't get the spin and you'll just scratch in the other side... lol... but bottom left gets you better shape. But that's not the point.. the point is to take a easier shot with easier shape with almost no worry of scratch. Do this with at least a rack of balls. Mirror the shot and do it again.

This next shot is 3 to 4 rail shape back to the same end of the table. One: this is a good cut shot to know, two: learn now when you can and can not hold up the cue ball. Some players look at this shot and say that I'm letting the cue ball run. Yup. Sure am. But it's ok to let the cue ball run if you KNOW where it's running to!! I tell them 'no... I'm playing shape.' Response? 'Lucky... that's all.' OK.. keep thinking that.. lol. I've seen players take this shot with bottom left, bottom right.. anything to not let the cue ball go. Advice? LEARN where the cue ball is going then let it go! Again, do at least a rack (I do over 20, but under 30 with Hayner on any given shot.) Mirror the shot and do it again.

5 balls from the spot down. I only let Hayner get what I call a 2 second peek at the ball and then he shoots it. Over cutting is ok. Once he makes the shot, he moves to the next one. Once he hits all five, he mirrors it. Normally that switch is the hardest for players. A longer look is needed, but let them learn that lesson slowly. The hardest part of coaching is when to let a player learn from their mistakes and when to tell them what to do. It's a fine, fine line. This drill is over once all five balls have been made in each corner pocket, then move on.

This last shot is a little weird. This is where a coach comes in VERY handy. The coach will stand at the side pocket putting ball after ball up, but also watch where the ball is being cut into the pocket. Yes.. where. As in what side of the pocket. It's totally not good enough to just cut a ball into a pocket, you need to know where in the pocket... as in... right side? center? left? 1/2 left???? And then you need to be consistent with it. As far as I'm concerned... if you weren't supposed to pick which side of the pocket the ball is supposed to be put into, then the pockets would be exactly a balls width with a little wiggle room for error. Instead they were made to be 'cheated'. This is a center, top, left, right drill. Note... NO DRAW. I start with shape on the one ball and work my way to the 6 ball. But I only have three balls on the table at once: the cue, the object ball and the target shape ball. The first time you drill this... the player gets shape on each ball with ALL FOUR FORMS OF ENGLISH, getting good shape 5 times in a row before moving on to the next type of english. Note.. some shape will be better than others.. this is a PATH RECOGNITION drill. This is for getting around traffic or breaking out balls.

The last shot I did not diagram. A true spot shot with the cue ball and object ball on the spots. I'll pick the pocket and which side of the pocket. If he's hitting the pocket in the wrong spot... I'll make him get it 5 times in a row before moving on, if he hits the first two tries.. we move on. Reward... Punishment. It'll all part of the plan! :)

Hope this helps! I'll keep posting my drills if people like it.

Sneaky Bank

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:03:00 +0000

This is a great shot that sets up quick and always has people looking twice. Place the two ball on the long rail with the right edge of the ball lined up at the point of the side pocket. Freeze the one ball to the two ball straight out and tap it very lightly in place. Carefully move the two ball out from between the long rail and one ball. Now freeze the 2 ball to the one ball so that they are lined up to the middle of the upper left corner pocket. It's essential that they are frozen! Now place the three ball in the upper right corner pocket. The cue ball is as shown, slightly beyond the side pocket and slightly closer to the long rail than the one ball, approximately 3/4ths of a ball off the rail.

You need top left english on the cue ball with a medium hit. Aim for approximately a 1/3rd ball hit on the one. The one will bank into the corner pocket BEFORE the two drops into the same pocket! The cue ball will then travel 3 rails and pocket the three ball last.

I know I've spoken about throw when balls are frozen. If you set this shot up with the cue ball further from the long rail, the hit on the one ball will throw the two ball. You would have to line the two ball up with the long rail point on the corner pocket to compensate for the throw. Since the set up I showed you has the cue ball closer to the rail, the actual throw on the two ball is very minimal and it makes the bank much easier to make. See, if you set up the two ball to the point, it would change the place on the long rail that the one ball would carom to... meaning you'd have a greater chance of making the one ball go to the short rail, rather than in the pocket. But if you keep missing the two ball to the short rail, you might have to line it up to the point. Before you do that though, try hitting the shot a little harder. The harder the hit, the less the throw- you might not need to change the set up. It's really a sweet simple shot! Have fun with it!!

