Best drills to do after a long layoff?

[Positively Ralf]

I have not played anything pool in about a year or so. I want to enter a 9 ball tournament on the big tables happening in my area in a few weeks and would like to get any tips on which drills would be best to work on before the tournament starts.

I used to just rack up the balls and play straight pool and truth be told that's all I ever did. The only other things I did set up and just hit the cue ball from one end of the table to the other and just keep still until the cue ball came back with the hopes of it hitting the tip. I also used to set up any object ball on one end of the table and shoot it into an opposite pocket and later on I would do it with the cue ball hitting the object ball.

Any other things to consider like maybe practicing the break?

 

[FranCrimi]

If you've only got a few weeks, then play nothing but 9 ball to prepare for the tournament. Play alone. Play against other players. But play only 9 Ball. You can do drills after the tournament is over.

 

[ChrisWoj]

I have not played anything pool in about a year or so. I want to enter a 9 ball tournament on the big tables happening in my area in a few weeks and would like to get any tips on which drills would be best to work on before the tournament starts.

I used to just rack up the balls and play straight pool and truth be told that's all I ever did. The only other things I did set up and just hit the cue ball from one end of the table to the other and just keep still until the cue ball came back with the hopes of it hitting the tip. I also used to set up any object ball on one end of the table and shoot it into an opposite pocket and later on I would do it with the cue ball hitting the object ball.

Any other things to consider like maybe practicing the break?

Advice from competitive athletics in general would be, given the timeline, to be very specific about the type of drills or general preparations you're engaging in, and even more specifically: you want to focus on prep for retaining mental focus and maxing out trust in your prior work.

FranCrimi, above, recommends just playing 9-ball games, which is a fine way to prep for a tournament. But what you get out of that as prep is going to depend on how you approach it mentally. As you're playing the games you don't want to worry about your form, especially if you've got a background playing as you note. You want to approach each shot, again whether this is 9-ball games or drills, taking care to embed your setup habits and build trust in where those habits place you over the shot and into the execution.

One thing to avoid is drilling from a single static-location for massed numbers. If you're not practicing with the right mindset it may be completely counterproductive when you're on the verge of competition, because those sets tend to result in contemplating adjustments to form, but once form is embedded you can perform those drills with an emphasis on practicing the quieting of those thoughts. If you can empty your head and perform with trust for a few hundred shots in a row, you can do it during a tournament when you encounter familiarity. But you've gotta be in the space mentally to avoid letting those types of routines send you into an over-thinking spiral because your mind starts to wander.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I recommend concentrating on a smooth, straight stroke without hesitation. Any drill that requires that is OK but I think draw will uncover flaws quickly.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I have not played anything pool in about a year or so. I want to enter a 9 ball tournament on the big tables happening in my area in a few weeks and would like to get any tips on which drills would be best to work on before the tournament starts. ...

How did you prepare and how did it turn out?