Through the Eyes of a Champion

Sometimes There is a Change of Plan

By Johnny Archer

The 2004 Mosconi Cup was memorable to me for a couple of reasons.  Obviously, the first reason is that we won; making it the ninth win for the USA. Secondly is the fact that I was the team captain. Since it was my second year being the skipper, I was hoping to do a better job than last time.

I didn't play so well in the event, but that didn't matter, because we played well as a team. It was such an honor to captain a great team. As usual, it was a tough atmosphere to play in, but at the same time, the energy really pumps you up and gets you ready. It is the event that we all hope to have a chance to play in at the end of the year. I have to congratulate Team Europe o­n a fine performance. They were tough to beat, as always, and they have just as much talent o­n their team as we do ours.

The event was played in a small town outside of Amsterdam called Edmond aan Zee. The crowd was so loud that you could not even hear yourself think. If you weren't there, then you missed a great event. I loved every minute of it.

The last time I was captain, we lost. It was the o­nly time Team USA lost in the eight years that I have had the honor of being a part of the Mosconi Cup. I really put a lot of extra pressure o­n myself this time to do a better job, which made it a little more difficult to play my game.

To my liking this year, the doubles portion of the event was played as Scotch doubles. Though in the past, each player would shoot until he ran out or missed, in Scotch doubles, the two players alternated o­n each shot. Both players had to be playing well to be successful in this format.

It was the third day, and Gabe and I were playing the first match against Team Europe's captain Oliver Ortmann and his partner, Thomas Engert. The overall score in the event was 5-4, with Team USA leading. The score of our match was at 3-3, which meant that this game was very important. A shot came up where both players need to be o­n the same page. The 5 and 9 balls were very close together, and it looked too risky to go for the 5 ball. Gabe and I discussed the layout and decided that I would play safe o­n the 5. I told him where I needed to be in order to play a good safe, but he drew the cue ball back a little too far. Instead of panicking, we had a "change of plan." I decided to go for the bank in the corner o­n the 5 ball instead, and we won the game.

In pool, things do not always turn out the way you expect or would like them to! But that doesn't mean that you can't alter your game and still win. Sometimes a victory hinges o­n a player's ability to adapt to the shot that they are facing.

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