LoreeJon Ogonowski-Brown - Part 3 (Grit, Greatness, and the Golden Era of Women’s Pool)

Mike Gonzalez 0:15

Well, I think Allison and Mark and I all hope that uh these whippersnappers you're talking about, these up-and-comers, have a chance to listen to the series of stories we're trying to lay down for them so they get a better appreciation for how we got to where we are today.

LoreeJon 0:30

Absolutely. I mean, we're we're talking, you know, these these kids today, I mean, oh my God, they're they're like, you know, 15, 14, whatever, 13, and they're they're going to China and they're going here and they're flying here and they're flying there. I'm starting off with like five tournaments. You know what I mean? And and they were it was five tournaments in that tri-state kind of area and add Connecticut, you know.

Allison Fisher 0:55

And not only that, there's a lot of financial support out there, isn't there? For the kids. They they're making all these social media posts and attracting you know, lots of different sponsors, whether it's individuals or companies. So it's a really different world.

LoreeJon 1:10

It's it's very weird. I I'm sad that not everything that uh that I did is on, you know, it's it's not on it's not on film, it's not on camera.

Allison Fisher 1:22

It's not on YouTube.

LoreeJon 1:23

Yeah, it's not on YouTube, you know, and and there was no filming, you know, when we went to Japan and you know, and uh when I was like earlier 20s, you know, we got we were always going to Japan. And I mean, one of the one, oh my god, I I laugh. One of the funniest things, Ava, me and uh Joanne and stuff, if you had like light hair, brown to light hair and blue eyes, you were invited. Yeah, you were automatically invited, didn't matter what you played like. And so we went to Japan and this one time they were doing this this this thing for for like serious magazine there. I was you know, so we all had our you know our our like tuxedo things on and everything, and they did our hair and makeup.

Allison Fisher 2:12

Go on.

LoreeJon 2:17

It was so bad. I looked like a geisha. I had they they put like white, whitish makeup on. Brilliant, black eye. I mean, I had black eyebrows, black eyebrows, red lips, and and like and we're all looking at each other, and Ava's like, I am not doing this. And we're like, we run to the bathroom and we're all like trying to get the stuff off a little bit and put like normal stuff. Oh, it was horrible, horrible, horrible. I remember how dark it was.

Allison Fisher 2:48

Can we get a picture of that?

LoreeJon 2:49

Oh, I would love it. Uh some I probably have something something.

Mike Gonzalez 2:53

You you know what I'm doing before we publish this episode. I'm going deep research into Japan archives here. Oh god. Were you in that tournament?

Allison Fisher 3:02

Were you in that tournament in Japan, UTC Cup it was, and we all went over and had to wear those sleeveless tops that they provided us?

Mike Gonzalez 3:10

Yes.

Allison Fisher 3:11

Yes. Did you remember that? Yes. No, no, that was stacked. Sleeveless tops. Karen put her t-shirt underneath, didn't she? Because it was really uncomfortable for some people, wasn't it?

LoreeJon 3:24

Yeah, well, depending. Yeah.

Allison Fisher 3:26

It's interesting.

LoreeJon 3:27

Karen Karen had it under there. That's true. And it was not uh it was not comfortable for her.

Allison Fisher 3:36

Yeah, that's true.

Mike Gonzalez 3:37

Well, we're gonna talk a little bit more about dress code and so forth, but because it becomes an issue later, doesn't it, with Gene Belukas? But before we get to that, uh let's just cover a couple of uh your other world championships. In 1986, you win another straight pool championship. And we asked you about straight pool as sort of the game when you started. But what was your favorite game?

