By Steve Clark
Daily News staff writer

With a calm aim, Alan Francis holds the projectile out in front of him.

Despite the noise of metal-hitting-metal and people talking that creates a buzz around him, the 29-year-old from Defiance, Ohio, is solely concentrated on his target. He rocks back, takes a step forward and lets fly with a slightly arched toss.

CLANK!

Just another perfect shot from a five-time world champion.

``A lot of pitching horseshoes is just getting into a flow. I think it's more of a mental game than a physical game,'' said Francis, a member of the Ohio team in Beloit for the 1998 Team World Horseshoe Tournament. ``It's a matter of tuning out everybody else and just focusing on what you need to do.

``When you get into a rhythm like that you don't think about the mechanics involved. You just look at the stake and throw it.''

For the ninth straight year, Beloit is playing host to the Team World Championships. The tournament will continue through Sunday with competition beginning at 8 a.m. at the Edwards Sports and Activity Center today and Sunday.

The finals are slated to begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.

That's where Francis hopes to have his Ohio team, although he knows it won't necessarily be an easy road.

Even though he has won five individual championships, he has never been a part of a team champion _ finishing second once in his four years of competition.

``We expect to be there. We think our team is good enough to at least get in the latter playoffs,'' said Francis, whose wife Amy also throws on the Ohio team. ``Minnesota's the defending champion and we know they're going to be tough to beat.''

A team tournament may be a little more laid back than the tension-laden one-on-one matches of an individual tournament that Francis has excelled in.

With groups bringing a wide span of scoring averages into the championship, some games may be pretty easy for a top team like Ohio, while others are very tough.

Despite not always having an opponent to push him, Francis still excels by using his own goals to fuel the drive.

Francis opened the tournament hitting 112 ringers (37-38-37) in 120 throws in his first three games. He then dropped down to 32 (in 40 throws) before closing out the day with a 34.

``Individualy, I'm still concentrating because I want that high average. There is that challenge within myself to see if I can throw in the 36, 37 or 38 range each game,'' said Francis. ``I still have the push. It's a little bit harder maybe to keep mentally focused at a team tournament, but its is something you try to do.''

Francis is in his 20th season of horseshoe competition. His father was a horseshoe pitcher for several years and just groomed Alan into the sport.

Yet it wasn't until Francis was nine-years-old when the hook of horseshoes was set for good.

``I went to my first tournament when I was nine-years-old. It was a pretty decent tournament and I got a little trophy out of it,'' Francis said. ``That was enough to keep me doing it.''

Since then he has had a few more additions to his trophy case.

Francis won the Junior Division Championship four straight years from 1982-85 and then, at the age of 19 in just his third men's tournament, collected the World Champion title when he won by two points on the final pitch.

Since then he added another world championship in 1993 and has won the last three world crowns to bring his total to five.

And he doesn't want it to end there.

The record for most consecutive world titles is six held by Fernando Isais (1947-52) _ a mark Francis has his sights set on.

``I want to break that. I don't know how possible that is, but I want to see how far we can go,'' said Francis, who will travel to Ainsworth Neb., for this year's tournament in late July. ``There's always pressure, especially when you're defending champion because everybody is looking to knock you off.

``You have to be on your guard. You have to have your top performance every game."