Since you like stories, let me tell you a story about an individual that hangs around my poolhall, but every pool hall has at least one of these characters. Let's call him "Joe". Now Joe has been playing pool for a long time, everyone knows him and he is generally well liked, even if he can be a bit annoying. Joe plays at about a C+ speed, maybe B when the stars align, and througout the years he has played every top player in these parts, sometimes he has even lucked a win in short races. He has also had lessons from every great coach, only the very best of course. Joe likes to talk about his games against the players and his lessons, he loves to namedrop. Of course he only talks about his wins, and great shots, not so much his record against these players...
Anyhow, Joe has a lot of pool knowledge, but his raw skill is lacking. He can run a rack every now and then, but only the easy ones, and he often screws up. The reasons for this are a number of flaws in his alignment and his very jerky stroke. Of course this has all been pointed out to him a million times, by everyone with a set of eyes that knows him. I also know that the instructors he payed a lot of money told him this. The problem is, he doesn't want to change, because "he has to do it this way". I guess it feels "natural" to him. He really feels that his way of playing is the optimal one for him, even with all the evidence to the contrary. He doesn't want to put in the work required to change, and really only wants to brag about the lessons etc, not actually work hard on his game.
Joe would not be such a tragic case, if not for the fact that he wants to get better. If he merely was a social player, then all this would be a moot point, but deep down he really wants to succeed, if only he didn't have to work for it and admit to himself that maybe he was wrong. People like Joe, and they want him to succeed, but he cannot be helped by anyone, even the best coaches in the world, because of his stubborness.
