Another strong night in the league — and another learning experience – despite not getting the result desired.

Sometimes, you can indeed play well – and not get the result. That happened in the first frame for me.

And by same token play poorly and not get the result. That happened in the second frame for me.

It happens.

In the league this week, that was the case.

This is the third time that I lost a couple of frames previously on the black and that is a win in my view.

The first frame was extremely close. Lost on the black by three points, but there were plenty of positives. My cue action felt solid, my shot selection was good, and mentally I was in a decent place throughout that frame. I was enjoying it immensely. The level was there — just small margins.

The second frame, however, was a complete breakdown where I went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Naturally I was disappointed and needed a bit of air afterwards. But once the initial frustration passed, I reset, reflected, and focused on the bigger picture. And the positives.

Every frame is a lesson. You can’t always be winning — sometimes the game takes you through a learning curve before the next runs of successes come along.

I had that last season in the league. This season has been a mixed bag but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Winning and learning go in cycles. Every player goes through a learning process – and at the end of it they will come out stronger than before.

The key is rebuilding, going home, and getting back to the practice table next time stronger – and also taking the positives away from each game.

Progress continues.

That’s how true sportspeople play the game and learn.

Enjoy it – take something from it, and keep going onto the next whenever that is.