Anyone else unhappy with their rate of progress?

[predator]

Sometimes I think that majority of us players do not posess enough natural talent to improve quickly enough. Looking at myself, I feel like I have improved a great deal in the past 3 years or so. Stroke is much better and smoother, positional play has jumped up considerably, much better safeties, pattern play million times better, won a few local tournaments...but here's the frustrating part. Despite feeling much stronger and far more complete player than before, I'm not averaging much more balls or running more racks than let's say 3 years ago, my averages have jumped only very slightly if any. Yes, the runs are cleaner and with proper patterns, but the best numbers are more or less the same. My records of 4 racks of 9b and 52 balls in 14.1 are now 2 and a half years old... The more I learn about the game, the more I realize there is so much more to learn.
I haven't hit a plateau. On the contrary, I'm improving, but at such a slow rate it is really frustrating at times. Even more frustrating is the fact that many players that I compete with haven't put even near amout of practice time that I have and yet they still play at my level or above.
Is there any way to increase the speed of improvement or should I just forget about that and be happy that I'm improving even by very small amounts?
Is it possible for someone with average talent who started playing pool 5 years ago at age of 26 to become a 100 ball runner eventually? Or have I started too late?
Can anyone else relate to this?

 

[Blackjack]

Sometimes I think that majority of us players do not posess enough natural talent to improve quickly enough. Looking at myself, I feel like I have improved a great deal in the past 3 years or so. Stroke is much better and smoother, positional play has jumped up considerably, much better safeties, pattern play million times better, won a few local tournaments...but here's the frustrating part. Despite feeling much stronger and far more complete player than before, I'm not averaging much more balls or running more racks than let's say 3 years ago, my averages have jumped only very slightly if any. Yes, the runs are cleaner and with proper patterns, but the best numbers are more or less the same. My records of 4 racks of 9b and 52 balls in 14.1 are now 2 and a half years old... The more I learn about the game, the more I realize there is so much more to learn.
I haven't hit a plateau. On the contrary, I'm improving, but at such a slow rate it is really frustrating at times. Even more frustrating is the fact that many players that I compete with haven't put even near amout of practice time that I have and yet they still play at my level or above.
Is there any way to increase the speed of improvement or should I just forget about that and be happy that I'm improving even by very small amounts?
Is it possible for someone with average talent who started playing pool 5 years ago at age of 26 to become a 100 ball runner eventually? Or have I started too late?
Can anyone else relate to this?

You cannot force progress, but the main thing you can do is to surround yourself with winners, great players who are willing to guide your progress, and just commit yourself to improving.

You aren't "too late". John Schmidt didn't start playing pool until he was 18 - and he surrounded himself with the right people, found a great teacher and mentor in Bobby Hunter - the rest is history.

Don't program your mind with negative statements like that. Watch how you criticize your progress and the different parts of your game. Being positive in your approach and the way that you view your skills is one of the vital ingredients that you will need to get you through those plateaus.

If your progress is slow, learn to enjoy that. It really will be a blessing in the long run.

 

[WesleyW]

I was unhappy with my progress, but I'm not anymore.

Exactly one year and one month ago I started to play seriously and collected as many information and techniques as possible. I was learning everything I know. But didn't gain much progress. After a half year, I became better, but not as good as I hoped for.

Recently I've talked to a friend of mine, he got many years of experience and is a very good player. I told him, I've never run one single rack in my life before. He was really surprised. He told me, that I'm a good player, and certainly got the ability to run racks.

About one month ago, I was playing in a competition. I lost a few racks and I was starting to get mad. I took my cue and surprisingly I did my first runout. The second rack was a nice 9-ball combo. The third rack was almost another runout.

The second day I was thinking, what exactly happend that night. So I called a friend to play with. The past month, I did many nice runs, and a few almost runouts. This makes it even stranger. I became beter in just 2 minutes. From playing average to making high runs on almost every rack.

A few days ago, I started to know why and how this happends. I was not becomming better, because I'm limiting myself. I have the ability, but I've never the courage to do a runout. Today, when I am standing at the table, I have all the confidence to win the game.

Perhaps, you would ask, what did this story have to do with you? I don't know you for sure. But the fact you are questioning your ability, gives me the thoughts that you might also are limiting yourself. You know that you did improved in the last 3 years, but it look like you just don't trust yourself that you can also do it. Forget about your records. Go to the table and start thinking that you can shoot that d*mn rack, and go shoot the best pool you've ever did! If you don't trust yourself, you will not become better!

 

[little bubba]

I found myself over the last 30 years develope some bad habits. Playing very well at times and below standard for me at other times. I would play for two years straight everyday for hours, then get burned out or lose interest and quit for a year at a time. Since I have been deployed I have been playing nearly everyday and the game is better than it's ever been. I just bought a new cue, went back to some basic fundamentals and with it, a new passion for the game.
I now play every ball like I have a $100 on it. I slowed my game way down, rushing the shot or taking the simple shots for granted are the ones I always missed. I don't allow myself to do that anymore. I also incorporated the pause in the back stroke, that helps me focus. Bottom line is, for me, what helped me get to the next level was a combination of re-deploying basic fundamentals (that just banging balls around will deprive you of), $100 a ball concentration, and the pause in the back stroke. JMO

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

You cannot force progress, but the main thing you can do is to surround yourself with winners, great players who are willing to guide your progress, and just commit yourself to improving.

You aren't "too late". John Schmidt didn't start playing pool until he was 18 - and he surrounded himself with the right people, found a great teacher and mentor in Bobby Hunter - the rest is history.

