Best path to improvement...practice or competition?

Tramp Steamer said:
Yes, the answer is both.
And, fan-tum, there are no tired topics. Only well used ones. :)
Click to expand...

The answer is both for sure. Practice needs to be long sessions. Breakthroughs normally only occur toward the end of a very long session. Like hour 4 through 6 or 8.

If yo want to improve Long practice sessions is your answer coupled with stiff competition.
Preferably right after your long practice session.

Sorry for not making it easy.
 
3kushn said:
The answer is both for sure. Practice needs to be long sessions. Breakthroughs normally only occur toward the end of a very long session. Like hour 4 through 6 or 8.

.
Click to expand...


Very true, I feel this is why so many don't improve, most don't put in that heavy a session on a regular basis.
 
Gleaming from one of Phil Capelle's books, he suggested a sliding ratio based on skill level. On a beginner level more emphasis on drills and instruction, whereas higher level more on thinking and play.
 
If you only want to be a better shooter, then practice.

If you want to win games, then competition, but first you need to know how to match up to win.
 
i think you need both. ball drills and stroke drills and break drills.... heck its getting boreing just thinking about it but it is nescessary for improvement but competition is where you have to turn it on and play hard which makes you better. when im playing a friend for fun i dont care if i break or rack so i will sometimes use shots that come up to maybe practice a different english or try to get a harder possition.... im practicing.
 
Depends on where you are in your game. There are times when I'll be in stroke and playing well, but unable to bring out my A game under pressure due to lack of competing. Other times, I'll get my weaknesses exploited by a better player and have to hit the practice table to eliminate them.
I see the most improvement in my game and feel the most motivated when I get into the cycle of practice, compete, practice, compete. Anything else just leads to boredom and/or frustration for me.
 
Quality practice for creating and developing solid fundamentals and then tournaments & matching up for creating and developing solid mental fundamentals. Make your practice count, make it quality practice, get a mentor/teacher. Then when you enter a tournament, reflect on your thoughts and feelings, learn from them, understand sports psychology and let that be a guide in reflecting your thoughts and feelings and developing yourself. The path to improvement can be long or it can be short. The short path requires that you get yourself out of the comfort zone much more often. Improvement hardly ever happens in the comfort zone.
 
The Best Path to Improvement

fan-tum said:
This is probably a tired topic.
Click to expand...

I found the best path to Improvement was practice and then playing some long sessions with another player. To me tournament play didnt do as much for my game than repetitive play where you actually get to play more.

As for the practice:

When you know how you do what you do no matter how simple you explain it to yourself...simple is actually best......then you have more of a chance you can repeat it again and learn to manipulate the results with feel making your skill nearly automatic.

There is very little in pool that you don't need to think about, but learning what you do quietens the questions so you can just do it.
 
Think you practice to bring consistency to your game. You play someone better to learn how to play the game.
 
if someone can point me in the right direction... I remember reading a quote here about hours of practice put into a session, when you start to get into the 8-12 hour range is when you really see breakthroughs start happening... something like that
 
quality practice and competition, preferably stiff competition. practice doesn't have to be long or even scripted. work on the fundamentals and any problems that have raised their ugly heads during competition.

when you play between 4 to 18 hrs a day lon g practice sessions become impossible or they may even hurt your game because you don't want to be "burnt-out" over long practice sessions. but even if you are playing a lot you still need to practice daily if only for setting a time and a place to practice. it establishes a routine for success.

i agree on previous commenters concerning tourney play. it is a differrent animal. one has to become familiar with the intricate aspects of playing in tourneys such as playing small sets, waiting to play, and turning your game on, and keeping a mental outlook that will allow success in short races stretched out sometimes over 1-5 days.

but the short answer is both.
 
Keith Jawahir said:
if someone can point me in the right direction... I remember reading a quote here about hours of practice put into a session, when you start to get into the 8-12 hour range is when you really see breakthroughs start happening... something like that
Click to expand...

The problem that I see with practicing for such a long stretch is the ability to maintain focus. I think you can do more harm than good if you just go through the motions without focus for hours upon hours. If you are matched up with someone, that focus is motivated by the match/money and could be much more beneficial. But, with that said, if a player has the motivation and focus to play for hours and deliberately practice, they are going to improve.
 
As far as the competition part goes, try to play those who are better at the game than you are. It'll make you work harder.
Tournaments are another example. When you become tournament seasoned you'll be near the top of your game. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top