The global pool community is small. There are thousands of us, yet were a fairly tight knit group. And with all of these personalities and egos, we're going to have some rivalries, some head butting, and differences of opinion of some people. That's a given. But to all of us, well, most of us anyway, is the respect for the game. I don't care who you are or how you feel about one person or another, as long as you respect me and respect the game, you're alright I'm my book. I have friends who cannot stand some of my other friends, but to me it doesn't matter. That's them. And we're us. Our family is world wide. Love the game. Live the game. Play The Game.

PREPARING TO COMPETE IN A TOURNAMENT Posted by : Mikey Verkruyse One of the most common questions asked of professional pool players is “how do you prepare for competition?” Well, because of the APA Nationals coming up, I thought we would go over a few of the ways I like to prepare for a big match or an upcoming tournament. Weather it’s a big challenge match, an important tournament or just weekly league play, it is always important to be prepared. Dress the part It might sound a little silly, but let’s face it, we all feel better and more confident in ourselves when our outer appearance is stylish and well groomed. Just think of it this way, we all take a little pride in our appearance whatever style we choose. I’m not saying show up to league in a three piece suit or your Sunday go to meeting clothes. All I am saying is when we feel good about our appearance we also exuded confidence, and confidence is the key to a great mental game in pool. Whatever you choose to wear when you compete, make sure it is comfortable and not constricting, or even so far out of the realm of what you normally wear that you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. Practice what you play Before a big competition I like to devote most of my practice time working on the game that I will be competing in, if it is 9-ball I might work on my position play, my break and my shot making skills. If it is 8-ball I might spend more time on strategy and pattern play. The point is whatever discipline you are about to compete in make sure you temper your practice sessions leading up to the event so that you get yourself in the proper mind set to compete at the highest level possible. After all, if you were going to be running a marathon you wouldn’t practice by working on sprinting ability. Warming up When I arrive on the day of the competition I like to take some time to warm up. Now warming up is completely different than practicing. In practice we work on things that we are not good at in order to improve them. During your warm up session our main goal is to get our stroke moving nice and straight, get loosened up and boost your confidence. I like to start by shooting some short soft straight in shots, slowly I get a little more distance between the cue ball and object ball and then begin to add a little more power. This will slowly loosen up your stroke without chipping away at your confidence with a lot of missed balls. I also recommend using this time to get to know the table. Shoot a few kick shots and bank shots to see how the rails are playing. Slow roll a few balls to make sure the table doesn’t have any funny rolls you should be aware of, and I also like to see how forgiving the pockets are just in case I have to try and “cheat the pocket” during a match. Pep Up Sometimes if you are very nervous you should not feel silly giving yourself a little pep talk in private before a competition. Simple things like this can make a big difference in your performance. These are just a few of the things I do before I compete. None of this is set in stone, just several of many options. Don’t be afraid to come up with your own routine for preparation to compete. You have to find what works best for you. Until Next Time! Mikey V.

POOL TIP of the DAY

NAPA of PA 2016 NAPA NATIONALS perticapents final placements: 5598 Michael Zulisky 8-ball 49th NAPA of PA 10005601 Jerry Balega 8-ball 25th NAPA of PA 10005602 Larry Washek 8-ball 33rd NAPA of PA 10005613 Jayson Marvich8-ball 13th NAPA of PA 10005777 Art Price 8-ball 49th NAPA of PA 10007022 James Good 8-ball 17th NAPA of PA 10007033 Alex Embry 8-ball 5th NAPA of PA 10019415 Amy RigdaFarrier 8-ball 49th NAPA of PA 10019884 Frank Giron 8-ball 33rd NAPA of PA 10020166 Mandy Harr 8-ball 65th NAPA of PA 10021656 Bill Airgood 8-ball 33rd NAPA of PA 10031281 Tina Ferry 8-ball 25th NAPA of PA 10041193 Jim Thomas 8-ball 49th NAPA of PA 10041195 Mike Bailey 8-ball 97th NAPA of PA 10041207 John Montgomery 8-ball 25th NAPA of PA 10043262 Marlene Gibb 8-ball 25th NAPA of PA 10043264 Michael Huffman 8-ball 25th NAPA of PA 10043267 Jared Long 8-ball 65th NAPA of PA 10043625 Robin Blair 8-ball 65th NAPA of PA 10044780 Melvin Trout 8-ball 65th NAPA of PA

