Member-only story
Pool is not a Matter of Life and Death.
Note: I originally published this story here on 8/23/21 and deleted it roughly a year later. This story received a lot of positive feedback and I regret deleting it, because love it or hate it, this is part of my journey. Here is the story again in its original form.
“I don’t want you to survive, I want you to win,” he said.
In the pool and billiards community, one pocket is known as an old man’s game and as a 32 year old woman, I don’t fit that description. I had just been eliminated from a monthly tournament, frustrated that I didn’t place better. I lost two matches in a row and was out. My coach told me I’m not ready for the complexities of one pocket, and I must hone my pool skills in 8 ball and 9 ball first. “But I let you do it because I know you’re just going to do what you want.”
“I’m going back next month,” I told him.
“I know you are.”
I’ve gotten knocked down in pool a lot. I’ve been humbled by the more experienced and lost many matches that I should have won by getting in my own head. I’m still waiting for my greatness. Now that I have a coach, it’s starting to show up, but it’s still on the other side of the work.
