Once-a-week limitation?
- Thread starter Andrew Manning
- Start date
You're right, that's exactly what I'm going to say.
If I had a pool table in my house, that's exactly what I'd do. Actually, I'd still play the one 5-8 hour session on Thursday night, but I'd also get 30-60 minutes here and there several times per week. Heading down to the basement for an hour after dinner is something I could fit into my day. But leaving the house and driving 15 minutes to the pool hall, just to have to turn around after 25 minutes and drive 15 minutes home, isn't a workable solution for daily practice.
Some day, I will have a table. I guarantee I'll be a better player than I am now when that day comes.
-Andrew
Lol. That's what I thought too! I thought I'd be an A-player within a year. But alas, after almost two years with my own table, I'm just barely a better player than I was before the table.
Don't set your expectations too high, especially if you plan on eventually having children.
Now, once I get passed the toddler stages then I guarantee I'll be a better player! That, or when the last one leaves for college.
I get to see players of all different skill levels competing every week. They fall into 4 categories;
1. The great entertainer. It is all about having fun and drinking beer and the fellowship.
2. The serious beginner. Cannot stand the incredibly SLOW rate of learning and increasing their skill level.. They want to be able to advance from a C- to and A+ in 2 hours.
3. The Regular. These players (usually the majority of tournament players) are the dedicated players. They constantly try to learn, keep in practice and watch intensely the better players, trying to catch a glimpse of something to learn and take to the practice table.
4. The SKILLED players. These are the Winners. The players that have that confidence that wins them games and matches.
They all play, but the biggest difference is in the 1st and 4th category.
Neither practice that much and are usually resigned to play at their level and accept the outcome.
The middle two levels are the players that practice. Once a week practice won't advance your skills quickly, but if the practice is structured for progress, it can be very helpful. Perfect Practice makes for a better player.
Hitting balls and playing with other players is (IMO) not practice. Practice is doing drills and working on those shots you have trouble with from previous contests.
Testing your knowledge and skills in tournament play is executing what you've been practicing. Nothing is quite like having a match depending on you making a ball that you've shot and made consistently during your practice routines.
You can increase your level of play to a certain level by only practicing once a week, just don't expect to be any better until you've met your current goal and then started your new one.
1. The great entertainer. It is all about having fun and drinking beer and the fellowship.
2. The serious beginner. Cannot stand the incredibly SLOW rate of learning and increasing their skill level.. They want to be able to advance from a C- to and A+ in 2 hours.
3. The Regular. These players (usually the majority of tournament players) are the dedicated players. They constantly try to learn, keep in practice and watch intensely the better players, trying to catch a glimpse of something to learn and take to the practice table.
4. The SKILLED players. These are the Winners. The players that have that confidence that wins them games and matches.
They all play, but the biggest difference is in the 1st and 4th category.
Neither practice that much and are usually resigned to play at their level and accept the outcome.
The middle two levels are the players that practice. Once a week practice won't advance your skills quickly, but if the practice is structured for progress, it can be very helpful. Perfect Practice makes for a better player.
Hitting balls and playing with other players is (IMO) not practice. Practice is doing drills and working on those shots you have trouble with from previous contests.
Testing your knowledge and skills in tournament play is executing what you've been practicing. Nothing is quite like having a match depending on you making a ball that you've shot and made consistently during your practice routines.
You can increase your level of play to a certain level by only practicing once a week, just don't expect to be any better until you've met your current goal and then started your new one.
I have to respectfully disagree, Jude. I think it depends on how much of a straight 'feel' vs 'analytical' player you are. The mostly feel player has to constantly be on the table to have a chance to be in stroke, whereas the analytical player can frequently be productive away from the table and require less maintenance practice. The analytical player has to have a good model, though, to get away with it.
I'm not saying more practice wouldn't be a good thing - it definitely would! I'm just saying that you don't have to completely suck as you suggest just because you're not hitting balls every day.
Robert
I know its not quite the same thing, but in the 'good old days' some pro snooker players used to put their cues away during the 'off season' (around May to September) and not play at all. They must have felt constant practice was not needed.
Mind you, that was a generation ago. I remember talking to an aspiring pro more recently (but still over 10 years ago) who was suffering from a head cold and in a bit of a slump. When I suggested that he might be getting stale and should take a break for a week, he didn't want to know - he was too frightened that if he stopped practicing for even a day, he would go backwards.
