I'm 58 and an APA 5 except when I practice at home and then I'm a 7
In the past 6 months I finally solved a problem that has eluded me to years. That is, the straight stroke. For me I solved it by now holding the cue with a kind of rubber grip. I hold it lightly with my fingers and keep my wrist "dead" and let it go where it wants to. What I'm essentially doing is taking away my previous tendency to squeeze and twist on the forward stroke.
Now that I've solved that problem I'm so excited to show off my new talent in a match. That brings me to my next challenge. I've spent so much time working out the stroke issue that I'm very in tune with my body and how everything feels while practicing at home. When I go to league night I swear I'm in somebody else's body. My brain "thinks" as the stroke moves forward too fast, too slow? I can tell that my shoulders are raised and tightened. It feels like a different sport on a different planet.
I have found some relief from this by sticking with my routine. That seems to be the best help for this anxious issue. I don't feel/think like I'm nervous. I'm not one to get pissy if I lose, more like puzzled on why I lost. It's almost like I'm so excited to show off my new skills that I've overly happy/excited. Sometimes after a few games it just melts away and I can get down to business. Sometimes the match is over before I relax. Whatever it is, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to approach fixing this. I've already ruled out a couple shots of tequila and other chemicals. I suppose I'm not the only one. What works for you? -Thank you
p.s. Some of the "different feel" is perfectly legit. I practice on a 9 foot Connelly with new felt, clean balls, in a dead quite, plush basement. League night is bright, loud, dirty and 7 foot - so no wonder some of the alienization.
I used to hate that nervous energy, and was in deep denial that I even had it. See if you can try to use that nervous energy to your advantage. It sharpens/heightens your perceptions if you can hack your mind to use it as such. It's classic fight or flight response, even if you're not feeling scared, your body is pumping adrenaline and various chemicals to get you into a heightened state for survival. Use that "giddy" feeling to analyze the table. I've only recently discovered this, but I'll try to explain my process.
First off, read the older book "Mastering Pool" by George Fels. It's under $10 used on Amazon or eBay. Pay particular attention to the straight pool section where he talks about "safety valves" aka backup shots, and looking for pockets for the object balls. When I come up to the table, after the balls have been broken, I want to start shooting right away, but this is wrong. My body is producing a chemical cocktail that no drug dealer could ever hope keep in stock. Now is the time to pause and give your finely tuned pool mind/body all the info it needs. This takes only 20-30 seconds, so not long, but if it bothers you to make your opponent wait, you've got to work on that. We're not talking stalling or them falling asleep in the chair, but just a tiny bit of time. Take 30 seconds and after they see your performance jump, they will either respect the time you took, or get nervous and fall apart. Either way it's no sweat off your back.
So Step 1 is to identify what suit you want, stripes/solids. Do this by analyzing each suit, and each ball in the suit to see what pocket they go in. I mean, EVERY ball on the table. 1 ball goes in this corner, this corner, this side, this corner, blocked from one corner and one side without rearranging balls, etc. (Again, the Mastering Pool book talks about A, B, C balls, briefly, A has a pocket, B will have a pocket once A are shot off table, C are worst, clusters or something that needs broke out to be make able. B become A once A is out of the way...) It sounds like a process, but by doing so, you also are programming your mind for your backup/safety valve shots. Everyone loses shape, a backup shot should always be a consideration for if you miss shape.
Step 2 is to shoot the opening shot. Depending on how much practice you get at this, you might need to re analyze, but this time instead of 30 sec, it might take 10-15, but you're putting chalk on anyway right? What's an opponent going to say to a guy that might take a couple seconds longer to chalk? Does it matter? He's in the chair after all.
Step 3 is to keep shooting balls in, always re-analyzing if any balls have been bumped or moved. If you have to sit down, be sure to check all balls when you get back for pockets and A, B, C status. You want to always have about a 2-3 ball run figured in your head, play for tight position, focus like hell and nail the position as closely as you can. All this analysis has the info in your head, don't be afraid to let your body/subconscious do what it's been programmed for years to do.
Step 4 is to know when to stop. You've ran a few balls and know you can't get out. Don't fool yourself and know when to go cowboy mode or when to play chess. This is an important lesson, and there are times for both. If you can't run out, guess what? You've already analyzed your opponent's balls and hopefully his play style (will he take any low probability shots? If so trap his butt
). If you can't get out, or it would be a much smarter decision, play a safe. Now I'm not talking any half assed safe, we're talking make your ball a sitting duck, and make him SWEAT! Your goal is either BIH, trap him into scratching, or make him take a wild shot with no hope of leave possible. If you can get your opponent out of line on a couple shots, it's often time to come back to the table. You know his balls as well as he does at this point, so stick him in the worst possible location on the table.
EDIT: Also realize that if you hit your ball first, you can knock his ducks into the pocket for him, pocket hangers are the MOST dangerous thing to leave for your opponent, he/she can get position ANYWHERE on the table with a pocket hanger.
Step 5 is to finish the rack. Hopefully you've been able to move your balls to advantageous locations. The last 2-4 shots will, in an ideal (read this as your goal) scenario be just plain stop shots or maybe a touch of follow or stun. Maintain your focus and get pinpoint shape on each shot, before you know it, you'll have won.
This may sound like a major undertaking, but those good ol fight or flight chemicals will make it child's play within a few weeks of league or a few weekly tournaments. I don't know if this method works in practice because I know my own bullshit and it gets fatiguing playing both sides of the match this way. I'd suggest playing some equal offense to practice the stuff in the Mastering Pool book about reading racks. It's pretty simple and you don't even really have to worry about the A, B, C stuff because it kind of comes natural once you recognize it's a thing. Just check what pockets each ball goes into, and you can even rank the shots, such as the 2 ball goes in the side, but it's a difficult shot...
The nicest part about this, it stops a lot of self doubt and if you miss you have a much better understanding of why, instead of a vague idea. Believe it or not, I think that sometimes your subconscious misses because it knows to not paint yourself into a corner. This may all sound super analytical, but when you're shooting, you're not thinking, simply pocketing the ball and willing the cue ball to stop where you want it. When your down on the shot, you're not analyzing, you did that part before you got down.
Set your intentions while standing up. If you second guess or think about changing intentions(or it doesn't feel right etc), stand up and re-chalk, and maybe go look at one of their balls somewhere else on the table so they think you're some kind of pool genius or something. They don't know why you're looking at their ball, it may just get in their head a little
If you're doing this right, when getting down on a ball, it will almost feel like a dance, like a totally natural feeling and can sometimes lead you to dead stroke land. If it feels right, your body/subconscious knows it's go time!