Pogue
Well-Known-Member
Dropping in to say "long time, no see", and give a few updates.
For those who don't know me, I am "ShortBus" Russ Chewning over at AZBilliards. Spent most of my time over the past 10-15 years as a military contractor, which really kept me from playing/competing as much as I like, even if I did have a private pool table.
My wife and I had the opportunity to move to Germany for a lucrative contract position when my son was in his senior year of high school. We had bought a house in Colorado that appreciated in value very quickly, so within a year of moving to Germany, we liquidated both houses in the states, and now have a nice little nest egg to do a little bit of travelling, locally within Europe.
I am playing in the German league system, and we won our Bezirksliga division last year and got promoted to Landesliga. I am legitimately a Verbandsliga level player, and likely Oberliga level when I actually start practicing. I often play with an Oberliga player and if I have been playing a lot, I sometimes manhandle him.
I went to DCC this past January, and with very little practice, I entered all three events. Didn't do well in the Banks, and had a small flash of inspiration in the One Pocket, and had Scott Frost down 5-0, 6-0, in back-to-back games! Let him slip away both times, though, as I managed to pull out the short stroke just in time to lose each game. What this trip to Derby DID show me is.. I have some level of talent, and at 43, I owe it to myself to put in more table time, to smooth out both my stroke and my nerves. One of the fellows I barely lost to in the One Pocket did end up going pretty far in the One Pocket division.
Came back to Germany after DCC, and a few months later, decided I hated our small little apartment, discussed it with the wife, and decided to move. Eventually found a place in Mainz, Germany, that had room for a 9 footer in the living room, but had an additional bedroom to be repurposed as the new living room. But.. ALSO have a decent-sized room in the basement!!
Looked into used pool tables here.. Found a place that sold both pool and snooker tables.. And thought, "Why not?" Decided to put a pool table ("Diamondized" Gold Crown III) upstairs, and a snooker table downstairs in the basement as far up against the wall as possible, then use the table for stroke practice, with pool balls.
So, there it is. Looking to really get my stroke grooved up for Derby this year and see if I can take a few pro scalps this year. I've come close a few times, but just hadn't put in the work to be able to compete with those level of players. This time, over the next few months, I am going to do my best to seriously overprepare. I suffer from a lot of self doubt, most owing to the fact that I don't have the greatest muscle memory, and have to be practicing very hard to get the best out of my game. Looking to change that this year. The goal is to get my fundamentals solid enough so that they operate whether I am doubting myself or not.
Tables go in this coming Sunday. Before that, my wife and I are driving up to Leende, Netherlands to spend Thursday/Friday cheering on the Mosconi Cup hopefuls that are going to be competing in the Eurotour event there. Maybe if I work enough on my game, I might be playing in a few myself in the coming year.
ShortBus Russ
For those who don't know me, I am "ShortBus" Russ Chewning over at AZBilliards. Spent most of my time over the past 10-15 years as a military contractor, which really kept me from playing/competing as much as I like, even if I did have a private pool table.
My wife and I had the opportunity to move to Germany for a lucrative contract position when my son was in his senior year of high school. We had bought a house in Colorado that appreciated in value very quickly, so within a year of moving to Germany, we liquidated both houses in the states, and now have a nice little nest egg to do a little bit of travelling, locally within Europe.
I am playing in the German league system, and we won our Bezirksliga division last year and got promoted to Landesliga. I am legitimately a Verbandsliga level player, and likely Oberliga level when I actually start practicing. I often play with an Oberliga player and if I have been playing a lot, I sometimes manhandle him.
I went to DCC this past January, and with very little practice, I entered all three events. Didn't do well in the Banks, and had a small flash of inspiration in the One Pocket, and had Scott Frost down 5-0, 6-0, in back-to-back games! Let him slip away both times, though, as I managed to pull out the short stroke just in time to lose each game. What this trip to Derby DID show me is.. I have some level of talent, and at 43, I owe it to myself to put in more table time, to smooth out both my stroke and my nerves. One of the fellows I barely lost to in the One Pocket did end up going pretty far in the One Pocket division.
Came back to Germany after DCC, and a few months later, decided I hated our small little apartment, discussed it with the wife, and decided to move. Eventually found a place in Mainz, Germany, that had room for a 9 footer in the living room, but had an additional bedroom to be repurposed as the new living room. But.. ALSO have a decent-sized room in the basement!!
Looked into used pool tables here.. Found a place that sold both pool and snooker tables.. And thought, "Why not?" Decided to put a pool table ("Diamondized" Gold Crown III) upstairs, and a snooker table downstairs in the basement as far up against the wall as possible, then use the table for stroke practice, with pool balls.
So, there it is. Looking to really get my stroke grooved up for Derby this year and see if I can take a few pro scalps this year. I've come close a few times, but just hadn't put in the work to be able to compete with those level of players. This time, over the next few months, I am going to do my best to seriously overprepare. I suffer from a lot of self doubt, most owing to the fact that I don't have the greatest muscle memory, and have to be practicing very hard to get the best out of my game. Looking to change that this year. The goal is to get my fundamentals solid enough so that they operate whether I am doubting myself or not.
Tables go in this coming Sunday. Before that, my wife and I are driving up to Leende, Netherlands to spend Thursday/Friday cheering on the Mosconi Cup hopefuls that are going to be competing in the Eurotour event there. Maybe if I work enough on my game, I might be playing in a few myself in the coming year.
ShortBus Russ
