[pwd72s]

Jack, this reminds me of an old column I read years ago. I think by Jean Shepherd, but don't hold me to that. The article covered how in all human efforts, it's really difficult to reach the highest level, and how some learn this. One episode I read was in military Boxing...Army's best vs. Navy's best...the poor Army boxer discovering that the Navy fighter was named Robinson, went on to be Sugar Ray Robinson, world heavyweight champ. The Army guy recounting how he first tried to outjab his opponent...nope, he got outjabbed. Then he figured he'd move in, deliver crunching body blows. Nope, he received crunching body blows. Next he tried head hunting...and quickly was knocked out.

What happened to you has happened to many...those who learn we just weren't destined to be the best. Doesn't mean we can't enjoy our amateur activity while striving to be as good as we can be. It just means that top pros are top pros for a reason...they are beyond good at what they do, and it's all they do because it's their living.

Pool is my fun activity now, so I'll go there again. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the top two amateurs are a guy named Steve, with a Fargo rating of 699. This system is used to rank players based on matches played, balls missed, difficulty of match, other factors. It lists every tournament player on the planet. Nobody reaches the theoretical 1,000. My honorary nephew Matt has a Fargo of 696. This means that when Steve & Matt match up...flip a coin to pick a winner.

Steve has the means and the time to enter open tournaments. The tournaments the elite pros enter. I recently watched a video of Steve playing the first match of the Derby City classic. His drawn opponent? None other than Shane Van Boening, the South Dakota kid. The highest ranked player in the USA. Shane's Fargo? Around 825. Race to 9 games won in 9 ball.

Steve fought valiantly, used every skill in his arsenal, including safety play of placing the cue ball where I'd swear Shane didn't have a shot. Shane always had a shot, would answer with an even better safety, or in one case, a two rail kick shot knocking the ball in. Final score? Shane 9, Steve 5.

So, yes....the pros are better. Natural talent honed with tons of practice. It's their living. This applies to pretty much any sport or game.