when is it time to accept you just dont have it

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thanks fran
hard to do long sessions during the week
come home from work
practice
then its time for dinner and not soon after sleep to get ready for the next day
(i know pretty boring....:grin:)

I hear you and I can sympathize. I remember working full time and trying to stay up late to practice. It didn't work well. Eventually I just decided to reserve my long practice time for the weekends when I could sleep well and devote several hours at a time to practicing. During the week, I just played matches with local players.
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
This sounds good to me. I will give it a try.:cool:

In the past I have waited to see the result before naming the shot. If it works I call it sweetheart. If it misses I name it sh**head.

Lmao! And I have a few choice names for a shot or two myself!!
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just a few more comments and suggestions Larry and then I'll be out of the Instructor Forum. I'm not an instructor and I feel uncomfortable posting here.

1. Before practice go to YouTube and spend 15min. or so watching the pro's play. I like watching Jason Shaw and SVB play mostly. Now when I watch these guys play I study their fundamentals. ( watching their feet, how they lead their body into the shot and how they stroke the cue ball (are they hitting the QB or pushing the cue thru the QB)

2. You said you play one pocket. Before going to your next match go to YouTube and watch Alex P. (spelling) or Eferen for an hour or so. Watching this will get your mind where it should be for your upcoming match.

3. You may want to add more structure to your practice routine. Back in '93 I bought Bert Kinister's VHS tape (yes VHS) 60 Minute Workout for 9 Ball and still, to this day, practice the shots daily. You will see the value of these shots and positioning of the QB when you play out in the field.

Recommended reading/viewing for One Pocket:
Scott Frost's DVD's
Tom Wirth's "A Game of Controlled Aggression"
Winning One Pocket
Shots, Moves, & Strategies
Tor Lowery's Video on Kicking
I may have missed few but these are the ones that come to mind.

Last comments. Whatever aiming system you use, just remember to let your eyes lead your body onto the shot line, not visa-versa. Watch the pro's.
The game is all about you and your desire to be the best that you can. Never accept that you can't be an "A" player or even better. You can, you just have to put in the table time. Hard work pays off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDCLYNzZ8LQ

Your not quitting, your hooked and you know it. :)

Have fun out there.

John
 
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bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Just a few more comments and suggestions Larry and then I'll be out of the Instructor Forum. I'm not an instructor and I feel uncomfortable posting here.

1. Before practice go to YouTube and spend 15min. or so watching the pro's play. I like watching Jason Shaw and SVB play mostly. Now when I watch these guys play I study their fundamentals. ( watching their feet, how they lead their body into the shot and how they stroke the cue ball (are they hitting the QB or pushing the cue thru the QB)

2. You said you play one pocket. Before going to your next match go to YouTube and watch Alex P. (spelling) or Eferen for an hour or so. Watching this will get your mind where it should be for your upcoming match.

3. You may want to add more structure to your practice routine. Back in '93 I bought Bert Kinister's VHS tape (yes VHS) 60 Minute Workout for 9 Ball and still, to this day, practice the shots daily. You will see the value of these shots and positioning of the QB when you play out in the field.

Recommended reading/viewing for One Pocket:
Scott Frost's DVD's
Tom Wirth's "A Game of Controlled Aggression"
Winning One Pocket
Shots, Moves, & Strategies
Tor Lowery's Video on Kicking
I may have missed few but these are the ones that come to mind.

Last comments. Whatever aiming system you use, just remember to let your eyes lead your body onto the shot line, not visa-versa. Watch the pro's.
The game is all about you and your desire to be the best that you can. Never accept that you can't be an "A" player or even better. You can, you just have to put in the table time. Hard work pays off.

Your not quitting, your hooked and you know it. :)

Have fun out there.

John

john
i have always appreciated your help/encouragement/and support over the years
THANK YOU....:thumbup:
larry
 

Ratta

Hearing the balls.....
Silver Member
Wise words,

attitude and goal settings are one of the most important things on your journey,
hope you re doin good bud!


To improve from here you have to upgrade your mind.

Pool players see themselves playing at a certain level and they work like heck to get there, then once they do they work like heck to stay there.

That's why guys can practice 1-2 hours a day and never improve. It isn't their fundamentals holding them back - although they might need work - it's that they are already playing at their expected level.

To change you have to really spend some time thinking about what your goal is with pool. For me my first one was that I wanted to be able to beat anybody at most bars. If I never upgraded that I would be an APA 4 still.

