Slump

Put less pressure on yourself and play for the sake of playing a game you enjoy. it will come back without realizing it!

Whaddya wanna do for a few?!

My best guess...

is you need to calm your mind,

after the training you retained v well, required little thought to play,

longer time now after instruction you may be slipping on a shot or maybe not, but still going back to something you learned and wondering, did I correct that in that shot missed?

Now your minds gears start turning and it can snowball.

I learned in golf a v similar fundamental to pool.

There is a time for practice, to learn new stuff, be conscious of the swing, etc, and a time for competition.

Put all that stuff in the shed and 'run w what you brung'. Quiet the mind, forget about the stuff u did in practice and play.

Outside input is a good thing for your game given a credible source as yours obviously is, but it's a spicket that has to have a valve to turn off in your mind.

That being said, I've had it and it always messes w my game. Each and every time.

Just takes time to work it out.

Always betters my game in the end, being that it's good advice.

Ironhead1970 said:

Took the 3 day SOP course in Dallas Texas with Randy G in the first week of June this year. All of July I was winning game after game, now in Aug I can't win for nothing i've been doing my Mother drills 3 X a week. It feels like I forgot how to AIM!? Anyone have any advice?

Thank you
boB M.
Sa, TX


I will do a review soon of what great teacher Randy is he breaks the complex task down into simple steps.

Click to expand...

It may not be your aiming, could be your stroke. Work on your stroke to the point your arm feels like it's going to fall off. When your bridge hand and arm feels like it's gliding against sand paper on the cloth, you'll just about be there. Sounds like you need more table time and less thinking. I've never gone to any clinics, but sounds like a puppy mill. Maybe try one on one with a instructor.

Edit: I was only kidding about clinics and puppy mills. I thought I could get an instructor on here going. His mental game is tougher than I thought. Sorry for my poor humor. ��

I was in a 3 or 4 day slump over a week ago. The more I've played pool, the fewer and farther between that I go into slumps. I couldn't really pinpoint what caused it, but I think it had more to do with sleep and diet than anything. I bet athletes/competitors falling out of "the zone" has more to do with that than anything else. Of course, working on your fundamentals never hurt. A week after my slump, and I've been shooting some of the best pool of my life. Your slump will be over before you know it.

..........

I'm sure everything is overwhelming. If you think back when you were losing each game the more upset you got. When you get tensed you could simply just be putting to much grip into the stroke. Setup some simple shots and put all your focus on how much your gripping the cue, don't worry about pocketing the ball. If your gripping to hard, focus on a loose, but not to loose of a grip the whole way to the finish line. I'm sure your instructor gave you great instructions on the whole stroke thing. If you know your stroke is good, then go to the aiming. Just like shooting a gun which is easier to aim, but if you don't know how to hold a gun your not hitting the paper.

I have no concept of everything.

Well, most of your posts have been mentioning your lessons...This follows a pattern from a few years ago where some posters with 10-15 posts recommended some instructor or other, then disappeared for good. I'm going to disregard my own suspicions and assume your post is genuine, in which case....

I'm guessing all your work on your mechanics have caused you to take your focus off of the shot at hand. Basically you have "stroke thoughts". All your thinking should be done standing up, not bent down over the shot. Stand away from the table, looking into the shot line. Vividly visualize the shot in as much detail as possible, how high your bridgehand is, where you intend to strike the cueball and how hard. This is also when all your aiming is done, meaning that you are selecting which spot to hit at this time. DO NOT try to figure this out while down over the ball! Try to "feel" the hit in your mind. Then as you go down, briefly verify that your cuetip is in the right place, then put all your focus into pointing your stick at the right spot (aiming at the spot you selected while standing up). Just execute, without thinking about your mechanics. That kind of thinking should be done in drills, in practise.