MN Poolbootcamp Mental training

[DarkOne]

I had a great opportunity to do some training with Demi.
We talked about the mental aspects and perspective we can have while playing pool.
A lot of players focus on the physical aspects of playing and don't know how to improve their mental game.
Mental game challenges come up all the time like dealing with pressure, distractions, discouragement, and the list goes on.
Often times I think people that talk about the mental game gets theoretical really quick, however this training I found really helpful.
During the training we talked about our mental blocks and challenges and came up with specific responses to each of them.

We established a good base and foundation for our mental game.
Demi offers a lot in this area being a professional player himself.
I think his unique persective was extremely helpful.
Our training established a good lens to view competition through.

This gave me tools I look forward to using as I compete.
@Tin Man

 

[bbb]

Sounds like your time with demi was very productive.

I have spent three days with Demi and they definitely helped my game.
I recommend him Highly

 

[sjm]

Good stuff. Tin Man's got you on a good track.

I'll add that, although rarely talked about, there is something called mental stamina. The ability to stay focused and do all the work in both shot conceptualization and pre-shot routine for long periods of time is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the greatest players. Even at the game's highest level, many who have superior physical stamina lack superior mental stamina.

Jose Parica, Shane Van Boening and Ralf Souquet offer three great examples of players having superior mental stamina.

 

[Tin Man]

Hey gang! Thanks as always for the kind words. MDaines was one of three people I just ran through my mental game training over the last two months. It was three sessions, 2 hours each, bi-weekly. That was the first group I ran and it was kind of a test to see how it went. It was a slam dunk. It went very well, so I am going to take the next three people that are interested and run another. It will be either Sunday nights or Monday nights at 9PM CST so send me a PM if you are interested.

What I do is customized and interactive. I start by finding out some of the biggest challenges that come up during matches and some of the biggest challenges that come up in the off hours that demotivate you from practicing or pursuing your best game. Then I teach my approach to managing mental adversity customized to those specific issues.

The mental game approach I teach is very simple and practical. I believe that there are two parts: 1) Building a good machine and 2) Maintaining the machine. Building the machine is developing effective beliefs about ourselves, the game, why we play, etc, that keep us in a positive state of mind. Maintaining the machine means that we learn to recognize when we our machine isn't working right (it's generating negative emotions), diagnose where these are coming from, and how to trouble shoot these issues in the heat of battle. Session goals will be to reduce the amount of negative emotions experienced during battle, have a good plan for them when they arise, and have a roadmap on how to navigate through unforeseen adversity. I also make sure each participant leaves with a deck of flash cards they can use to practice (this is the method I use when training, every time I get a tester during my practice I draw a flash card and visualize myself feeling whatever doubt or fear it says, then I practice regrouping with the techniques that we discussed which are on the back). Again, these flash cards will be customized to the challenges identified in session one although I will include others as well as the system for making new cards when new challenges arise.

I will be recording a podcast Saturday and will go into a bit more detail so once that is done I will link it to this thread so anyone interested can gain more information.

With or without me I hope that all of you take the mental side of the game seriously and make it a real part of your training and preparation. Happy shooting!

 

[ShootingArts]

Hey gang! Thanks as always for the kind words. MDaines was one of three people I just ran through my mental game training over the last two months. It was three sessions, 2 hours each, bi-weekly. That was the first group I ran and it was kind of a test to see how it went. It was a slam dunk. It went very well, so I am going to take the next three people that are interested and run another. It will be either Sunday nights or Monday nights at 9PM CST so send me a PM if you are interested.

What I do is customized and interactive. I start by finding out some of the biggest challenges that come up during matches and some of the biggest challenges that come up in the off hours that demotivate you from practicing or pursuing your best game. Then I teach my approach to managing mental adversity customized to those specific issues.

The mental game approach I teach is very simple and practical. I believe that there are two parts: 1) Building a good machine and 2) Maintaining the machine. Building the machine is developing effective beliefs about ourselves, the game, why we play, etc, that keep us in a positive state of mind. Maintaining the machine means that we learn to recognize when we our machine isn't working right (it's generating negative emotions), diagnose where these are coming from, and how to trouble shoot these issues in the heat of battle. Session goals will be to reduce the amount of negative emotions experienced during battle, have a good plan for them when they arise, and have a roadmap on how to navigate through unforeseen adversity. I also make sure each participant leaves with a deck of flash cards they can use to practice (this is the method I use when training, every time I get a tester during my practice I draw a flash card and visualize myself feeling whatever doubt or fear it says, then I practice regrouping with the techniques that we discussed which are on the back). Again, these flash cards will be customized to the challenges identified in session one although I will include others as well as the system for making new cards when new challenges arise.

I will be recording a podcast Saturday and will go into a bit more detail so once that is done I will link it to this thread so anyone interested can gain more information.

With or without me I hope that all of you take the mental side of the game seriously and make it a real part of your training and preparation. Happy shooting!

Many underestimate the mental side of pool, I think because it often starts off as recreation. The nice things about building a strong mental game are that you can work on it almost anywhere, and the mental game can be ported from one activity to the next. Horrible thought, but it can even help your day job if you have one.

Hu

 

[Stretch]

Sounds like your time with demi was very productive.

I have spent three days with Demi and they definitely helped my game.
I recommend him Highly

I'll have to research this guy. I'm always looking for great mentle stratages to coping with this game that drives us crazy sometimes.

 

[Tin Man]

Thank you all again. I've got my next group session filled that will run in April and May. I will be looking for 3 more people starting in June or July. Probably going to stick to Sunday evenings, 9-11PM CST, every other Sunday night. Could maybe flex a little for our East Coast friends.

One of my other participants from our first session just sent me this: "As I listen to these 3 mental game session recordings over and over they become more and more powerful. Thanks again."

Here is the clip from our recent podcast where I discuss it a bit more. PM me if you are interested. With small groups I can probably only run 5 of these a year so if demand begins to exceed that I may have to evolve the format down the road, but I am reluctant to lose the small group format because I believe that is where the magic happens. Thanks again!