LoreeJon 4:00

I s I don't know. I probably I probably still love straight pool to to to an extent, you know. But it but you I I mean, what whatever I'm playing, I have to like. So I do like 8-ball though. I have to say I like 8-ball. I really I kind of like it. I wish I I I I think I wish that America went in that, you know, the the the pros went in that same same thing, because it I think it would have confused pool enthusiasts less, if that makes any sense, because our game has too many games. There's too many pocket pocket billiard games. There's just too many. So so I think if we stayed with the game that everybody knew and everybody played, and it was that, I think we might be in the Olympics maybe a little bit sooner. I I really believe that because then there wouldn't have been, is it gonna be nine balls? Is it gonna be eight ball? Is it gonna be this? Is it gonna be that? You know, and and you know, to where I I I do. I wish I wish it was, I I I do wish it was eight ball. I uh you know.

Allison Fisher 5:14

Well, we recently, as you know, had the women's world eight ball championships and it went very well.

LoreeJon 5:20

Yes.

Allison Fisher 5:21

And so do you think that should be introduced on the WPBA tour more of that?

LoreeJon 5:28

Possibly, yes. I don't know how well it would go over, you know, be because you know, obviously you're gonna have people that love nine ball and stuff like that, and you know, ten ball and and yeah.

Allison Fisher 5:44

And it's been great to have a world championships over here because it's been such a long time, hasn't it?

LoreeJon 5:48

It was wonderful. I mean world it was it was wonderful. Sorry you weren't there. It was you know, I know you couldn't make it, but I I it was it was like old times, you know? There there was a lot of people there, a lot of people at watching the the the matches, you know. I mean it was filled. It was like your little your little you know haven of you know all the seats, every seat was filled, you know, people were standing, they're looking at, you know, making that larger for next time, you know. So it it it it's just I don't know for for me it was really, really nice. I I really fantastic. Yeah, I I really enjoyed it.

Allison Fisher 6:29

I look back on uh actually a lot of our events, you know. I came over in ninety five and we had really great audiences, didn't we? Yeah, we didn't on ESPN. We really it's fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I miss that because it's not you know, it's a bit sparse sometimes, isn't it? Very through lack of probably you know m advertising for whatever reason.

LoreeJon 6:51

Advertising TV. I think I think you know, I love I love streaming and I love I think it's I think it all has a a a place. But yeah, we we have to get ourselves back on somehow. We have to get ourselves back on, you know, TV again, yeah. You know, ESPN and you know, something something of that nature.

Mike Gonzalez 7:13

Yeah, both sides, the men and the women.

LoreeJon 7:14

Yeah.

Mark Wilson 7:16

Well it comes down to leadership. Uh we haven't had leadership, we haven't had a tour for a long time. The women's tour carried on. The men lost theirs early 2000s.

LoreeJon 7:24

Yes. Yep.

Mike Gonzalez 7:26

Yeah. Well, let's take you back now to 1987. I alluded to this, but we're talking about the BC Open Nine Ball Championship.

LoreeJon 7:34

Now the BC that was that was uh on my on my titles, they had a world on there. So that was the BC the BC the BC Open was was technically that was I mean, yeah, I mean it was BC B the BC Open. It was in Binghamton, New York. Oh, okay. Gary Pinkowski. Yeah, there's certain things I like always remember, but they I won four of those.

Mike Gonzalez 8:02

You only well, not only did you win four, you won four in a row.

LoreeJon 8:07

Yeah, they I think they only had four.

Mike Gonzalez 8:10

That's okay. You ended it. I can edit that part out.

Allison Fisher 8:14

They're like, not her again. Let's end this tournament.

Mike Gonzalez 8:17

Yeah, Lori John benefit.

Allison Fisher 8:19

Yeah, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 8:21

But you know, the the backstory here is there was it was a men and a women's event. The men, I don't know that they had a dress code. The women did. Uh, the required dress code caused Jean Beluch to withdraw. She was entered in both divisions, the men and the women's division. Bye-bye, Gene Belukas.

Allison Fisher 8:46

What was the dress code?