Jump Six... Make Two

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:35:00 +0000

This really is a pretty easy jump shot. But it looks cool! Just place the one through six ball between the 1st and 3rd diamonds as shown below. Place the eight in the side pocket and freeze the nine to it so they are lined up to the right side of the corner pocket.. they are frozen remember, so they will throw to the left. Well, they'll throw to the left if you hit the eight on the right side!

This is a JUMP, so the english on the ball is as if you are looking DOWN on the ball. I hit this shot with a full jump/break cue.... 'cause I can. :) You, you should probably hit this shot with either an actual jump cue or a broken down jump/break. The elevation on this shot is pretty steep. I'm above 45 degrees with my full cue, but under my shoulder with a jump cue. Remember, the cue ball needs to get over a full ball less than a diamond away, hit it's peak just past the 2nd diamond and get down on the table before the side pocket. So really what is critical on this shot is how high you get the jump. Get the shot too high and you'll either slam into the 8/9 on the fly or go over them. Get the shot too low and you'll either not get over the first ball or come down early into the 4,5, or 6 ball. To be honest, I actually hit this shot with a slight draw. I want the cue ball ON THE TABLE when I hit that 8/9 combo.. that way the cue ball isn't bouncing off the table to the right.

I've always said I can teach anyone with an ok stroke to jump a full ball in under 5 minutes, and time and time again I've proven I can do it. The other day, this kid Pete wanted to learn to jump, I had him doing the above shot with a broken down jump/break in a few minutes. Really, it's not that hard!! I watch the guys at Golden Cue struggle and struggle with jumping (which, by the way, is not allowed at that pool hall!) They need to get beyond the fact that I'm a chick and let me help them!! Remember, I'm always at Diamond Eight to teach, have fun, or show off! Come in and say Hi!!

APA Nationals

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:06:00 +0000

OFF TO VEGAS BABY!!!! WISH US LUCK!!!

Machine Gun Masse

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:35:00 +0000

This is the shot I promised to put up via Twitter. The famous Machine Gun Masse. Masse shots aren't very hard to learn to set up, they tend to be hard to execute. This is one of the easier ones. The set up is totally simple, but it just takes a while to get the balls in place, so it can be annoying while you are learning. But stick with it.. it's such a pretty shot.

Set Up:

Place the cue ball on the rail at the middle diamond between the side pocket and end rail. Freeze the 1, 2, and 3 ball to the cue ball on the rail. Now freeze the 6 ball to the cue ball and the 4 ball to the 6 and 1 ball. The 7 through 15 ball are all frozen to each other exactly a balls width away from the long rail. The easiest way to accomplish this is to place the 5 ball next to the cue ball and freeze the 7 in place. Then take the 15 ball, freeze it to the 5 and then freeze the 8 to the 7 and 15. Carefully move the 5 ball to the other side of the 15 and freeze the 9 to the 8 and 5. Continue this until you freeze the 15 to the 14. Then place the 5 ball in the side pocket as shown below.

Execution:
Now.. how to shoot this shot. Notice the english I've indicated on the cue ball. This is a masse shot, so this view of the cue ball is directly from above!!! Notice the piece of chalk I've placed on the table. This is approximately where you are going to hit the cue ball. You will be holding the cue at about 80 degrees vertical. The stroke needed is a hard hit. You MUST smash the cue tip through the ball into the table. DO NOT PULL UP your stroke. But with that said.. once the cue hits the table, you have to pull the stick up quickly because the cue ball will be rocketing back in your direction. Obviously the 'bottom' english brings the cue ball back, the slight left allows the cue ball to 'stick' or bounce back to the rail. If done correctly, the 3 ball goes in the corner (although it doesn't have to), the cue ball comes back and starts bouncing off the rail into the 7, rail, 8, rail, 9, rail, 10, rail... etc... finally making the five. So... turn down the house radio and have everyone listen to the tick, tick, tick.. hence the name.. Machine Gun Masse!!!!

