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 WPBA Nationals By Megan Smith It was a week ago today that I returned home from the WPBA National 9-ball Championships in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Since then, I've had plenty of time to reflect on the tournament and I am hard pressed to think of anything that happened to me that WASN'T a valuable learning experience. Okay, maybe throwing away a percentage of my winnings on the craps table doesn't exactly count, but then again maybe I did learn something there, too. Namely, WHEN THE DICE ARE COLD, TAKE THY MONEY AND RUN. Anyway, despite any gambling misadventures, the weekend overall was a fantastic experience for me in many ways. Things started off on a good note for me because unlike for my trip to L.A, I was psyched up and mentally ready for the Nationals. School was wrapping up for the semester, and my energies were not spread as thinly as they were at my last tournament. I had spent more time than usual practicing and therefore felt much more physically ready for a tournament than I have in a while. And, I have to mention the exquisite accommodations at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort which are always conducive to good play. I can't tell you what a treat it is to have a fitness center and spa at a tournament. In my opinion, the workout/jacuzzi combination is the dead lock for smooth performance. It was a good thing that I felt as prepared as I did, because when Steve announced the first round matches, I realized I would be thrown into the crucible right away-I had drawn the #4 ranked player, Helena Thornfeldt I felt extremely honored to get to play someone of Helena's caliber, and if I would not be able to pull off an upset, I at least wanted to play well enough to make her work for the win. Although I did lose that match, I can honestly say that I'm happy with my performance. After all, the score was 9-6-almost too close for comfort. Helena started off slowly and gave me some chances early on, but she woke up and kicked into gear by mid-match. Admittedly, I dogged one ball that really let her in the match, but I played to win and never laid down for her. In my opinion, there are few things worse than a capable opponent giving games and matches away to top notch players simply because they think they can't win. We get so wrapped up in who's "supposed" to win a match that often times the result of the set is determined even before the opening lag. That kind of self-fulfilling prophecy is what I strive to avoid when playing top players, and my match with Helena was an accomplishment of that goal. My first match on the one-loss side was a testament to the Murphy's Law of pool tournaments. You know….the one about always drawing your best friend or roommate. At the last event I played, I drew my best friend. At the Nationals, I drew my roommate and friend from the Northeastern tour, Donna Tidwell. It's actually extremely ironic because I was just reading an article on the psychology of playing friends a few days before this happened. However, on Friday afternoon no psychological article, knowledge, or counseling was helping me to understand why I began letting my match with Donna slip away from the opening rack. I felt that I was performing really well-up until the 8 and 9 balls when I consistently got out of line and fired them into the rail. Within twenty minutes or so, my side of the ledger was miserably barren, and my opponent was four games away from eliminating me from the tournament. The one measly game I had on my side represented the thread I was hanging on by. Even the break I took in hopes of changing the momentum didn't help much. My opponent, perhaps full of confidence due to my several crucial mistakes, had run out two nice racks to bring the score to a lopsided 7-2. At this point, something happened. Maybe it was the Rocky music reverberating in my brain. Maybe I got motivated by thinking of all the work I had put in to get to the Nationals and how it was about to be wasted if I didn't start winning games. Whatever the reason, I started mounting a comeback. I knew I was playing well despite the careless errors, and I stuck to the things that gave me the best percentage of winning. I played high percentage shots, I moved the cueball carefully, I played intelligent safeties, I fired in one or two blood testers, and I PRAYED. After a heaping dose of suffering, the match had come to the deciding game. I don't remember much about that last game except that I ran down to the seven ball, got on the wrong side of it, and played a two way shot at the nine with a built in safety. I was rewarded handsomely, and ran out the remaining three balls to win the match. While I was ecstatic to have come out of the match with my head reattached, I felt guilty and somewhat embarrassed for having started off so carelessly. After all, if I hadn't made all the errors in the first few games, the match could've been quite different. Then I was counseled by some great players who shed some light on what had really happened. The lesson I was taught is this-I had managed to comeback from a depressing deficit which is always powerful, but the key thing was that I was able to do it when I KNEW I WAS STRUGGLING. According to top players, pulling a win when you are playing poorly or your confidence has taken a hiatus, is a valuable skill to have in one's arsenal, and tough matches like mine with Ms. Tidwell actually make a player stronger. A lesson well learned….. And last but not least, my final enriching experience at the WPBA Nationals-getting the privilege to play Loree Jon Jones. I know, it sounds odd to meet Loree Jon in the second round of the one loss side, but I suppose stranger things have happened. While our meeting could be interpreted as a "tough draw", I found inspiration in the fact that if I did manage to emerge victorious, the pro point I'd receive would certainly have been well-earned. As the match progressed, I became aware of a few things. For one, I realized how comfortable I once again felt in playing a world champion, and did not doubt at any point that I could win the match. Secondly, I realized that in order to win the match I would need a lot more workable opportunities than I was getting. Loree Jon was playing pretty far below her usual championship speed, and while this would appear to have been good for my cause, things still didn't work out in my favor. I can recall two racks in which I truly deserved to lose, having made unforced errors. Then there were also four or five games that could've possibly ended up on my side of the ledger if the rolls had been different. I remember getting some really unlucky rolls, and I remember Loree Jon getting some really good ones as well, so I guess you could say I got double teamed. I'm not saying I would've won the match if it weren't for the rolls, because I did miss some balls, but four or five games is a big swing. I always felt that I was in the match though, and could hardly believe that I had lost by 9-4 when it was all over. It just felt a lot closer than that. When we shook hands, Loree Jon held onto mine and empathized with me on account of my bad luck. I appreciated her kind words, and repeated that mantra of acceptance that all of us 9-ball players have come to learn, "Oh well-that's 9-ball…." So while I came up five games short of my second pro point, the tournament was still a success to me. I know that as I continue to improve my game and play in more tournaments, the pro points will happen. If I continue to work hard, and put myself in the position for good things to happen, I believe they eventually will. At this wonderful tournament, I got a healthy dose of SEASONING, which will undoubtedly help to take me to the next level. I got the privilege to play two top caliber competitors and am heartened by my level of confidence in those matches. I persevered through an excruciating match and prevailed from a seemingly untenable position. AND I got to hang out every morning in an outdoor hot tub…… Happy Holidays to all, and hope to see you at Valley Forge! Meg Smith   All copyrights are owned by Megan Smith. No duplication is allowed without her permission.