One Last Try, Concentration.

Not sure why I also can't concentrate?

Fenwick, I too have been taking my eye's off the ball at the last minute.

Hal Mix told me to aim the ball to the back of the pocket.
Stay down on your shot till after the ball goes in, and watch it fall into the exact location you aimed in the pocket.

By seeing where the ball goes you can verify your aim.

Hal would say somedays you would have tendencies to hit to the right, left or center of your pocket.
This really helps me with my banks.

On a critical shot 9 ball for example, if your tendency today is to hit to the left of your aim line, then adjust to hit it more to the right.

Hope this helps, just my 2 cents.

Take Care, Barney

put your honest game on the table, if you're good, then be good, if you're great, be great.
you will never be distracted again.

it all helps

Fenwick said:

Since 2007 I've been trying to reach the level of pool I achieved in my youth. I was pretty good at running a rack or three at age 13. Being self taught I really had no idea exactly where whitey was going. I was just a shot maker with young eyes.

Then I moved away from pool for many other sports and hobbies and my affliction, work. One of those hobbies was table tennis.

I was beginning to get back on track after taking lessons, practicing and playing. For me that meant getting into the next rack; 14/1. I hit some 20's, 30's and even a 40 something ball runs. Then my pool game was interrupted again for a year. Life outside of pool.

So now I'm back and I think is my biggest hurtle is concentration or lack there of. Some days I can't run three balls without taking my eye off the ball at the last second.

So here's my brain storm; table tennis. I picked up another robot, ( had one before ), and I'm using it to develop fitness and concentration. I figure if I can keep my eye on the little ball for a long period of time I might train my mind to concentrate better and longer at the table; task at hand. The robot holds a gross of balls or more. In the past I could go a hour or more without missing a single ball.

I'll monitor this thread if it takes off and report back if it's a brain storm or a brain fart. Either way I have nothing to lose.

Constructive criticism welcome.

Click to expand...

I just posted in the "it's the cueball" thread about pinpoint position play improving focus among other things. Might want to give that some thought.

As for the table tennis, I believe anything that uses the skills needed to play pool or compete helps. I have used some of the same skills playing chess, playing pool, racing circle track, competing on horses, and competing with rifles and pistols, could toss in bowling and a few more things. Knowing how to compete and the mental game are skills in their own right. A lot of people are going to beat themselves you just have to give them an opportunity to do it. You also have to avoid being that person that beats themselves. For most of us this is an acquired skill and it matters little where we acquire it.

We don't want to think all the way through the shot and micro-manage it but at the same time we don't want other thoughts flitting through our heads while we are trying to shoot pool. I don't know anything about your table tennis robot but if possible I would try setting it to a speed that doesn't allow you to get distracted between shots and have to pull back to the present.

The robot should eventually help you find the zone too, a level of expanded awareness with a focus on what you are doing. That is something else I discovered competing in many areas, the more often you find the zone the easier it is to find regardless of what you are doing. Something that is repetitive with mild variations is ideal to find the zone I believe, sounds like what your robot offers.

Hu

Fenwick said:

Since 2007 I've been trying to reach the level of pool I achieved in my youth. I was pretty good at running a rack or three at age 13. Being self taught I really had no idea exactly where whitey was going. I was just a shot maker with young eyes.

Then I moved away from pool for many other sports and hobbies and my affliction, work. One of those hobbies was table tennis.

I was beginning to get back on track after taking lessons, practicing and playing. For me that meant getting into the next rack; 14/1. I hit some 20's, 30's and even a 40 something ball runs. Then my pool game was interrupted again for a year. Life outside of pool.

So now I'm back and I think is my biggest hurtle is concentration or lack there of. Some days I can't run three balls without taking my eye off the ball at the last second.

So here's my brain storm; table tennis. I picked up another robot, ( had one before ), and I'm using it to develop fitness and concentration. I figure if I can keep my eye on the little ball for a long period of time I might train my mind to concentrate better and longer at the table; task at hand. The robot holds a gross of balls or more. In the past I could go a hour or more without missing a single ball.

I'll monitor this thread if it takes off and report back if it's a brain storm or a brain fart. Either way I have nothing to lose.

Constructive criticism welcome.

Click to expand...

Jasmine Ouschan recommends juggling pool balls. I've not mastered this yet. Consider steel toed boots for practice.