Long Range Goals (beore 2010):
a. Run 100 balls in straight pool.
b. Run 7 racks in 9 ball.
2005 Goals:
a. Finish "in the money" in at least 5 local tournaments, 8 or 9 ball
i. won APA team Division Championships for 8 ball, Spring session.
ii. won APA team Masters Division championships
iii. won APA Masters Division MVP (Most Valuable Player) with UNDEFEATED season.
iv. 4th place (in the money) Family Billiards weekly tournament
b. US Amateur Championships, California Regionals, September, San Diego
i. blew it! lost in the final match against Paul Langley
End of 2005 Summary: I need more competition, especially with "A" players.
Plan of Action:
1. Practice - an average of at least 2 hours a day, 5 days a week (ongoing)
a. Focused practice on my table
i. The Sorto String First achieved on 9/22/2005 click for video
ii. Bowlliards
iii. 99 - Pool and Billiard International 9 ball rating system
iv. Total Offense 9 ball exercise by Paul Potier
v. Straight/Rotation exercise (click for details and Excel score sheet)
vi. Various shots described in reading/video/dvd/instruction
vii. "Wagon Wheel" draw practice, by Paul Potier
b. Practice at various pool halls around town, to learn different table characteristics
End of 2005 Summary: My practice sessions need to be MORE focused on areas where I need improvement.
2. Education (ongoing)
a. Reading
i. Books - click for list!
ii. Magazines (Inside Pool, Pool and Billiard)
iii. APA Message Board
iv. Google Groups 180,000 threads, and going strong
v. AZ Billiards Forums
End of 2005 Summary: I have been reading extensively. I have learned that the message boards are a poor investment of time.
b. Video/DVD "how to" products
i. got the entire Bert Kinister DVD set
ii. got the Joe Tucker Racking Secrets DVD set
iii. got the Bob Henning Pro Books and DVD set
iv. got the Grady Matthews DVD set
v. got the Robert Byrne Gamebreakers DVD
End of 2005 Summary: My pool DVD library is growing nicely. I need to use these products repeatedly.
c. Personal Instruction:
Tony Sorto - one on one, my table (ongoing)
Guest Instructors - one on one, my table
End of 2005 Summary: I could benefit from expanding my list of instructors.
3. Competition (to get "tournament tough")
a. Non-APA - various pool halls click for list (ongoing)
b. Pro-am challenges whenever/wherever possible (click for story)
c. US Amateur Championships
End of 2005 Summary: I need more competition with "A" players to challenge myself. I will get better by playing better players.
4, Equipment
a. upgrade equipment across the board: cues, case, gear.
i. I looked at the very nice cases by Jack Justis,
but they are just too pretty, so I ordered a custom "Vintage" by Jim Murnak.
see the finished product: click here.
ii. Upgraded my break cue to the new X-Breaker in October.
iii. Upgraded my playing cue to the new Predator LE-11 in December.
iv. Re-upgraded playing cue to Samsara #1676 for Christmas.
b. upgrade to 9' (from 8.5') table at home.
i. Installed Brunswick Gold Crown IV in August.
End of 2005 Summary: I've accomplished everthing I wanted in this area. I now have all the gear I need to achieve my other goals.
5. Mental
a. self-hypnosis - under the direction of Barry Jones, master hypnotist (ongoing)
b. visualizations (ongoing)
c. affirmations (ongoing)
End of 2005 Summary: I need to build good habits in this area and do the exercises consistently, especially in the areas of preshot routine and self-talk during competitions.
6. Physical
a. yoga (ongoing)
b. exercise (ongoing)
i. Installed Treadmill & freeweights w/ Notebook computer for TiVo & DVD Pool Instruction
End of 2005 Summary: I need to build good habits in this area and do the exercises consistently.
