Billiardclick.com

Interview with Ewa Mataya Laurance (2005)

Photo (C) www.strikingviking.com

Can you tell me a little about how you started playing pool in Sweden? How young were you when you first played and did you have natural ability?
I STARTED PLAYING AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN. I FOLLOWED MY BROTHER INTO THE POOL ROOM ONE DAY, AND FELL IN LOVE WITH THE GAME PRETTY MUCH INSTANTLY. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD GOOD EYE/HAND COORDINATION, AND EVEN IN THE BEGINNING, THE GAME SEEMED TO COME NATURALLY TO ME.

What has been your best achievement in your life to date?
MY DAUGHTER NIKKI. OH, AND WINNING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND US OPENS RANK RIGHT UP THERE ALSO…

Gaining your place in the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2004 must be quite an honour.  What do you think about the fact that you are only the fifth female player to be included?
OBVIOUSLY IT’S AN AMAZING FEELING.  WHEN YOU WIN A BIG CHAMPIONSHIP, THE “HIGH” LASTS A FEW WEEKS. WHEN YOU GET RECOGNIZED IN YOUR SPORT BY BEING INDUCTED INTO THE  HALL OF FAME, IT TENDS TO STAY WITH YOU FOR A WHILE…

I see that you do exhibitions, tradeshows and other events.  Do you think that this sort of thing helps you mentally prepare in any way for competitive play, or do you perceive any other benefits/hazards?
UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE MORE HAZARDS THAN BENEFITS. I HAD TO MAKE A DECISION WHEN MY DAUGHTER WAS YOUNG TO EITHER GIVE THE GAME UP OR FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE A LIVING AT IT. EVEN THOUGH I WAS RANKED NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD, THERE SIMPLY WAS NOT ENOUGH MONEY BACK THEN TO LIVE ON.  SO I STARTED TO LOOK AT IT MORE LIKE A BUSINESS AND REALLY HIT THE EXHIBITION CIRCUIT HARD.  IT WAS QUITE SIMPLE.  I COULD MAKE AS MUCH IN A DAY AS I COULD WINNING A MAJOR TOURNAMENT.  THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT YOU PLAY WAY TOO MUCH “FOR FUN” AND NOT ENOUGH SERIOUS POOL AND THE TRAVELING PREVENTS ANY CHANCE OF STEADY PRACTICE. BUT I’M NOT COMPLAINING. I REALLY LOVE MY LIFE.

I notice that you have written three books, ‘The Ewa Mataya Pool Guide’, “The Complete Idiots Guide to Pool and Billiards’ and the ‘Quick-Start Guide to Pocket Billiards’.  You obviously feel very passionate about your sport.  Finding time probably has been a major factor in writing these books, but what part of writing do you think besides time has been the most difficult to do?
WRITING IS A GREAT DEAL OF FUN, BUT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH PUTTING DOWN WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE GAME ON PAPER, IS THAT YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT FIRST.  I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A NATURAL PLAYER, PLAYING MOSTLY ON FEEL.   NOW I TEND TO BE MUCH MORE ANALYTICAL, AND THERE IS NO ROOM IN TOURNAMENT PLAY FOR THINKING OF MECHANICS.     I AM ACTUALLY WORKING VERY HARD ON THAT RIGHT NOW.  JUST GOING BACK TO PLAYING ON FEEL, AND TRUSTING THAT THE STROKE  WILL BE THERE WHEN YOU PULL THE TRIGGER.

Looking at your biography I notice that you are also a golfer. Have any of your billiards skills, for example mental skills been transferable to golf?
ABSOLUTELY. HOW YOU APPROACH ONE THING TENDS TO BE HOW YOU APPROACH EVERYTHING. ESPECIALLY THE SHORT GAME, CHIPPING AND PUTTING. THE MENTAL APPROACH IN BOTH SPORTS IS THE SAME AS WELL. (ONLY GOLF IS MORE AGGREVATING!)

If someone asked you to tell him or her how they could play better pool, what advice would you give them?
MAKE SURE YOU START WITH THE CORRECT BASICS. IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE RIGHT STANCE, STROKE, APPROACH, ETC.  TAKE SOME LESSONS EARLY, OR EVEN IF YOU’VE PLAYED THE GAME FOR A WHILE, DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE YOUR FUNDAMENTALS IF YOU FEEL YOUR GAME HAS REACHED A PLATEAU. FROM THERE, IT’S LARGELY BASED ON HOW MUCH PRACTICE AND EFFORT YOU’RE PREPARED TO PUT IN TO IT. READING BOOKS, WATCHING VIDEOS AND BETTER PLAYERS ALSO HELP TO IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL KNOWLEDGE OF THE GAME.

Can you tell me one thing about yourself that people do not generally know?  For example do you play a musical instrument? Do you have any strange hobbies?
MY PASSIONS OUTSIDE THE GAME ARE GOLF, GARDENING, SPENDING TIME WITH MY FAMILY AND OUR ANIMALS (WE HAVE THREE HORSES, FOUR DOGS AND TWO CATS.)
OH, AND SHOPPING, I’M AFRAID…

Please visit www.strikingviking.com for more wonderful information about Ewa

Interview with Dr Dave G Alciatore (2004) - Author of Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards

Can you tell me a little about your background and what interests you in pool?
I grew up playing pool (misspent youth) and played a lot in college (stress relief and fun).  I got more serious about pool about 10 years ago when I starting reading every book I could find on the subject.  Being in a pool league in the Washington D.C. area also peaked my interest. There were many great players (and serious gamblers) in that league, and I learned many things from them. One thing I learned is that many players (even good ones) often don’t truly understand how to plan and execute shots.  Also, books and people willing to give advice often do poor jobs at trying to teach and help others apply the important basic principles of pool.  That’s when I starting thinking about writing a book that would cover all of the important principles, be very well illustrated and easy to read, and be supported by lots of great web resources (mostly video demonstrations). Being a mechanical engineering professor (specializing in robotics and motion analysis methods), a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, and an avid pool player, I thought I could do a good job with such a book.