LoreeJon 8:49

Look, we went through we went through a lot of things. Okay, so I love you know I love the WPBA. I am a big advocate, but we went through things. We were very strict on, we went through a very strict thing when we had to wear, and you were here, you you either had to wear like a tuxedo, a suit with a vest, you know, and jacket, or a la, you know, a dress, a long gown, like some kind of a dress. And I mean, we were we were we were strict on it. I I don't know, you know, we were just I I mean if you know, like the WPBA, I mean, if they say, you know, I don't always agree with them, but you you you do what the organization says, you know what I mean? It's it's not it wasn't it wasn't anything bad, it wasn't anything. And my husband actually said to me that he wishes that the ladies looked as beautiful as they did back then.

Mike Gonzalez 9:56

You know, getting back to Jean. You know, after her after her victory in the in the Brunswick World Open in 1988, for all intents and purposes, she was done.

LoreeJon 10:08

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 10:09

Right? I mean, she was she was gone.

LoreeJon 10:11

She was um I I I I remember a couple things that that happened. And and I remember Bonnie Hoffman was a great player. She was either playing Bonnie Hoffman or Bonnie Hoffman was playing on another table. She got angry at like uh Gene got angry at something, I don't even remember what it was, and a piece of chalk was thrown. And it missed Bonnie's like eye and face by you know just a teeny bit. And and she was fined, and that was it. Like that that that was it.

Allison Fisher 10:54

Like there was the other there was the other occasion where she had a go at Robin, didn't she? Because Robin lucked a ball in, and I w and she said something like, I wish you could beat me with skill rather than luck.

LoreeJon 11:05

Yeah, like so there were there were there were a lot, I think it my opinion, but I think that she was not able to handle losing. Like, you know, yeah, I mean, uh I'm sorry, but like, you know, you play you play Robin and you play you're playing for a lot of money. Robin's gonna make that nine on the break a lot. It's just gonna happen. And it happened all the time, and you expected it from her, you know. I'm sorry, but like, or or she lucked a ball in, or whatever it was. You know, it's part of the game, you know, and and you you have to, you know, it's a shame. I wish she didn't, because I love Jean. I uh she I mean, she came to my first wedding. I mean, she was invited to when when I married Sammy, I mean, she was there, yeah, you know. So, you know, I mean, I really liked her as a as a person and still do, you know. So I I I I I feel like Poole was robbed a little bit not having her in it. I I really do. I I I feel like I feel like people were are were also robbed to not see more of her action, you know, to see more of her play. So it's a shame, you know. But that was that's that's on her, I think.

Allison Fisher 12:28

I'm just curious about that period of time. Do you think, and I got this sense from her, having known her pretty well for a while, that she enjoyed the game because her father liked her playing it. Do you feel like that was something too? Possibly. It wasn't really her passion because she was good at a lot of things.

LoreeJon 12:48

She was good at everything. Are you kidding me? She's not good. She was good at everything. Tennis, golf.

Allison Fisher 12:53

She still plays golf.

LoreeJon 12:55

Yes, of course. And that's her that like she loved that. She loves tennis, she loves golf, you know. I don't know if she loves pool. You know, I think if she did, she would be still maybe still doing it, you know. So yeah, I I do. I wish I I wish she she played a lot longer than you know, than she did. I really do.

Mike Gonzalez 13:20

Let's go on then with your career. And and and we're now in 1988. Again, uh, multiple wins. And uh, you know, I wish we had time to talk about all your wins. So we'd be here for hours and hours. But you know, your billiards digest player of the year again. And one of the things I I noticed, you did win an event, which was a mixed doubles event. And I'm sure you guys can all relate to this, having participated in those kind of events. That's a different kettle of fish, right? You're winning the King of Rings mixed doubles with Mike Siegel.

LoreeJon 13:50

And let me tell you, I have a hard time. I really do. I have a hard time with mixed doubles because or doubles, it doesn't matter what it is, but because I I put so much more pressure on myself. Oh my God. I put so much more pressure on myself. I won with Mike Siegel, and I won also with CJ Wiley. And I played phenomenal, but you know, like there's just times when you when you shoot a shot and the position is just so bad. And you're like, I made mine, go ahead. Shoot off the rail track jacked up behind your back, and you better make it, you know. Like, but yeah, it was I I I love them. I love, I wish there was more, I wish we did some more things to where like you and I, Allison, could be like partners. And you know what I mean? And and because there would be a little bit of camaraderie, you know. There's there, there, there's like Mike Siegel, like had no, he he'd be like, you know, you do something, he's like, what are you what are you doing? What do you what was that?

