6 Steps to Improve Your Abilities

Donovan

A little security, goes..
Silver Member
I just saw a thread by lewdo25 on the 5 Laws of Practice. So I thought I might share my list. THIS is not new, innovative, or original, but it is the list I wrote for myself. I tried to write it so that it would work with most sports, but I had pool in mind when I compiled it into one list. This was done earlier last year after the subject of lessons came up. I looked through all my notes on stuff liked this and got it down to 6. I guess I should have shared this sooner, but now is better than never. ;)

Donovan's 6 Steps to Improve Your Abilities the Fastest in Most Sports

1. Get regular lessons and drills by a good, quality, and organized instructor.

(Live instructors are a must if you can afford it, rather than books or videos, but not everyone can.)

2. Practice what you are taught and record/chart your progress so that you can see the improvement.
(This helps increase the "quality" of your practice. Charting your progress cannot be stressed enough.)

3. Compete to gain experience and give you a feel of how you play under real pressure.
(Try leagues, tournaments, or even money games. Anything that makes you bare down against an opponent.)

4. Play against or watch better players on a regular basis.
(You will pick up on the things that will make you a better player and many times without realizing it.)

5. Read a little something about the sport everyday, regardless of content.
(This can be fiction, non-fiction, advertising, instructional, it doesn't matter. Disregard this when on Step 6.)

6. Take enough time off this regiment, every so often, to allow your brain to completely let go of the sport and recharge.
("Burnout" kills your ability to learn, perform, and enjoy. This will save you time and frustration in the long run.)

Keep in mind I have taught lots of things like computers, golf, swimming, and so forth (yes I was paid for these), but I have no formal training or scholarly study in the area of pool. This is just what has been working for me over the last couple of years and it is basically the running method when I taught other sports. So I am not claiming to no jack about it, but have fun with it anyway! ;)
 

I rack balls

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
1. None by me :(

2. See above.

3. Doin all of em :)

4. I watch them (pros) on the net but some of the good players here want the 7 haha.

5. I am on here everyday at least 1 time.

6. Hmm I am not sure I could take time off, I might cry.

Good stuff.
 

Luxury

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
defenitely inspiring. The best thing that ever happened to me was buying my own pool table!
 

acedotcom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Donovan said:
Donovan's 6 Steps to Improve Your Abilities the Fastest in Most Sports

1. Get regular lessons and drills by a good, quality, and organized instructor.

(Live instructors are a must if you can afford it, rather than books or videos, but not everyone can.)

2. Practice what you are taught and record/chart your progress so that you can see the improvement.
(This helps increase the "quality" of your practice. Charting your progress cannot be stressed enough.)

3. Compete to gain experience and give you a feel of how you play under real pressure.
(Try leagues, tournaments, or even money games. Anything that makes you bare down against an opponent.)

4. Play against or watch better players on a regular basis.
(You will pick up on the things that will make you a better player and many times without realizing it.)

5. Read a little something about the sport everyday, regardless of content.
(This can be fiction, non-fiction, advertising, instructional, it doesn't matter. Disregard this when on Step 6.)

6. Take enough time off this regiment, every so often, to allow your brain to completely let go of the sport and recharge.
("Burnout" kills your ability to learn, perform, and enjoy. This will save you time and frustration in the long run.)

Keep in mind I have taught lots of things like computers, golf, swimming, and so forth (yes I was paid for these), but I have no formal training or scholarly study in the area of pool. This is just what has been working for me over the last couple of years and it is basically the running method when I taught other sports. So I am not claiming to no jack about it, but have fun with it anyway! ;)

Great post! You obviously are a student of the learning processes. Here's a link to an interesting paper on
the contribution of cognitive thinking to the learning of motor skills.

:D :D :D
 

alpine9430

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Excellent post!
Have to spread my rep points around some more or I would have left you another Positive Rep Point.

Thanks for the thread...
Myron
 

CaptainJR

Shiver me timbers.
Silver Member
Very good.

Number 6 is much more important than people think and probably the one that people skip most.

Question is "How long". Probably varies from person to person. Maybe a couple days to a week.
 

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Donovan said:
I just saw a thread by lewdo25 on the 5 Laws of Practice. So I thought I might share my list. THIS is not new, innovative, or original, but it is the list I wrote for myself. I tried to write it so that it would work with most sports, but I had pool in mind when I compiled it into one list. This was done earlier last year after the subject of lessons came up. I looked through all my notes on stuff liked this and got it down to 6. I guess I should have shared this sooner, but now is better than never. ;)

Donovan's 6 Steps to Improve Your Abilities the Fastest in Most Sports

1. Get regular lessons and drills by a good, quality, and organized instructor.

(Live instructors are a must if you can afford it, rather than books or videos, but not everyone can.)