What does your tipical day as Mechanical Engineering professor consist of?
prepare for classes. give lectures, help and mentor students that visit my office, drop in on Lab courses to make sure things are running smoothly and to answer student questions, write technical papers (for journals and conferences) and pool articles (for Billiards Digest), read articles and books supporting my research and pool interests, respond to e-mail from students and pool enthusiasts, respond to messages posted on the Billiards Digest online Discussion Forum, maintain and expand all of my websites (pool and engineering related), serve on university committees (e.g., to make changes in curriculum and hire new people), do volunteer work for the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME), plan trips (e.g., for the “Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards” talk that I give around the country), and plan, think about, and do work on my textbook (dealing with electronics for mechanical engineers) and future pool book projects.

How did you start with the idea of writing your books?
For any book project, I read lots of other related books, keep a folder of ideas and notes over a long period of time, think about the project daily and mull it over in my mind, and talk to people about my ideas to get input and recommendations. Before I started writing “The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards,” I had a folder about 1 inch thick with scraps of paper and bar napkins with all sorts of ideas and example shots. I started with a rough outline of the book and added all of the folder ideas to appropriate places in the outline. Then I drew all of the illustrations for the book.  Then the book almost wrote itself.

It takes a lot of dedication to write a book, did it take you a while to >complete? and what was involved?
I thought about the book, kept the folder of ideas, and did research over about 4 years (but not full time). The actual writing took about 5 months over 2 summers.  The website work supporting the book took about 1 solid month of work.  The most time-consuming part of writing the book was developing, drawing, and verifying all of the illustrations.  This can sometimes be tedious and it required me to develop proficiency with a computer drawing program (I used CorelDraw).

Do you practice a lot, what do you do for practice?
I don’t practice near as much as I would like. I usually only find time to play a couple of times a week for 1-3 hours each time.  I usually just play 8-ball or 9-ball with friends.  When I practice alone, I run racks of 9-ball, starting with ball in hand after the break. Any time I miss a shot or play poor position, I try the shot over and over again until I am happy with the results and confident I can do better the next time I face such a shot.  Sometimes I just practice safeties and follow-on reply shots, because these are critically important component of intelligent pool.  If I feel I am not doing very well during practice or after playing with friends, I always go back to checking my fundamentals:  making sure my stance and stroke are comfortable and consistent, and making sure no bad habits have popped up in my game (e.g., dropping the elbow, not pausing before the final stroke, moving my head or body during a shot, steering the follow-through, etc.). Then I practice in front of a mirror, with a video camera, or with a friend watching to eliminate any identified problems.

What are the top three skills that a person must learn to win games?
1.) aiming and visualization skills (this is part natural talent and part practice)
2.) consistent stoke (be able to hit the cue ball at the desired contact point and in the desired direction)
3.) speed control and solid strategy and decision making.

What do you think about the mental skills a player must have?
confidence and positive thoughts, realistic appraisal and understanding of one’s ability, concentration and focus, dedication and desire to practice and get better, ability to not be influenced or emotionally affected by factors out of your control (e.g., a lucky or distracting opponent), motivation for and love of the game.

Is 8ball your favorite billiard sport?
Yes. I also like 9-ball.  I like the sometimes chess-like strategy involved with 8-ball and the shot-making and position play challenges of 9-ball.

What is your favorite pool film?
The Color of Money.  The movie was very well done with good acting, cinematography, plot, and music, and it also helped glamorize our sport and dramatically increases its popularity.

Do you play any other sports?
bowling (I recently bowled a perfect game [300] and average about 210), table tennis (I play a couple of times a month with fairly serious players), running (I ran track and cross country in college [The University of New Orleans] and still run to keep in shape and mentally sane), hiking, biking, and skiing (Colorado is great for these things).

find out more at http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/pool/

This is the first in a series of re-published interviews exclusive to Billiardclick.com.

Jennifer Barretta Interview (2004)

Can you tell me a little about yourself and when you first started to play
pool?
I started playing pool only 6 1/2 years ago. I used to play recreationally sometimes and one of those times I caught the bug and decided to take some lessons. Since then I’ve played obsessively.

Pool is such a wonderful sport, what are the main reasons which keep you
playing and give you a thirst for the game?
The more success I have the more desire I have to practice and improve. There is always more to learn.

How much do you practice every week, and what does your practice routine
consist of?
I practice 40-50 hours a week, and I practice everything. In my alone practice I do drills and work on things that I struggled with in recent tournaments, and then I spar with better players. I find it helpful to keep a mental checklist in my tournament matches to find what I need to work on. Usually the same problems keep popping up.

What do you think are the main points to study in order to win games and do
you have any philosophies that help you win?
My main philosophy is that if I play well everything else takes care of itself. I never focus on the score or winning and losing. When I play the best I can and I lose anyway I never feel badly about it.

Do you ever play pool for money?
Never. People have told me that it’s the only way to improve because it makes you play harder, but I always play hard. Tournament pressure is different, anyway.

What other interests do you have?
I used to love snowboarding, but I gave it up for pool. I’ve put so much of myself into it that I can’t risk an injury at this point.

www.jenniferbarretta.com