Allison Fisher 15:09

And then you say, I'm doing what I want to do.

LoreeJon 15:13

Oh my god, you know, I like, yeah, I would be like so freaked out, like, you know, that that somebody was gonna get like all upset with me or something. Real quick, on on those doubles things that we used to do for it for ESBN. This is this is this is something that I did, and I I'm just I'm like mortified. So we're playing against, I'm playing against, I don't even know who I was with. I was with Mike or Jimmy, uh not Jimmy, uh Jimmy Rempe, or and and it was Ava and someone else. And there was a time clock, and there I have ball in hand, I have ball in hand, and they were freaking me out because they're like, no, don't do this, don't do that, do that, baby, baby, but put it over here. I had a shoot within like two seconds, I missed. I missed with ball in hand, and I'm like, I was just mortified. This is the SPN. Oh my god. I just I give, I give, but um, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 16:22

Isn't doubles probably a little harder with eight ball because you're both maybe trying to solve the puzzle a little bit differently, where nine balls a little bit more straightforward.

LoreeJon 16:31

Yeah, oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, nine ball is very straightforward on what you're doing next. You just need to know what side somebody needs to be on, and also playing with Mike Siegel, remind you, it's difficult playing with a right-hand, left-handed player. Right, I'm right-handed, he's left-handed. So, my position, he's using the bridge. Right. Whereas it's it's a right thing. Yeah. So that's something that I I used to talk to him a lot, you know, to ask, like, where do you where do you want the cue ball? You know, because it was different.

Mike Gonzalez 17:07

Yeah, yeah. 1989, Billiards Digest, Player of the Year, uh, several wins, uh, U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship, U.S. Open Nine Ball Championship, uh BC Open for the third time in a row, Coors Valley Forge Nine Ball Open. What's your what's your memories of uh of that particular year at a ripe old age of 24?

LoreeJon 17:30

It was good. I love a good year. I I was yeah, it was good. You know, I mean it's it's it's not I guess it's nice. So I was married to Sammy Jones, and I was Jones back then. And you know, he he kind of guided me along, you know, uh, you know, taking me to the next level, I guess. My dad brought me to one level, Sammy brought me to another level. Yeah, those were those were great years. I mean, those were were years where Sammy and I had a pool, you know, we we took over the Laurie John billiards for a while. We had a pool room before that was before I was pregnant with Jonathan. Or yeah, yeah, I had Jonathan when I was 25, I think. So it was, I mean, all of that was was good because you know, living in the living in the pool room and practicing and playing guys and playing professionals who came in to say hello and practicing. And I was never a big gambler. Like I was never a huge Sammy was, I wasn't, you know what I mean? Like I would, like my dad would put me in. My dad would always say, you know, and I'm like, Dad, I don't want to do that. Like, what if I lose, you know? And he's like, for God's sakes, he goes, it's just to get you, like he would what how did he put it? He had a a term for it. He just wanted to get me like like into the like pressure. That's what it was. Like he wanted me to have a little bit of a pressure match. So yeah, so I mean, it's it's it's gratification, you know, to practice very hard. And I'm very blessed because you know, there's a lot of people who practice hard and they're never gonna win, you know, and it's sad because like I look at people like I I watch certain players today, certain girls coming up or women, or and I'm like, I'm like, it's so sad because they're really good players, but they're they're never gonna win.

Allison Fisher 19:38

Like, you know, that's a here's a here's a question for that. What is it? What separates the best from the best, you know, from the people who get up there, but they just don't get over the line. What is it?

Mike Gonzalez 19:53

I don't know.

LoreeJon 19:54

That's a it's it's that secret. I I don't know the secret. I I just know that you either have it or you don't.