How to fix errors on this shot:

You know that every time the cue ball runs into anything, rail or ball, it loses speed (transfer of energy), so if you aren't quite getting to the 5 ball... hit it a little harder. If the cue ball is jumping off the slate... you're actually hitting it too hard!

If the balls kind of go bllaaaahhh... most likely the cue ball, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 aren't frozen. If the balls won't stay frozen and move slightly.. tap the ball in place. Hold the ball where you want it to stay, take another ball and LIGHTLY tap the other ball- let it go, if it still moves, tap a little harder.

If the 4 and 6 go flying out towards the other long rail along with the cue ball, the angle of your cue is incorrect, you are pulling your cue into your body. Your cue needs to be parallel with the long rail held vertically to 80 degrees (or 10 degrees shy of straight up.)

If the cue ball basically goes no where and your hand hurt after hitting the shot, you are hitting the cue ball too 'full'. Masse shots are basically at the edge of the ball. If you are doing all of the above... it could be your aim is wobbling all over the place. Which really means your bridge hand isn't steady enough. Your bridge arm should be held tightly.. I MEAN TIGHTLY.. against your rib cage. You have to use a closed bridge hand. Your bridge hand should be tight... tension will be running though your arm into your hand. Your hand will be 'floating' over the cue ball- but again your arm will be tight against your body. This type of masse bridge is commonly called an 'air bridge'. If you are tall enough you can place your knee up on the rail and sit on your foot (your shin is sitting on top and along the rail.) Then place your bridge hand on the side of your thigh over the cue ball. This is the most stable bridge for masse's... however watch that your leg doesn't interfere with the cue balls path- you might have to get off the table quickly. If you are sitting there going "what the hell is she talking about???!!!" Here is my husband Stefan using this bridge:

I taught my friend Mike Hayner this shot in about 10 minutes.

And he had never shot a masse shot before! It is easier with someone standing over you to correct problems, however... have faith!! Good luck and tell me if you hit it!!

Here's the video of Hayner hitting the Machine Gun masse:

Ok... so there's a funny story about the first time I ever shot this shot in competition, it was at the 2007 US Open. I had just finished my Jump and Masse disciplines and was outside yapping with some of the players. The MGM was one of the first masse shots I ever learned and when I get asked to shoot it, I almost never miss it. Oh boy did I miss it at the Open!! I was talking about it with the guys and called it the 'Shotgun Masse', hey... I was nervous still!! lol So Andy Segal looks at me, tilts his head, and says.. "You mean the Machine Gun Masse?" And Jason Lynch (not missing a beat) looks over at Andy and says "Have you ever seen her shoot it? BANG!! (he spreads his arms out) She's right, shotgun." I think that really was the official ice breaker! I was laughing so hard tears were on my checks! Everyone was rolling. It was really great... I wasn't used to being able to talk to players, nine ball players are different, trick shot players are more my style. They help, they calm, they joke, they play, they compete, and every once in a while they lean in during a match and tell you to breathe.. right when you need it.

Another resistance draw shot!

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:10:00 +0000

Ok, so this is the same concept as the last shot- it's one of those illegal push shots! Except on this one you will need to hit it harder and go 3 rails with the cue ball. I've seen this shot set up like 20 different ways. My husband, Stefan, sets the 5 balls way further out from the short rail, but for my stroke, this is where I need to put the set up. I've left the cue on the table to show you how we set up the row of 5 balls so they are straight. I put the middle ball right in the middle of the short rail. Because of where my cue lies on the table during set up, I place the 5 ball in the corner after the set up of the other balls. As in ALL resistance draw shots all 5 balls must be frozen!!

