HALF MEASURES AVAIL US NOTHING.
I want you to check this page often.
There is a whole new world out there for our ROAD PLAYERS. All you need to do is be
faithful to your training. It must be deliberate which is what the patterns do for you. It
must be specific which is what the patterns do for you. You must believe you can run
to the finish line and work hard. The first order is to know that you can do it. Do you
know this? Do you have the discipline to work hard and be faithful to your training? If
you do, then you will not waste time. Get with it my special friends. You deserve to be
a winner. Work hard.
My Update

I’ve have been perfecting the first safety shots. You know none of us can’t read the book without at least peeking
ahead in the book a little.  My percentages are getting better and better and have learned some good stuff in
trying the shots.  Learn from your mistakes right?  Well, a lot of things have come up that I now have in the tool
bag.  Do you have a standard chart that we should use or should we just make up something?

I was practicing the first safety shot just before a tournament one night and one of the local players, who I gamble
with, walks by and makes a smart comment.  He says “Why you practicing that shot I’ll just play safe back?”  I
told him to mind his own business and let the champions do what they do best.  Ironically, that very same night I
drew him for my first match in the tournament.  He broke dry and guess what came up?  That’s right, that same
safety shot that I was practicing that he was just going to play a safety out of.  So I said let’s see what you got
Jing.  I play the safe.  I came up a little short of what I was wanting, but it was still no gimmy.  He couldn’t help
himself and went for some crazy super tough shot.  He missed and I ran out.  After the match I said “Hey Jing…”
and before I could even finish he says, “Yeah, I saw it.” and walked away.  It was very fun especially since we
joke around all the time anyway even though we are gambling foes.

I participated in the Regional Tour Championships last weekend and had a good tournament, but what I was most
proud of was how my mindset has shifted.  In conjunction with the training program I have been incorporating
other things and they all fit together over the weekend.  I played killer long safeties (thanks to the training
program) and I even got compliments from players from CA about how great my long safeties were.  I have
struggled all these years of playing pool with tournaments.  Gambling, I’m in the zone and very relaxed.  Put me
in a tournament and by brain turns into scrambled eggs that sizzle on the edges.  I lose my contact point, I go for
shots I know I’m not supposed to, I don’t look the table over, I short stroke my shots, my wrist gets tight, my
rhythm if too fast and the list goes on.  I get very anxious.  At this tournament all that shifted for me until the final
rounds started.  Even though I dogged my fist match in the final rounds I accomplished a lot and now I believe I
have it in me to overcome this. Trying to convince yourself of something is one thing but truly believing in
something is completely different. I am now a believer.

I quit recently for 4 years playing because of the tournaments and how sick to my stomach I felt after beating
myself time after time after time.  If didn’t even realize that was what was going on with me.  I had set a goal,
achieved it and put my stick down for 4 years not picking it up even once.  After all the years of passion for the
sport I couldn’t understand it.  I had zero desire.  Two years ago I started Behind the Rock Tour.  Even though I
wasn’t playing I wanted to give back to the sport.  I wanted to offer something that players could benefit from.  
After I started the tour I felt it was in the best interest of the tour to participate.  So I started hitting balls, but
only because I felt it was good for the tour.  My heart wasn’t into it.  My hitting balls was about playing to build a
great tour not about playing to be a great player. It was pure torture.  For a year and half I tortured myself and
then one day I said I need to be in or be out.  So, I decided to be in.  My heart wasn’t completely all in, but I had
to start somewhere so I started slowly doing more drills.  Not playing more often, but more focused practice time.
My game starting improving and I was enjoying it a little more, but I was happy about the way things were going.  
I was really struggling with being comfortable at the table with everything from my grip, to my stance to my arm
position.  It just didn’t feel right so I made the decision to take the one step forward that I had just taken, kick it
to the curb and take one step back to be able to move two steps forward.  Back to the torture chamber I went.

I went through many changes in my wrist, feet position, arm position, breaking habits like fast backswing, aiming
systems the whole gamut of things.  My game dropped and I just kept telling myself if I don’t make a
commitment, stick to it and try new things to see what works for me I will never get my game to a level that I’ve
always wanted to play at.  I don’t know if I would have ever started playing again if it wasn’t for the tour.  The
tour format has been huge for my game. Since the format playing Behind the Rock Tour is 10 ball vs. the Ghost I
have no opponent and it’s all about me.  I shoot what I leave myself.  Because of my anxiety I have never been
able to see just where exactly my skill level was.  Of course I had those “in the zone” moments and my bad
moments, but where am I at all the time.  How consistent am I?  Behind the Rock format has been the only
format that has told me exactly what kind of a offensive rotation player I am.  I know I need help and then along
comes the Road Players Training Program and so another chapter starts.

In this chapter I finally settled into what seemed to work for me fundamentally, but the mind is still on the burner.
The training program has started a new shift and I’m so looking forward to it.  I’ve finally been able to separate
my emotion from my game and what is causing the reaction. When I say “separate my emotion from the game” I
don’t mean completely, but largely.  I have never been able to separate these two things consistently and this
format as taught me how to recognize the two.  I can now recognize if my mind work is getting in the way or my
fundamentals need tweaking even though they are one in the same.  Do you know what I’m trying to say?  This is
huge for me because I never thought I could manage my mindset and I was wrong.  Behind the Rock Tour
combined with the training program has taken my game, broken it down into little pieces and made me see what I’
m doing, or better yet, what I’m not doing.  It’s forced me to swallow my game like it or not because it is what it
is.  Either I can accept that I am this level of player and stagnate or I can do something about it.  

It’s just been in the last month I have re-founded my passion for the game.  I started playing with my dad at age
11 and I am now 53.  I have as much passion to learn and drill today as I did 15 years ago and I’m loving every
minute of it.  I reached a fairly high level of play at the height of my pool playing days, but never felt I had control
over the outcome of my performance.  I always went into play with a little part of me saying “I hope I show up
today” very similar to when you say in the manual, “you “were just not yourself” today”.  Put me in a tournament
and I was toast.  Burnt toast at that.  It’s like you say in the training program “I struggled with that inner voice
that delighted in my own destruction.”  I feel as of today, I have made huge strides in this journey.  I typically
start getting anxiety about three days before a tournament and usually end up crying saying “Why did I sign up
for this tournament?  I hate tournaments” before I even get to the tournament.  In fact, I just did it last weekend
for the Regional Tour Championships. After experiencing last weekend and the strides I’ve made just in the last
6 weeks, I can’t wait till the next tournament to work through my issues with the final matches and perform like
the player I know I am.  

Now you’ve officially met Deby the pool player along with my update.

Life is good and the journey is exciting.

Deby
NICE REPORT FROM DEBY W.
After a series of incredible miracles
we were able to say our vows and
promice love until death do us part.
It was an amazing day. You can
read more about it on my facebook
page. Go to Timothy Miller to see
the pictures. If you are not a friend
of mine, request it and I'll hook you
up. You will see that I ran the rack
of my life with this one. She is
remarkable and a wonderful soul
mate. Well worth the trip to the
Philippines. She does not really
want to live in the states so you
have two years to get your game
together because I am headed out
to live happily ever after in the
philippines. I am sure you can
understand why I will be doing this.
SHE DOES HAVE SOME FRIENDS WHO WOULD LIKE TO MEET AN AMERICAN MAN.