I personally do not believe in pstchology
Phony pep talks and positive talk has always depressed me
this does not mean that I believe in a
negative attitude
I posted once before the Mosconi that I did not see the benefit of a coach
as an examplle I pointed to Tiger Woods troubles in these type of affairs
All the team talk and rah rah is foreign to players ,pool players or golfers
it might be fun for league players whose motivation is social,but not
pool players,the coaches tend to think their opinions are of importance
who plays whom and how.
Bah humbug
I honestly wouldn't want to go through all that,I already know how to play,
cut the cornball motivational speeches,jack the bet,get out of my face
lets rumble is the attitude of most great US players
Keep those Euro players in Vegas,send the coaches home,let
Shane have a day without advice and put up a few Euros and lets see
who wins without the flag waving
If we still don't win,lets adjust and jack the bet
I disagree with most of this. I do believe your views are held by at least some of the players though.
The US players DO NOT KNOW how to play in the Mosconi cup! Their safety play is way too sloppy, and they loose nearly every exchange. They miss easy shots at crucial moments and make horrendous mistakes. Shane looked like someone killed his dog throughout. Woodward was dogging his brains out in a way I have never seen ANYONE do in the Mosconi cup previously. Hatch is the only one who truely plays at his level on the US team. Group dynamics count and positive thinking will always help you, unless you don't want to be helped and would rather sit and sulk in your chair.
There is TREMENDOUS potential for improvement in the US team and it seems that no one is capable of getting through to the players. The reasons I believe are pretty much that they agree with YOU. They think they have it all figured out and won't really listen to anyone. They make bs excuses for themselves about races to 1000 and money games, but that is why they can't fix what is wrong! You can't repair a thing you don't understand is broken.
I have to laugh at the Americans continuing to talk about money games. How many money games for 10 k comes along? Because that's what they are playing for! It's not peanuts but actual money on the line, and they still can't get motivated? And you still think they don't need a sports psychologist? A money game you set up for yourself against an inferior opponent, is a completely different animal, because you can just goof off until you hit your gear and then make up for all your losses. EVERY SHOT in the Mosconi cup is for 10k, and your opponent is not likely to buckle easily, he's going to fire right back at you! Until they realize that, they will lose big. Year after year. It's the sum of small mistakes that does you in.
There is also the chance that Johan simply wasn't the right fit for the US team or that he made some mistakes due to cultural differences.I think he had the right idea of letting the US compete with Russia etc. I thought it was sad that this strategy didn't work. I suggested something similar myself after the last Mosconi cup.
Sadly, I think the problem is one of attitude and as long as that doesn't change, no amount of coaching can help. These are winners, so I don't understand why they don't simply say: "I can do better than this" and go to work! Because they aren't even performing at 60% of their true capabilities! I think a lot of the problem stems from people expecting miracles from the coaches, but that's not how they work. All those retarded American self help books are prime examples of such stupid wishful thinking. Coaches don't have a miracle one size fits all cure that they can apply in minutes, like these books all promise to you! You need to be open with them, to invite them to help you. They can't drag you out from the hole you have dug for yourself unless you help them do it, and you have to crawl out yourself, with their guidance.
