So the top performer award goes to the person with the best win percentage for that evening's league. I have been lucky enough to earn it during the Spring of 2011 session for my Sunday night Lowell 8 ball double jeopardy team. I also was lucky enough to get it for my Sunday night 9 ball team out of Gardner. Now this session my wins seem to have been scattered few and far between.

So in knowing my game was not up to par, one night I realized I stood above the rest.  A little more than halfway through the session I realized I had enough wins and matches played to be eligible for the top performer trophy.  So a few weeks ago I guess I decided to not play and risk loosing that top spot with my record of 8 winds and one lose.  Monday night league is now over and With a winning percentage of 89 percent I have now gotten this award for the second time in one year.  Of course I haven't gotten the award yet so I am going off of the statistics in thinking I have gotten it.

Part of me feels like I should of played for my team and I think by not doing so I have let my game slip a little. Even though I made sure my captain was aware why I didn't want to play and he didn't have a problem with it I think it still weighs on my mind.  So I will take this as a learning experience and when playing on a team let go of the thought of “I” and play a part in the team.  Only when I am playing in tournaments will I let that kind of thinking exist.

In life we learn and grow from decisions we make.  Like in pool and in life I must learn to play the part not for myself but for other people too.  I am pretty sure I will earn the top gun trophy again but it will not be because I did not play, it will be because I played the best I could for my team.  The first time I received this award I was unaware that I had gotten it until I received the plaque at the Regional Championships.  It was a nice surprise.

So playing my best for the team that I am on is now one of my goals as a pool player.  Having a higher standard of pool ethics I hope will make me a better pool player in the long run.

Till next time may your aim be true.