Allison Fisher 20:03

Do you think it's easy to recognize when somebody has it?

LoreeJon 20:07

Yeah. I think I think at times, you know, like you can see someone coming up even to where you're like, they're gonna get it. Like it they have a little bit longer to go, but but they the they'll get it. And then the others that you're right, like you they they get right there and then fifth, sixth position, and they're done. They're done. They're they're done. They're used to it. You know, it is, it is, and you know, what causes that, you know, you're like, you know, when you know, playing you and stuff like that, you're like, you just I don't know, like you're you're in a completely like different world when you're playing, you know what I mean? Like when you when you when you play, like I I wished, you know, I'm like, ah, she plays snooker, she'll never get it, you know. Yeah, sure. She'll never get it. She'll never get this pool thing, and she got it like that. You know, she didn't just get it, she got it like that, you know. I was like, okay. So yeah, I don't know. I you know, I really don't know because I know people who are dedicated and people who really work hard on their game, and they're just they're they're not they're just not gonna do it, you know. I I don't know. I wish I I wish I had that answer.

Mike Gonzalez 21:32

Just to remind our listeners, we're back in the late 80s, and just to hear some of the names of the ladies that were winning on tour back then, we've got uh, and we've talked about some of these Eva Mataya, uh Lori Champeau again, Bonnie Hoffman, Mary Marino, Robin Bell, Peg Ledman. I'd have to go a few more years to pick up a new name, Joanne Mason Parker. At some point, Yoko Akumura. Comes on the scene. Yeah. Vivian Villarreal comes on the scene. Stacey Hilliard comes on the scene. So that was kind of back in that era before the Duchess showed up.

LoreeJon 22:12

I know I hated her. Tell it like it is before you came along. The tour used to be fun.

Allison Fisher 22:24

No. Yeah, that's what they always say. I ruined it. I ruined Paul. You did.

Mike Gonzalez 22:32

It was kind of BAF and AAF, I guess, right? Before and after, huh?

LoreeJon 22:37

Yep. Yep. Absolutely.

Mike Gonzalez 22:39

But you just kept cranking along. I mean, 1990s, uh, I've got a list of several wins here, including a win in Japan over Yoko Miura at the uh at the final of the All Japan Championship nine ball event. So you talk about going to Japan. Yeah. That was certainly one of your trips over there.

LoreeJon 22:56

That was wonderful. I loved, I loved. That was, if you ask me, like best memories, my best memories were probably Japan. For sure. Funny stories, fun, just great moments, great wins. Bringing back money. We're we're we're like, oh my gosh, I'm I'm over 10. Like, what am I gonna do? And we're like, well, here, I'll take two for you, just you know, just in case. Like we're you know, putting everything, you know. I mean, the money was so good back then, and everything was so good. And you were, you were, you know, and even today, I mean, even today, if you go to Asia, you're pretty much like a little star, you know what I mean? But like back then you were really, you know, really, really like a celebrity. And it was, it was, it was really nice. And that's a name, Yoko Miura. I mean, like, what a what a stinking player. Like, I don't even know what happened to her. I mean, phenomenal player. Yoko Miura, like, I yeah, like gosh, I mean, she she played just as good as uh anybody.

Allison Fisher 24:08

Was she an older player? Tell me, was she an older player? Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. I vaguely remember somebody coming up to me in Japan, introducing themselves. And she's an old she would be like older now, yeah. It might have been her years ago, which I didn't know her then because I'd come over to the tour quite fresh, so yeah, it may have been her.

LoreeJon 24:34

Yep. So also I won many championships, pregnant three times.

Allison Fisher 24:42

She was dangerous pregnant.

LoreeJon 24:44

I was always pregnant on the table.

Allison Fisher 24:48

Two against one. All my kids came out like that, like their nose was so yeah, you you've had a few, you had three children? Yep. Yep, John and I'm gonna do it. Yeah, and still continue to play. You still got I remember competing against you in New York in the final at the Amsterdam Billiard Club. Yes. And I'm like, this isn't fair, this is two against one. It started to get in my head a little bit.

