Megan Smith is one of the top players on the highly competitive Northeastern Women's Tour and is currently attempting to break onto the WPBA tour. In her column, Megan will discuss her experiences as she strives to make it as a professional pool player. Megan's regular column for the NEWT tour can be found at www.susiecuebilliards.com/Tournaments/WPBA/MegansNews/megansnewtnewslist.htm. You can email Megan at megan@azbilliards.com
	The Circus in the City of Angels By Megan Smith Okay, it wasn't literally a circus, but it might as well have been. The WPBA event held in L.A. last week had more of a sideshow atmosphere than that of a professional billiards tournament, that's for sure. I arrived in the City of Angels on Thursday Oct. 19th psyched up and looking forward to the possibility of getting my second top half finish (at least) and becoming one step closer to attaining my pro status. By the time I got to the players' meeting that night, I realized I would truly have my work cut out for me. The tournament tables were set up OUTSIDE, underneath a TENT. Yup, that's right. A big old whoppin' tent. The Big Top WPBA. All we needed were some clowns and a few wild animals and we could've given Barnum and Bailey a run for their money. At any rate, we had no air conditioning, the tables were set up horizontally with the foot and head rails of adjoining tables being too close for comfort, and the pockets had been taken down unexpectedly to 4 ½ inches. At this point, you're probably wondering how this could happen. I wish I could tell you, but the fact is I have no idea why were subjected to play under these conditions wilst the amateur event and expo were held within the welcoming confines of the Hollywood Park Casino. Whatever the reason was really made no difference at the time, and I was committed to maintaining a good attitude and playing to win. Afterall, we all had to play under the same conditions, right? Well, sortof.... My first match was Friday afternoon with Jan McWorter. I lost 9-4. I wish I could say that it was a good match sharply contested by both players, but that was not the case. In fact, it was downright ugly. Both I and my opponent struggled with barbaric heat and humidity as well as the usual disheartening skids and rolls of brand new equipment. Jan's experience gave her a big edge over me in the "maintaining concentration" department, and thus she emerged victorious. I believe that the adverse conditions were NOT responsible for my poor performance, but rather what happened to my CONFIDENCE as a result of those conditions was to blame. My second match was against my close friend and fellow East Coast player, Romana Dokovic. In this contest, the physical conditions were somewhat better than the first time around, however the result was the same. I lost 9-4. While my frame of mind was better than it had been in the first round, it definately was not as serene as it usually is and it was probably not sharp enough to pull a win no matter who I was playing. A depressing conclusion to a tournament I had such high hopes for . I had plenty of time after my debacle to try to figure out what the Hell happened. I had tried to do everything right, and still everything went wrong. I strived to maintain a positive attitude despite the adverse conditions. I practiced before the event, rested well, and exercised before I played. I stayed down on my follow through and took my time. So why did I lose? Confidence. As all pool players know, (or should), faith in one's ability to execute a desired behavior is the common denominator of all top performances. When it's there, you know a ball is going in before you shoot it. When it leaves you, virtual hangers look like 7 foot straight in shots from frozen on the head rail. A player can lose it for lots of reasons, and in my case (and probably several other people's) the conditions at this tournament wreaked havoc on my confidence. Have you ever looked at the table and felt like you were in the Twilight Zone? You grasp intellectually that you have run tables ten times harder than this particular one, and still you are sweating it. That's exactly how I felt last weekend. So how does one overcome this obstacle to peak performance? Experience, I think. Even when dismal results frustrate me at a tournament, I insist on seeking out something positive that I can take away from it. In this case, while I may not have gained another pro point, I at least got some more pro ranking points, and I gained invaluable experience. Yes, I got tortured. I paid my dues. I discovered yet one more way to lose. I'm not a masochist, I just believe that anything worth achieving in this life doesn't come easy, and a player has to first learn how to lose before they learn how to win. So now I can use this experience I gathered in Los Angeles to fire me up to play stronger at the next one. And at least I now know to pack my trapeze and tightrope act with me the next time I'm in L.A. You never know when they might come in handy. Until next time... Meg Smith   All copyrights are owned by Megan Smith. No duplication is allowed without her permission.