So look at the english I've put on this shot. WAY bottom right, to spin around the table clockwise as you're standing at the shot. Sometimes people look at this shot and think that left spin gets you around the table... no... common mistake... think.. the cue ball is coming back at you. Push right through the cue ball. I aim at where I've placed the chalk. You may have to play with aim and set up, but I'm sure you will all get this one!! You only have to make the 4 and 5 ball on this shot.

As a side note, I was attempting this shot in competition (the 2008 Masters I think) and made the 1, 2, 3, and 4 ball, but missed the 5 ball by about a half inch. Dr. Cue says from the crowd "She should get something for making all four of those balls!" It's actually VERY rare for the four to go and come that close to the fifth. I just wish that fifth had dropped!!!

Push Around The Rack

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:05:00 +0000

This is a really fun shot. But for all of you who are 'by the book' shooters... this may take a few tries to get right. Why?? Welllll... it's a 'push' shot. Which means this particular trick shot is accomplished with an 'illegal' shot on the cue ball. Which I have to say is why it's just so much fun to do - that and if you look at the cue ball path below... now that's just cool!

So lets get to the set up of the shot. First, take the rack and put it on the table (notice the rack outline below.) Now notice how I have the cue stick on the table, this is purely for ease of set up. I place the butt of my cue about an inch to the right (as if you were standing at the end of the table) of the 1st diamond on the short rail and line it up to the middle of the far corner pocket. Now take the cue ball, 1 ball, 2 ball and 3 ball and place them along the cue stick with the back edge of the cue ball even with the back edge of the rack you placed on the table. All of these balls must be frozen. Now carefully roll the cue stick away from the balls without disturbing the balls. Place the 4 ball in the left hand corner pocket.

Now how to execute the shot. Notice the english you'll be putting on the cue ball. Extream low right english. Your aim point is at the chalk I've placed on the short rail on the far end of the table. You may need to adjust this point depending on your push stroke. Now, with a mid-firm hit, strike the cue ball with a long follow thru. This is what makes this shot 'illegal'. If you could see this shot in slow motion, the cue stick stays in contact with the cue ball for a significant amount of time. This is what basically puts a 'level cue masse' on the ball. The resistance of the 1, 2, and 3 ball combined with the massive amount of draw right english is what allows the cue ball to arc back around the rack making the 4 ball. Oh.. and the cue ball can never contact the rack or upper short rail!! Have fun with this shot!!!

In The Rack Masse

noreply@blogger.com (1stLady) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:04:00 +0000

The first time I attempted this shot was about two years ago. I was looking down at the cue ball and thinking ... no way. But yeah.. way. And it's really easy. This is one of those impressive looking shots that takes so little effort. Ok... the set up: Put the cue ball on the rail on the third diamond. Place 14 other balls frozen to each other around the cue ball in the form of a rack. Oh.. this shot really needs 17 balls or just leave off the top ball as in the diagram below. At the first diamond place a blocker ball a ball and a chalks width away from the rail. Actually I hit this shot with the blocker ball only about a ball and 5mm off the rail (try it, it'll go.) Place a ball in the corner pocket. Easy set up right??

Now how to execute the shot. Note the english I have on the cue ball. That is NOT bottom left. That is 7 o'clock masse english!!! Which means.. you are viewing the cue ball from the top!! Your cue with that kind of hit will basically land in the small triangular gap created by the cue ball, rail and one ball as per the diagram. This spin brings the cue ball back to the corner pocket and hugs it to the rail. It also clears that one ball out of your way. Yeah.. the cue stick clears that ball out of the cue's way, not the cue ball coming back. Tricky right? So just elevate the cue to between 80 and 90 degrees- make sure that remaining 10-20 degrees of cue is AIMING straight down the rail. If you're new to masses have someone stand up table and see where your cue is aimed. Once you elevate the cue to such an angle, it's hard at first to figure out all the mechanics of the stroke. Now take a pretty hard hit- drive the cue to the table- and then get it out of the way fast. Balls scatter, and the cue ball escapes the pack to zip down the rail to make the ball in the corner. It's a fun shot!! Good Luck!!!