LoreeJon 25:11

It was, it was. They gave you like the the in the endorphins or whatever it was that the kids gave you. Like it was like I was just I was right there, you know. None of the squirrel moments are working came, nursing, it just all went downhill from there.

Mike Gonzalez 25:31

Get their names in again. You you mentioned Jonathan, he's your oldest.

LoreeJon 25:34

Yep, he's my oldest. He was born in 91, and then Jessica was born in 95, and Matthew was born in 96.

Mike Gonzalez 25:42

There you go.

LoreeJon 25:42

And thank God for Kelly Oyama, who had oh god. So my last one, all my kids slept like so good. They were so Matthew, uh little Matthew. Matthew just had like issues with his little belly. So every time I like breastfed him or fed him about any, he would just curl up and scream. I mean, he would just scream. And I remember we were staying, you're gonna laugh. We were it was like one of those places where we stayed at the Red Roof Inn, right? So it was one of those tournaments like in North Carolina or wherever it was. And I I had to play a match the next day. Kelly was out of the tournament, and Kelly, I remember she was so sweet. She goes, Here, I'll take them. Just go to sleep, go to sleep, go to bed, and I'll take them. And she stood, she was outside. My kid wanted to see the fluorescent light like this, and that's the only thing. And she stayed outside with him like the whole night, like the whole, like like hours, like four or five hours. I'm like, I love this. Wow.

Mike Gonzalez 26:56

What a good forward to 1993. You win another WPA World Nine Ball Championship, this one over Jeanette Lee in the final. You were second to Robin Bell, I think, in 1990. I I will say that the Duchess did win this event in 1996, 1997, yeah, we know, and 1998.

LoreeJon 27:20

We know.

Allison Fisher 27:23

But it's not about me. Let's talk about you. What do you think about me?

Mike Gonzalez 27:30

Yeah.

LoreeJon 27:31

No, but that was, yeah, that was actually a great, great tournament because when like people will put up the thing up, you know, on YouTube, I don't know where it is, but they'll they'll put up like the little video of of that tournament move with me playing Jeanette, and and it looks like Jeanette's coming back. And I'm like, and then they never show the ending of it, they show where I miss or something, and then that's it. And I'm like, so on every one of them, I put in all capitals, by the way, I won this world championship. Jeanette did not win this tournament, so you can show whatever you want. I got the title.

Mike Gonzalez 28:14

That's great. Well, 93. Now we've got some other names popping up, like a Gerda Hofstadter pops up and uh for for maybe the first time winning on this tour. We go into 94, and I think the only new name is somebody's gonna have to pronounce this for me, but her last name was Lou.

Allison Fisher 28:33

She may live. Yeah, she may. Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 28:37

Yep, yep, yep. So she was just coming to the city. Taiwanese player.

LoreeJon 28:40

Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 28:41

Yeah, yeah.

LoreeJon 28:42

Oh, there were some really yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 28:46

And then you so anyway, uh, you know, 1993, you finish out with many, many wins, including Billiard Digest Player of the Year. So you're still rocking and rolling.

LoreeJon 28:56

Five times player of the year. I'll take all of them. I will take all of them. I'm like, you know, be being in a sport and you know, people saying, like, who and I'm like, I am proud to be one of the best.

Allison Fisher 29:15

As you should be.

LoreeJon 29:17

Yeah. There's gonna be, there's gonna be you're you're you know, you are absolutely one of the best. Do you know what I mean? And then people always throw, you know, because people ask, like they throw out names and stuff, and I'm like, you know, you like I don't know, in tennis, you know what I mean? You you you have so many names, you know, so many different names and stuff like that. So I'm just proud that I'm one of them. I'm proud to be on this as as a legend, you know, and and embracing that, you know, today, rather than, you know, rather than like, you know, yeah, I'm 40, you know, 39 years old, you know, ha ha ha, you know, I'm like, I'm like, hell, I'm gonna be 60, you know.