I play once a week and make improvements because I think about the game when I'm not playing. At the very best I can play Friday-Sunday and that is it.
I certainly make improvements in my game, but not at the pace of when I could play 4-5 times a week. In a few years I'll sell my house and by a new one that I can have a table on so I can play at least an hour a day. If that doesn't happen I'll put an addition onto my house so I can play.
I certainly make improvements in my game, but not at the pace of when I could play 4-5 times a week. In a few years I'll sell my house and by a new one that I can have a table on so I can play at least an hour a day. If that doesn't happen I'll put an addition onto my house so I can play.
If you only get to the table once a week, why? Is it time, distance from the pool hall or some other restriction?
I would suggest if you can, try to play a little more often and see if you feel like you improve.
If you live to far from the place you play to go there more than 1 time a week, try finding another table closer. I personally play the most at a pool hall almost 20 miles from home, and I can't always spend the time to drive there and back and play, so I go to a nearby bar with a table and get some time in. Even if the table isn't top notch, any time spent at the table is better than none.
Once a week blues
:frown:This thread hits home. For 6-8 months I've played league once a week. I've become a primary caregiver for a parent. I've re-prioritized. I can always go back to being a recreational player.
That said-my 'skill set' is rapidly eroding. More safety play(actually-'running' since I have trouble executing safes)/ more natural rolling position (probably a good lesson to me)/ fewer severe draw shots/ far fewer inside english force follow shots/ many more center ball stun shots(another good thing?). In general, I've just lost the confidence that comes from table time- in selecting from shot making options. I think of it as playing scared-Not risking the game on one tough shot but more playing %'s and more 2 or 3 way shots-including the 'where's dat 9ball?' mentality while still protecting the cb. Kind of being more selective with offensive shots-cause I'm running out of ammo quickly.
I miss seeing the crew at the pool room. It's an extended family. It's a soap opera/Jerry Springer show/SNL/rumor mill/well- you know-you can miss a lot of unimportant stuff in 6 months.
I have made it to the local senior citizens center 3 times in this time period to play some 8ball (1/15 in the side). I got schooled there too.
A once a week pool fix sucks when you're addicted like I am. But it's for the right reasons.
Sorry for the rant
3railkick
ps: some of those SOB's at the senior center cheat-a little
:frown:This thread hits home. For 6-8 months I've played league once a week. I've become a primary caregiver for a parent. I've re-prioritized. I can always go back to being a recreational player.
That said-my 'skill set' is rapidly eroding. More safety play(actually-'running' since I have trouble executing safes)/ more natural rolling position (probably a good lesson to me)/ fewer severe draw shots/ far fewer inside english force follow shots/ many more center ball stun shots(another good thing?). In general, I've just lost the confidence that comes from table time- in selecting from shot making options. I think of it as playing scared-Not risking the game on one tough shot but more playing %'s and more 2 or 3 way shots-including the 'where's dat 9ball?' mentality while still protecting the cb. Kind of being more selective with offensive shots-cause I'm running out of ammo quickly.
I miss seeing the crew at the pool room. It's an extended family. It's a soap opera/Jerry Springer show/SNL/rumor mill/well- you know-you can miss a lot of unimportant stuff in 6 months.
I have made it to the local senior citizens center 3 times in this time period to play some 8ball (1/15 in the side). I got schooled there too.
A once a week pool fix sucks when you're addicted like I am. But it's for the right reasons.
Sorry for the rant
3railkick
ps: some of those SOB's at the senior center cheat-a little
I think one can only play at about 75% of true speed on avg., only getting to a table weekly. Too much muscle memory is lost.
The game is 40% knowledge, 60% execution and 5% heart.
I am going to have to agree with Black-Balled on this one!!! His percentages also seem to me to be very reasonable. I usally play about 5 hours a week. Recently I started playing for the APA Masters event and played about 15 hours a week for 3 weeks. My game probably increased a 15% in speed.
It sounds like he was over-training and would have benefited from listening to you. It's important to give yourself recovery time and let the brain work its processing magic away from the table to consolidate what has been practiced and integrate it into previously learned skills and knowledge. It helps you come back to the game mentally fresh, and top athletes in many sports consider it important enough to make it a regular part of their training schedule.
Robert