8 BALL player counts for 2016 $20,000 added NAPA NATIONALS. CLASS GM/M 69, CLASS A 108, CLASS B 117, CLASS C/D/E 111. CLASS A JRS (OVER 40 SKILL) 21, CLASS B JRS (UNDER 40 SKILL) 32. You can follow all 20 players from westmoreland county. Follow by league operator (NAPA OF PA) www.compusport.us

NAPA - North American Poolshooters Association

IRWIN summer session div #4804 is all set up schedule is up. looking for a team to take up the bye week if you know anyone let them know, only 3 players only $5 each no membership fees! http://www.napaleagues.com/standings.php?location=Pennsylvania&league=15601-2405&game=8ball&county=Westmoreland&session=&did=4804

Congratulations to team "Salina Nick" playing out of Salina Inn in Armstrong, Pennsylvania for winning the 'NAPA of PA' Thursday "Apollo" No Limit 9-ball League! Congratulations to all of the players who qualified for the 2016 National 9-ball Championships: Kevin Rea, Bob Kacin, Kristy McMunn, Rich Cerrato, Nick McMunn, Elsie Kunkle, Kim Long, Raymond Mazanek, Bob Gruber, Gerri Bumbaugh, Clayton Carroll, Jeff Kolegraf, Logan Kostelansky, Tony Bertelle, Nationals registration ends next Tuesday! If you are going, get registered! Thank you for playing NAPA.

So my NEW local policy for team forfeits will be: If your team forfeits 3 matches or more to another team in a session, your entire team will be under a peer review! If the rest of the division feels that your teams actions, was disrespectful, the entire team will be suspended from NAPA for no less then 1 calendar year! If anyone on your team tells you not to show up for matches you better ask why! All information about a teams match is on line! There are options when an emergencies happen. Before a team can take FORFEITS, you must contact me, and the other teams captain! I hope everyone respects this policy, if you have any questions, I am only phone call/text away. 724 313-NAPA

NAPA DIVISION #4471 TOP GUN TOURNAMENT - Challonge

http://challonge.com/sbicv0l3 PLAY TO THE FINALS, FINAL MATCHES WILL BE AT SHAFTON MAY 25TH AT 7:00. I WILL BE GIVING OUT THE CERTS AND THE SESSION MONEY AT THAT TIME. THANK YOU FOR PLAYING NAPA.

NAPA DIVISION #4471 CAPTAINS TOURNAMENT - Challonge

http://challonge.com/4om6k1ys #4471 CAPTAINS TOURNAMENT PLAY TO THE FINALS, FINAL MATCHES WILL BE AT SHAFTON MAY 25TH AT 7:00. I WILL BE GIVING OUT THE CERTS AND THE SESSION MONEY AT THAT TIME. THANK YOU FOR PLAYING NAPA.

Congratulations to team "Shafton Ron" playing out of Shafton Firehall in IRWIN, Pennsylvania for winning the 'NAPA of PA' Wednesday "IRWIN" No Limit 8-ball League! Congratulations to all of the players who qualified for the 2016 National 8-ball Championships: Jerry Balega, Larry Washek, Jayson Marvich, James Good, Teresa King, Alex Embry, Bill Airgood, Ron Crossett, Jim Engle, Heather Gondal, Tom Cooper, Clyde Haldie, John Graham, Brian Laird, Jason Felentzer, John Panigal, Adam Walters, Ed Uncapher, Jerry George,

Irwin's next Wednesday NAPA session will be starting June 1st! With the upcoming summer session, a few current team's players will be taking the summer off! Some teams will be in need replacement players! If you are interested on jumping on a team, or starting a team, contact me or a current captain and see what teams need players. NAPA also has the option of going to a 3 player team format! This has worked well in some areas, I will be getting together with the current captains to discuss this option. If anyone has intrest on starting an in-house or any other day of the week,traveling league, contact me! Tell me what you would like to play! NAPA can accommodate just about any request!