Allison Fisher 30:00

You're owning it. You are owning it. And I have to say, when I first came on tour back in '95 and playing you quite a lot in those days, in the early days, I I thought that you were the one American player that had really good Q action and and fundamentals and mechanics, whatever we want to call it. But that I recognized that. I've always thought Laurie John, that's why she's so consistent as compared to a lot of the other American players. So whatever your dad taught you in the younger days stood you in good stead throughout your career.

LoreeJon 30:36

That's I I I am a stickler. Mark knows that too from from you know, I I've talked to him before, you know, about teaching and giving lessons and things like that. And I'm like, I tell someone, I'm like, look, how far do you I I I just ask people different things. How far do you want to go? You know, because if you want to go, if you want to go far, you have got to change A, B, and C because if you don't, it it's it's gonna, it's going to get you.

Allison Fisher 31:05

Yeah.

LoreeJon 31:06

It's gonna bite you. And you will not. I love the fact that I probably could I probably could put down a Q stick for 10 years and pick it up and break and run out.

Allison Fisher 31:20

Yeah, I think I could. Because you've got yeah, you've got correct fundamentals. It's easy to it's like riding a bike. It's easy to copy and emulate, isn't it?

LoreeJon 31:27

Exactly. Yes.

Allison Fisher 31:29

And uh yeah, it I always remember well, and I always know because you're still playing, but before you strike the ball, you have a little one-two. There's a little one-two, and you know you're gonna strike the ball after that one. That's what you do at every shot.

LoreeJon 31:46

Right. Well, well, I study you and I I I watch she she does this and then she goes down. It's like it's like it's like that perfect little bad, it just goes right down. Yeah, I mean, we all have our our little something, you know? Yeah. And but even if they're your own and even if whatever it is, it's it's it comes down to correct mechanics. And if you look at the greatest players, if you look at somebody who's who's who you know won a tournament here, like one tournament, two tournaments maybe in their whole life, they're probably off on mechanics somewhere. You know, whereas they they could have won more if you know, if so. I'm a I'm a big mechanic. I'm a big mechanic person.

Allison Fisher 32:43

Me too.

Mike Gonzalez 32:44

Well, these two certainly drill that into me, my first pool school. I'll tell you that.

Allison Fisher 32:49

Oh, you were good coming in. I don't know. You were good coming in, wasn't he?

Mark Wilson 32:55

But it was two days focused on fundamentals.

Allison Fisher 32:57

Yeah.

Mark Wilson 32:58

In Lori John's case, it's a very simple and compact stroke. She doesn't have reckless motion, but her absolute strength is transitioned from backswing to foreswing. It's super fluid. She never jerks the cue and then it ends up straight. And when, you know, naturally, when I describe simple and compact, that does not indicate easy to get. That's actually what's hardest to get when you look simple and compact. Buddy Hall, Alistair Fisher, those would be names. JL Chang, another guy. So I was always captivated by Lori John's form, but it started early on in her life. I mean, she's a young girl playing on a five by ten, and then at IQ billiards, you're surrounded with Jim Rempey and all the other greats that are constantly in there, and then you're nothing. And so you strive to be something, and all those things is what separates her from those that maybe will never get it because they were never surrounded with it. I think they could have had it had they had a different start and were willing. But nevertheless, Lori John did have it, and she's got that grit and that fight. I mean, naturally, to stand up there and play under pressure, those good mechanics really make a difference, and that's why, you know, she and then super confidence that she could put a queue down for 10 years and get up and run a rack. And I absolutely agree. I agree that she probably could. But part of it is believing. You gotta believe you can do it too.

Allison Fisher 34:16

The confidence, that's where that comes in, isn't it? If you have taken a break. Thank you for listening to another episode of Legends of the Q. If you like what you hear, wherever you listen to your podcast, including Apple and Spotify, please follow, subscribe, and spread the word. Give our podcast a five-star rating and share your thoughts. Visit our website and support our Paul History project. Until our next golden break with more Legends of the Q, so long, everybody.