Don't program your mind with negative statements like that. Watch how you criticize your progress and the different parts of your game. Being positive in your approach and the way that you view your skills is one of the vital ingredients that you will need to get you through those plateaus.

If your progress is slow, learn to enjoy that. It really will be a blessing in the long run.

 

[Angle Detective]

Predator, it's like I'm looking in a mirror. We play about the same speed, have a nearly identical high run in 14.1, and are both frustrated with our progress. For me, and this is way too obvious, I have to make more shots. I realize that what ends my runs is bad shotmaking, not cueball control or position choices. It has something to do with not seeing the shots precisely, not aiming precisely, and not executing them with a repeatable stroke. That's what I'm determined to focus on now.

It doesn't matter what pool game you play. If you can make the shots, you can be a little off of perfect line. I'm striving to KNOW the ball is going in before I stroke. That's why I'm trying different aiming techniques and drills now.

For half of my practice session yesterday I randomly stuck reinforcement labels(doughnuts) on the table and set up the same shots over and over in exactly the same positions. Eventually I started seeing the shots better.

I wish I could stay away from playing and just practice for a while, but I see a buddy who's lonely and wants to play and I can't help myself sometimes. And I enjoy playing more than practicing. But after such a good session yesterday, I may be enjoying getting better more than playing.

One thing someone said to me the other day that makes sense is if I'm coming in to practice, only practice. Don't play. It sinks in better. This is something I've heard before with regard to absorbing whatever you've studied. You have to sleep on it. Do the drills, then rest and let them take.

 

[WesleyW]

One thing someone said to me the other day that makes sense is if I'm coming in to practice, only practice. Don't play. It sinks in better. This is something I've heard before with regard to absorbing whatever you've studied. You have to sleep on it. Do the drills, then rest and let them take.

When you are practicing, try to learn one single shot or technique. Don't rush to learn everything. Every session you learn something new. This will help you to learn the shots. Practicing all kind of shots in one session will not help you to learn it.

 

[MinoInADixeCup]

Sometimes I think that majority of us players do not posess enough natural talent to improve quickly enough. Looking at myself, I feel like I have improved a great deal in the past 3 years or so. Stroke is much better and smoother, positional play has jumped up considerably, much better safeties, pattern play million times better, won a few local tournaments...but here's the frustrating part. Despite feeling much stronger and far more complete player than before, I'm not averaging much more balls or running more racks than let's say 3 years ago, my averages have jumped only very slightly if any. Yes, the runs are cleaner and with proper patterns, but the best numbers are more or less the same. My records of 4 racks of 9b and 52 balls in 14.1 are now 2 and a half years old... The more I learn about the game, the more I realize there is so much more to learn.
I haven't hit a plateau. On the contrary, I'm improving, but at such a slow rate it is really frustrating at times. Even more frustrating is the fact that many players that I compete with haven't put even near amout of practice time that I have and yet they still play at my level or above.
Is there any way to increase the speed of improvement or should I just forget about that and be happy that I'm improving even by very small amounts?
Is it possible for someone with average talent who started playing pool 5 years ago at age of 26 to become a 100 ball runner eventually? Or have I started too late?
Can anyone else relate to this?

I was at pretty much the exact same point earlier this year. My stats are just under yours. I've run 2 racks of 9 ball in a row several times and almost 3 a couple times. I've run 3 racks in a row at 8 ball and my high run at 14.1 is 39. I also work very hard at my game, but unless I'm shooting my best game, even weak players on the leagues and at tournaments can give me a hard time sometimes. I even told a few of my friends that I felt like I had gotten about as good as my natural ability or built in talent were going to allow.

Then I started to work harder and harder at my game, I practiced like crazy, I bought a video camera to record my practice sessions so I could compare my style with great players. I made several changes to my style and it looked like I was on the fast track to becoming the dominate player I want to become. After playing fairly well for a few weeks, I started to backslide again.

It felt like I had taken 2 steps forward only to take 3 steps back. Nothing was working. I couldn't even toss out 7 balls and the 8 and run out a perfectly open table with BIH more then 2 out 5 times and this used to be one of my warm-up drills for 8 ball , I was used to doing it 4 or 5 times in a row. The 4 ball ghost was even getting sets from me and I had been doing pretty well against the 6 ball ghost at the end of last November.

Finally frustrated beyond belief , I decided to get some quality help. I called Scott Lee because of posts that I had read from and about him here on AZ and because he lived about an hour or so from me in Michigan. After the lesson, I only got 1 chance to practice what Scott had taught me before my next league night, but it was a 7 hour practice session. I had managed to break and run a couple 8ball racks in practice and played about my average speed during the match. I won 5 out of 8 games against a tough team.

It's been about 3 weeks now since my lesson and I'm playing some of the best pool of my life. I've run out some very tough 8 ball racks. I haven?t had much of a chance to play 9 ball or 14.1 since the lesson, but I did manage a couple 9 ball break and runs on a fast 9' table, so I expect to have improved when I play those games also. The things that Scott went over are really starting to gel together and the SPF routine feels very natural now. When I miss a shot, I never walk away shaking my head wondering why I missed it.

I can't recommend quality instruction strongly enough. No matter how good you are (or think you are), there are so many small things that can cause large changes in the consistency of your stroke and it really takes someone knowledgeable about such things to spot them and help you correct them. I don't feel like I'm at the end of my abilities now, I feel like I'm just getting started.