2. Practice what you are taught and record/chart your progress so that you can see the improvement.
(This helps increase the "quality" of your practice. Charting your progress cannot be stressed enough.)

3. Compete to gain experience and give you a feel of how you play under real pressure.
(Try leagues, tournaments, or even money games. Anything that makes you bare down against an opponent.)

4. Play against or watch better players on a regular basis.
(You will pick up on the things that will make you a better player and many times without realizing it.)

5. Read a little something about the sport everyday, regardless of content.
(This can be fiction, non-fiction, advertising, instructional, it doesn't matter. Disregard this when on Step 6.)

6. Take enough time off this regiment, every so often, to allow your brain to completely let go of the sport and recharge.
("Burnout" kills your ability to learn, perform, and enjoy. This will save you time and frustration in the long run.)

Keep in mind I have taught lots of things like computers, golf, swimming, and so forth (yes I was paid for these), but I have no formal training or scholarly study in the area of pool. This is just what has been working for me over the last couple of years and it is basically the running method when I taught other sports. So I am not claiming to no jack about it, but have fun with it anyway! ;)
\


Donovan I can't give you more rep just now as I have to spread it around but you deserve rep for these EXCELLENT suggestions.
JoeyA
 

Donovan

A little security, goes..
Silver Member
CaptainJR said:
Very good.

Number 6 is much more important than people think and probably the one that people skip most.

Question is "How long". Probably varies from person to person. Maybe a couple days to a week.

You could not be more right!

I think the time required is when it has been long enough that you have given at least 2 or 3 days of complete vacation from it. If you were dreaming about it, or you catch yourself thinking about it alot still, then maybe the brain vacation hasn't really started yet.

When you truly allow yourself to let go, the amount that your brain takes in when you get back into it is amazing. People are so afraid they will forget alot or get out of touch, but it will actually allow you to hone in on your skills and your brain will become a dry sponge ready to soak up the info like the days when you got so excited about the game, you couldn't stand it.

Obviously it is the toughest thing on that list to do in our sport. ;)

One thing I noticed is after a sabbatical, I play better than when I was dead on it all the time. It is just weird, but it really works.
 

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Donovan said:
You could not be more right!

I think the time required is when it has been long enough that you have given at least 2 or 3 days of complete vacation from it. If you were dreaming about it, or you catch yourself thinking about it alot still, then maybe the brain vacation hasn't really started yet.

When you truly allow yourself to let go, the amount that your brain takes in when you get back into it is amazing. People are so afraid they will forget alot or get out of touch, but it will actually allow you to hone in on your skills and your brain will become a dry sponge ready to soak up the info like the days when you got so excited about the game, you couldn't stand it.

Obviously it is the toughest thing on that list to do in our sport. ;)

One thing I noticed is after a sabbatical, I play better than when I was dead on it all the time. It is just weird, but it really works.

Good post dude. I would advise #6 when you start to feel a little burnt out on the game, like when you are mentally tired when you play. I think that is the right time to take some time off. Some people may not believe they had learned anything, but they are mentally tired because their brain has so much info built up in it that it needs to rest from it for a bit to let it all sink in. This is just my opinion, but I've heard it from a few other good players as well.

I would also like to mention that you should record yourself playing from about four or five different angles if possible. Some of you that have never done it, you will be surprised at any of your flaws that you never noticed. This makes it real easy to change them.
 

whitewolf

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
2. Practice what you are taught and record/chart your progress so that you can see the improvement.
(This helps increase the "quality" of your practice. Charting your progress cannot be stressed enough.)


I appreciate sharing of all your steps.

For me, I have never done step #2, nor will I ever. I only have so many hours to practice and there are so many other things one could be doing besides writing down your progress.

Reminds me of one of my best friends whom I am trying to teach. He was an SL5 at the time and I went over to his house to shoot some.

I confided with him that I really did not practice sessions, but for him I would happily grant his wish. This day he did not want lessons. So up front I told him that the only way that I could do this was to go all out and try not to let him win a game.

So we shot for 3 and 1/2 hours - 85% 8 ball and 15% 9 ball. He won only one game of 8 ball the whole day.

Next week was our APA night. We practiced a bit and played 3 games. I was just banging balls around to get loose and not playing safe. So he says to me after winning 2 out of 3 games: "that's 37 to 3".

I asked him if he was serious and he said that was the only way he could CHART how much progress he was making.

Needless to say, his nickname became "The Count" :D

The Count has only been playing for 2 years now and he is an SL6. I am proud to say that I can't beat him like I used to.
 