Then I got into playing tournaments and wanted to get 'in the money'. Then I realized I was a perennial bridesmaid getting 2nd or 3rd a lot but not really breaking through until I decided that I deserved to win any bar tournament I entered and went on a tear winning 13 bar tournaments in a two week period. Including three in a 27 - hour timeframe.

The point is, you'll get your fundamentals in line with where your head is, not the other way around.

Figure out what your next goal is. Look at all the hard work you've put in and understand that you deserve to be a better player. You expect it. You demand it.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Hi bbb. I identify with you 100%. Me? I'll never be an A player and accept it. There are days I'd like to toss my cues and kiss pool goodbye. But for what? It's too much fun.
Maybe when you retire someday you can devote more time to practice and bump your level up. How I see you.... you contribute a lot to pool as an equipment buyer. You employ instructors, Your constructive input on pool forums. You introduce players to each other. You support poolrooms. You're the heart and soul of pool. It's people like you keeps pool alive. Without you there is no pool. You're an A player/person in my book. So we have bad days...but the good ones are a beautiful thing. Enjoy and do the best you can. Have fun and enjoy.
 
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iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Your more experienced peers will know within a year of a new player in the room picking up a cue, who got bit by the pool bug, if that player will ever make A level.

If you put in a 3 or 4 solid years of gambling and playing your brains out at some phase of your life, and did not make A level, you simply don't possess the eye-hand coordination to obtain it.
 

QuietStorm

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"Ninety percent of the game is half mental" - Yogi Berra

I'm going through my second pool phase in life, the first one being over two decades ago in my early twenties. It didn't take long for muscle memory to kick in. My stroke improved dramatically in a short time and I found it amusing to see other players, including the league director, bewildered by my improvement (in all fairness, I told them I use to play).

However, I'm also a realist and wise enough to know that I will eventually hit a few plateaus in my journey. Along with long hours of drills and quality practice, I also train my mind to handle the emotional aspects of the game. All the drills in the world won't help, if I lack the confidence and readiness to execute what I learn.

The link posted earlier to a copy of The Little Book of Talent is a gem (thanks for that post)! As it relates to pool, I've found The Pleasures of Small Motions to be a good book. The author did a good job at connecting a few concepts of psychology with pool, but I found some of his recommendations on the game itself lacking.

Reading stories of other athletes overcoming their plateaus can be inspirational and give you that catalyst needed to breakthrough your own plateau.

I wish I knew Efren Reyes' secret to a healthy and long pool life.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Hi bbb. I identify with you 100%. Me? I'll never be an A player and accept it. There are days I'd like to toss my cues and kiss pool goodbye. But for what? It's too much fun.
Maybe when you retire someday you can devote more time to practice and bump your level up. How I see you.... you contribute a lot to pool as an equipment buyer. You employ instructors, Your constructive input on pool forums. You introduce players to each other. You support poolrooms. You're the heart and soul of pool. It's people like you keeps pool alive. Without you there is no pool. You're an A player/person in my book. So we have bad days...but the good ones are a beautiful thing. Enjoy and do the best you can. Have fun and enjoy.

goldcrown
thanks for the kind words and encouragement/
:thumbup:
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Your more experienced peers will know within a year of a new player in the room picking up a cue, who got bit by the pool bug, if that player will ever make A level.

If you put in a 3 or 4 solid years of gambling and playing your brains out at some phase of your life, and did not make A level, you simply don't possess the eye-hand coordination to obtain it.

not sure i agree with the time frame
but at some point i agree.....unfortunately......:mad:........:eek:
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm going through my second pool phase in life, the first one being over two decades ago in my early twenties. It didn't take long for muscle memory to kick in. My stroke improved dramatically in a short time and I found it amusing to see other players, including the league director, bewildered by my improvement (in all fairness, I told them I use to play).

However, I'm also a realist and wise enough to know that I will eventually hit a few plateaus in my journey. Along with long hours of drills and quality practice, I also train my mind to handle the emotional aspects of the game. All the drills in the world won't help, if I lack the confidence and readiness to execute what I learn.

The link posted earlier to a copy of The Little Book of Talent is a gem (thanks for that post)! As it relates to pool, I've found The Pleasures of Small Motions to be a good book. The author did a good job at connecting a few concepts of psychology with pool, but I found some of his recommendations on the game itself lacking.

Reading stories of other athletes overcoming their plateaus can be inspirational and give you that catalyst needed to breakthrough your own plateau.

