For many years after I first got into the hobby i didn't work on skills because I didn't know what they were. Then YouTube comes along and I see Bowen Kerrins showing how it's supposed to be done. I was amazed at how he could catch the ball and get it under control. So I set out to learn to do it like he did. At first I couldn't do live catches at all, but I kept practicing. Eventually it clicked and became easy. Now when I watch videos of someone playing pinball, I'm thinking about how I would handle almost every ball that comes to the flippers, or when I think they should nudge. It becomes painful watching people make obvious mistakes, like a wild flip when they should catch it or take a bounce pass. Like watching Steve Ritchie, he's pretty good but I often think, c'mon play better!

I think Bowen was asked one time what he thought was more important, ball control or aim, and he said aim. That's still my weak spot. Need more practice.