Donovan

A little security, goes..
Silver Member
whitewolf said:
2. Practice what you are taught and record/chart your progress so that you can see the improvement.
(This helps increase the "quality" of your practice. Charting your progress cannot be stressed enough.)


I appreciate sharing of all your steps.

For me, I have never done step #2, nor will I ever. I only have so many hours to practice and there are so many other things one could be doing besides writing down your progress.

Reminds me of one of my best friends whom I am trying to teach. He was an SL5 at the time and I went over to his house to shoot some.

I confided with him that I really did not practice sessions, but for him I would happily grant his wish. This day he did not want lessons. So up front I told him that the only way that I could do this was to go all out and try not to let him win a game.

So we shot for 3 and 1/2 hours - 85% 8 ball and 15% 9 ball. He won only one game of 8 ball the whole day.

Next week was our APA night. We practiced a bit and played 3 games. I was just banging balls around to get loose and not playing safe. So he says to me after winning 2 out of 3 games: "that's 37 to 3".

I asked him if he was serious and he said that was the only way he could CHART how much progress he was making.

Needless to say, his nickname became "The Count" :D

The Count has only been playing for 2 years now and he is an SL6. I am proud to say that I can't beat him like I used to.

The whole Count thing is a pretty funny story. However that kind of "counting" will only frustrate him later on. You will be better than him for quite a while I am sure! 108 to 12 is not helping him play better, it is making him feel like he is bad at this and will want to quit.

OK here is the skinny on CHARTING.

Charting your progress "in pool" doesn't mean graphs and writing stuff down after every shot. It could be as simple as this. Say you are working on a drill. Now let's say you have to shoot this drill until you complete it without a miss. So, I would just keep track how many attempts it took to complete the drill. That way next time you have to try and bare down and complete in less attempts.

Of course some people do get a little overboard on this step. By charting it just means that you give yourself some kind of measurement, so that you have a goal to beat or level to overcome. If it takes you 20 tries to do the drill to completion and you have that noted somewhere, how more focused will you be the next time you do it, especially at say your 17th, 18th and 19th attempt? Charting will force you to practice with much stronger intensity and concentration. Plus it feels great to beat your best at something.
 

raadkins16

Registered
Charting makes a lot of sense, I appreciate all the advice to improve out abilities. League play competition has brought my game to a whole new level. I play as a SL4 and love getting the chance to play a SL7 or 8 for example, because I sit and watch a lot since they play so well and I learn a lot from them palying.
 

Donovan

A little security, goes..
Silver Member
raadkins16 said:
Charting makes a lot of sense, I appreciate all the advice to improve out abilities. League play competition has brought my game to a whole new level. I play as a SL4 and love getting the chance to play a SL7 or 8 for example, because I sit and watch a lot since they play so well and I learn a lot from them palying.

It's the fact that you are really watching and taking the time to think about what they are doing is what makes the difference there. Way to go! I see many people at leagues that are not doing that. So you are getting out of it, the time that what you are putting into it. Nice!:cool:
 

acedotcom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Donovan said:
That was very cool. ALthough I had to print it to read it. White on black is a tough read. LOL

I thought you might like it since it supports many of your contentions. :)
 

CaptainJR

Shiver me timbers.
Silver Member
Donovan said:
If you were dreaming about it, or you catch yourself thinking about it alot still, then maybe the brain vacation hasn't really started yet.

Started a thread about dreaming about it. I'd be curiouse to see your thoughts in that thread Donovan.
Thanks
JR
 

NittiFan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Donovan said:
It's the fact that you are really watching and taking the time to think about what they are doing is what makes the difference there. Way to go! I see many people at leagues that are not doing that. So you are getting out of it, the time that what you are putting into it. Nice!:cool:

I think "visualization" can be a help, if you can't get to a table. Your brain cannot discern between thinking it and actually doing it.

Mike
 

Donovan

A little security, goes..
Silver Member
acedotcom said:
I thought you might like it since it supports many of your contentions. :)

I really did like it. It had very good conclusions, but it also reminded me why I hate they way psych papers are written. I still think the entire industry should just show a chart of the results and then write about it. Instead of exp laing experiments in the long form. It is always a tough read with the wordiness. I mean how many time can you say "in this paper" or "in this study".

But the info was really good. I hope that instructors out there see the advantage of letting the student "argue" the things being taught. It is a huge thing for speedy progression. I find it odd how some persist in saying do what I am telling you and stop asking questions. The delay of 8 seconds was quite interesting. I don't think they mention this, but 8 seconds is short term memory storage. Really a cool article.
 
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