I wish I knew Efren Reyes' secret to a healthy and long pool life.

thanks for the reply
i think we all would like to be efren.....:)
 

Renegade_56

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think the big difference in the level you play is focus. Most people do not know how to concentrate and get to the level of concentration and focus the pros play at. We all have the ability to make shots one at a time. Look at pro golfers, when I used to play alot I could hit streaks where I'd play 7 or 8 holes and then realize I had just played them even par, or even 1 or 2 under, then get complacent and start taking shots for granted and blow out a 78 or 80. The difference in playing well is getting in the zone and staying there, or in pool, what we call in stroke.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I think the big difference in the level you play is focus. Most people do not know how to concentrate and get to the level of concentration and focus the pros play at. We all have the ability to make shots one at a time. Look at pro golfers, when I used to play alot I could hit streaks where I'd play 7 or 8 holes and then realize I had just played them even par, or even 1 or 2 under, then get complacent and start taking shots for granted and blow out a 78 or 80. The difference in playing well is getting in the zone and staying there, or in pool, what we call in stroke.

thanks for the reply
 

Ratta

Hearing the balls.....
Silver Member
Just a few more comments and suggestions Larry and then I'll be out of the Instructor Forum. I'm not an instructor and I feel uncomfortable posting here.

1. Before practice go to YouTube and spend 15min. or so watching the pro's play. I like watching Jason Shaw and SVB play mostly. Now when I watch these guys play I study their fundamentals. ( watching their feet, how they lead their body into the shot and how they stroke the cue ball (are they hitting the QB or pushing the cue thru the QB)

2. You said you play one pocket. Before going to your next match go to YouTube and watch Alex P. (spelling) or Eferen for an hour or so. Watching this will get your mind where it should be for your upcoming match.

3. You may want to add more structure to your practice routine. Back in '93 I bought Bert Kinister's VHS tape (yes VHS) 60 Minute Workout for 9 Ball and still, to this day, practice the shots daily. You will see the value of these shots and positioning of the QB when you play out in the field.

Recommended reading/viewing for One Pocket:
Scott Frost's DVD's
Tom Wirth's "A Game of Controlled Aggression"
Winning One Pocket
Shots, Moves, & Strategies
Tor Lowery's Video on Kicking
I may have missed few but these are the ones that come to mind.

Last comments. Whatever aiming system you use, just remember to let your eyes lead your body onto the shot line, not visa-versa
. Watch the pro's.
The game is all about you and your desire to be the best that you can. Never accept that you can't be an "A" player or even better. You can, you just have to put in the table time. Hard work pays off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDCLYNzZ8LQ

Your not quitting, your hooked and you know it. :)

Have fun out there.

John

tap tap tap! Amen bro :)
 

Wald0

Registered
Just some thoughts...

I grew up playing tennis first before pool, I had a coach from China that made it to the top 100 on the tour. She told me stories about the training back in her home country that really hit home and I will remember forever.

They were chosen to be tennis players and had to put an obscene amount of practice hours on the court. She told me they often hoped it rained just so they didn't have to play, thats how tired they got.

I believe you have to put in the hard hours. Doesn't matter if you feel tired or don't want to play today "oh I played so much yesterday im tired"

NO, get your a** back on the table and put the hours in until you're satisfied with improving on something that same session! Feel burned out? Doesnt matter, you keep going and play tired until broken but improved
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just some thoughts...

I grew up playing tennis first before pool, I had a coach from China that made it to the top 100 on the tour. She told me stories about the training back in her home country that really hit home and I will remember forever.

They were chosen to be tennis players and had to put an obscene amount of practice hours on the court. She told me they often hoped it rained just so they didn't have to play, thats how tired they got.

I believe you have to put in the hard hours. Doesn't matter if you feel tired or don't want to play today "oh I played so much yesterday im tired"

NO, get your a** back on the table and put the hours in until you're satisfied with improving on something that same session! Feel burned out? Doesnt matter, you keep going and play tired until broken but improved

Even if the player doesn't want to become a professional, nothing beats a good marathon session because it breaks your resistance down to where you are too tired to try to control everything in your game. That's when good things can start to happen. Fatigue isn't always a bad thing --- especially with players who tend to be too controlling or are wound too tightly.
 

Renegade_56

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
thanks for the reply

A question I've had in the back of my mind every since you put up this thread Larry, is just what does "just don't have it" mean to you. At our age do we really want to play at pro level? You know if we could, we would be expected to right? I'd likely be considered a C player nowadays because I just can't run balls in rotation games the way I used to, but I'm good with that. I enjoy the strategy of one pocket and I have knowledge and experience that the young guns don't have and so I can play at a level I enjoy. I mean sure, I'm still trying to learn and get better, but I can play and enjoy playing, and I expect you can also.
 
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