This is very good work. You've done your homework and have found your issues. Most players give up before getting this far. So now what's next? The thought of fixing them all at once must feel overwhelming.
If you were coming to me for lessons and you brought me this list, the first thing I would do is to look for the common thread. They're not individual problems. They're connected. Somewhere along the line, they started out as compensations and then became errors.
So what's the common thread? Why the compensations? It's your stance, or various stances you've used over the years. So now, this should become your priority. Get this right before everything else. The position of your body relative to the line of the shot is key to correcting your other issues. Things like the angle of your body in relation to the line of the shot --- your weight distribution --- how much of your body covers the line --- how far you stand from the table --- etc.
Think of your stance as your baseline, and everything else revolves around it. Get it right and suddenly it'll feel better to not twist your grip. It will be easier to train yourself to do it naturally. You'll be able to place your head more consistently with less effort. And so-on...
If you treat them as individual issues, or try to fix them all at once, your subconscious mind isn't going to get with the program and you'll keep reverting back. But do it in the right order by setting up a consistent baseline by prioritizing your stance, and BAM! Everything will start to fall into place. Training your subconscious mind will be so much easier. I went through it myself as a player, and this is how I teach, and it works.
I know Bob Fancher. He's a very nice guy, and smart, and he will tell you how your mind works. But we also have to understand how the game of pool works.
Thank you for the compliment. Yes, sometimes it does feel overwhelming.
You are onto something, Fran.
The common thread is indeed the stance. I've noticed that I can improve performance if I start a session with rolling the diagonal long shot in, focusing on stance. When I get it right, it simply "feels right". I know it. I can feel it. I roll the shots until I am comfortable I can follow the CB into the pocket after the OB. Then I try stop shots. When I am comfortable hitting a little harder and can make the CB stop with little to no spin, I know I'm warmed up and dialed in.
I've also noticed that my
challenge is transferring this feeling to other shots on the table. I am learning to get this "good alignment" feeling on all shots. With cut shots where I have few obstacles to get down on the shot (no balls in the way of my bridge, not jacked up, not stretched out to reach a shot), I sometimes have trouble feeling comfortable getting on the shot line. I suppose this is a trust issue. I need to trust that my aim is correct and I'm aligned along the shot line as if it is a straight-in shot.
I also have a larger challenge when I need to shoot over a ball, or if I have to jack up, or have to stretch. I am learning to have that same confident feeling on all shots, not just those that are ideal for stance, foot placement, and bridge placement.
That's a great book choice to improve your mental game. However, to get the most out of it, you need to have good physical skills, solid and consistent fundamentals.
When you read or hear someone say that we perform best when minimal conscious effort is used, the underlying assumption is that our primary trouble is with the mental element of the game, not the physical elements (stance, alignment, grip, stroke, etc...)
Conscious effort is 100% required for skill development. It's absolutely necessary to use as much conscious effort as possible when developing or working on the physical fundamentals of the game.
Once the physical part of the game is learned, and a certain degree of consistent body mechanics is developed, the conscious mind automatically hands this stuff over to the subconscious. This frees up the conscious mind, allowing it to manage our performance, rather than control it. And that's the key to performing our best as often as possible.
I am not an instructor. I've went through similar. I think for a while you have to consciously do the above until muscle memory is built up. It will vary for everyone but at some point it will require less conscious thought.
IMO conscious thought must become feel. The last time you were in dead stroke, were you thinking about anything, of did it feel like you were in a dream? When the conscious mind is quiet your subconscious already knows how to play. This is such a strange game!
At some point I think consciously doing the things will become a hindrance, thought I have an inkling it varies for each individual. For me I have to just do the setup with no conscious thought if I want to play at my top "gear." Only you know your personal makeup. You know your physical and mental limitations and you must figure out how you play best. Work at sharpening your strengths and work on turning your liabilities into assets. An instructor who knows many player types may be able to help tune you in to your personal game.
Basically I'll plan out the "run" or "puzzle" before shooting. To be honest this annoys me as I just want to run balls. It's an oxymoron though because to run balls you have to do some planning. Some players plan instantly, others take 30 seconds or more. It's your turn at the table, there is no rush, take your turn and don't worry about rushing. It feels good to survey your table, and on your turn, it's yours. Enjoy it. I might have to plan once or twice on some racks, others 3 or 4 times a rack. I see the shot then get down on it without really changing the shot picture.
In the last couple weeks I've discovered something. It might just be a distraction but it shuts my head up real nice. I basically want to feel the shot. I want to feel the cue ball begin to take a natural roll before it touches the OB. This can be not just a follow shot, draw or whatever. I want the CB to take a really natural path after touching the OB.
I'm not talking aiming either. Aiming is done, the stroke is grooved and I just want to feel that CB take a pretty natural vector. That CB can look beautiful and I want that on every shot. The balls pocket easier when the CB feels perfect. Think the feeling when the scissors start to glide through wrapping paper. That feeling. That shiver running through your spine. Call me a weirdo but I crave that feeling and want to feel it on each shot. That perfect stroke and that pretty CB is where it's at.
My practice strokes tune out any waver on my stroke. If the stroke doesn't feel good, something is off. Might be my bridge hand, grip hand, or alignment. Generally it's good but if it feels off you have to get back up, look at the shot and get back down again. Your practice strokes should feel perfect. The stick should feel natural and good in your hand. Well balanced, reliable. Stroking straight. Flop that sucker around in your grip hand if it doesn't. Get it to balance like how you see those old timey dousing rod guys float a stick. The stick should almost feel like it's floating, a guided missile. With the stick feeling that good there's no way you can miss. Doubt is eliminated from your mind through feeling. You can trust feel, you can't trust thought.
Air strokes work. You're calibrating. Let those who don't understand them mock, but they calibrate your moving parts while aiming and thinking. They also can keep your conscious mind somewhat restrained. Your cue is tuned to your body while standing, you trust the balance. Less thinking more feeling. Feel the pretty CB.
I used to bowl. I had one afternoon, in a county tournament, no less, where I was "in the zone". I had been "in the zone" for portions of games before, and after, but never for an entire afternoon. I shot 245-259-300 for a 3-game 804 series. Eight hundred series were pretty hard to come by in the early 90s, before science and technology made bowling balls do most of the work (reactive resin, weight blocks to overcome any oil pattern). I did this series with a urethane ball, not a reactive resin ball. This one afternoon, all I consciously thought about was ensuring my follow through was strong. Everything else, pushaway, backswing, wrist position and release, foot timing, simply happened. After the first two games, I KNEW and predicted to my doubles partner that I was going to roll the third game as a 300. And that's what I did.
So I know what that feeling is. I've only come close to that feeling during pool. I'd love to be able to be at unconscious competence, but so far, not quite there.
I continue to work on it. I've experienced a few nights and sessions where I've come pretty close. I sorta know how to get that feeling but I cannot summon it at will. That's when I have to go back to thinking about my stroke flaws, and avoiding them. Many times this conscious thought grooves my stroke, and I can stop thinking about it, but more often it never comes and I play merely OK. Other times it comes back and I play above pay grade.