Attitudes towards practice

chefjeff said:

Let me throw out another thing re practice....


Is it best to practice alone or with someone?


Jeff Livingston

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Pool players tend to be competitive (as well as narcissistic). If they actually practice together versus play against each other, it may bear a positive effect doing drills, or playing e.g. Straight Pool or rotational games alternate shot discussing the pattern or position play, or opposite handed etc. Unless they both know what to look for, and have a sincere interest in helping each other, it's usually better for a player to practice technical matters, e.g. of pre-shot routine, stance, stroke by oneself, because the onlooking party seldom has the patience and experience of a hired instructor. The tendency is for one person to profit significantly more than the other in situations like those, especially if they e.g. share a training table or room, and mostly compete against each other. Friendly rivalry is not a bad thing per se, it's just that perfect practice makes perfect, i.e. it's a matter of quality and not just quantity. Again, I'm saying all this from two decades' experience of teaching people how to play the game, and I'll be the first to admit that players who have a sparring partner who's also a good friend to them tend to get more enjoyment out of the game - but I'm assuming you meant the potential for improvement? That may be limited by the same psychological gridlock. Having said that, if the players are being supervised by an instructor, the mixture of rivalry and mutual support may pay dividends.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

FranCrimi said:

It depends entirely on the personality of the player, their level, what's available to them (and who's available to them), and what they're trying to accomplish at that time.

The scenarios and possibilities are too many to list.

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^^^ this is correct^^^

Who are you practicing with, how is the session structured, what are the respective levels of the 2, what are you trying to accomplish? etc.. etc.. the list could be going on for a while. In general my thought is that excellent w/self vs. excellent practice with a partner; excellent practice with a partner would win by a slight margin.

Jeff, Implement this from any level- 1 Get yourself a plan, ie., What it is you want to improve about your game. 2 Understand gradients in learning, ie., real easy, a little harder, and a little harder. Do the plan by yourself or with someone who wants to help you. It really does not matter. 3 When you are happy with your results, write it down, and get yourself a new plan. 4 Do the plan. Jim S.

Attitudes about practice and improving oneself are sometimes high and at other times low. (I went for a few years without doing a drill or struggling with my game. But I still had fun.). When the student is ready to commit to him or her self, improvement is a simple process. Jim S.

Taking the ‘time’ to get very good requires sacrifice and making choices. Also it is selfish. These are not bad things. Jim S.

jims111343 said:

Jeff, Implement this from any level- 1 Get yourself a plan, ie., What it is you want to improve about your game. 2 Understand gradients in learning, ie., real easy, a little harder, and a little harder. Do the plan by yourself or with someone who wants to help you. It really does not matter. 3 When you are happy with your results, write it down, and get yourself a new plan. 4 Do the plan. Jim S.

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Thanks, Jim...I've done just that. I call it my Recipe for a Successful Shot.

By the time I'd written down most of my shot ingredients, I had a 300 page book! So, I self published it back in the 90s. (Don't look for it on any shelf...lol) The book is never done, though, as I keep improving my shot.

When it comes to my shot, it seems my work is never done. But that's what I love about pool....I always have more to learn so it never gets boring. I suppose that is a good practice meme to have.


Jeff Livingston

jims111343 said:

Taking the ‘time’ to get very good requires sacrifice and making choices. Also it is selfish. These are not bad things. Jim S.

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I agree, but I'd change your wording. It isn't a sacrifice (giving up a higher value for a lower one) but a TRADE. I hear the word "sacrifice" used when "trade" would be a better word, imho.

And selfish is a natural condition of a conscious being so, I agree, it can't be bad. It just is what it is. It, too, gets a bad label when one gets stuff by harming others and that gets labeled as "selfish," when the problem is the initiation of harm against others, not how high the level of motivation of the actor.

Thanks for joining the discussion.

Jeff Livingston

Jeff,
The book (process) is never done and that is another wonderful thing. Re-reading your own journal will cause you to have cognitions. Watch out now! Jim S.
Notice something right.
Expect improvement.
Demand Excellence

jims111343 said:

Jeff,
The book (process) is never done and that is another wonderful thing. Re-reading your own journal will cause you to have cognitions. Watch out now! Jim S.
Notice something right.
Expect improvement.
Demand Excellence

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I try to go over it every Summer and recap it again , as I've added all sorts of articles, posts, ideas, etc. to it during the playing season. It's funny that I read it again almost as if someone else has written it and get new realizations from it.

One of the ingredients is the first one after the shot. I call it, Observe, Analyze, and Integrate Results. That's where I do what you're recommending. It's a very important ingredient, for sure, as it allows me to grow from my mistakes and to not get caught up in the emotion of the moment.

I'd suggest these techniques to any player who is practicing often and wonders what to do with and how to integrate all the new info. s/he learns over time.

Jeff Livingston

FranCrimi said:

I'm thinking that maybe a person's enthusiasm for practicing is a personality issue where it doesn't matter if it's pool or something else ---Their attitude would be the same.

That doesn't mean that I'm thinking that someone can't change their attitude towards practicing. I think they can, but I'm wondering if it requires a personality adjustment rather than trying to discover more interesting ways to practice, which I have found to be temporary solution that eventually reverts back to the same problem.

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And other quotes from above.
Knowing what is keeping you from winning and working on 'that' is a requirement for the success of improvement. jim s.

Ive noticed, when I have had a really great night........ or a really horrible night or match....... Both of those drive me to practice more. If I have mediocre night/match.. win or lose, I don't have as much drive to fix or continue what worked or didn't the night before.... I still continue the practice which I love its just my mind set is different and the practice sessions show that for a day or two

Since when has home-work been equated with fun. Working on what you want to learn is called work for a reason. Like home-work it can be a *****. Decide what you need to do to be a better shooter, write it down, then go make it right for yourself. Take a lesson, talk to a friend, use your own mental facilities, whatever it takes to get your job done. Real practice is not rewarding of itself, only in its rewards. Jim S.