Billiard peptalks
- Thread starter Popeye31
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Only when forced to play partners...
best motivator
Years ago I came in the Cotton Bowling Palace on a weekday morning around
7:am, There was only one guy in the pool area practicing by himself. George
Mcgann who had been setting in the restaurant came over and said "go see if
that guy wants to play some, he plays pretty good, but I like your end". I told
him I was busted or almost. George hands me a wad of money and said "GO
TAKE HIM OFF'. If you knew George, or if you know who he was you will
understand how motivated to win I was. He passed, never been happier.
jack
Years ago I came in the Cotton Bowling Palace on a weekday morning around
7:am, There was only one guy in the pool area practicing by himself. George
Mcgann who had been setting in the restaurant came over and said "go see if
that guy wants to play some, he plays pretty good, but I like your end". I told
him I was busted or almost. George hands me a wad of money and said "GO
TAKE HIM OFF'. If you knew George, or if you know who he was you will
understand how motivated to win I was. He passed, never been happier.
jack
My wife and a guy I used to run around with. When I was playing I was usually alone in a place full of people wanting to see me lose. It can be pretty easy to get weak with no one to talk to or on your side. The guy I ran around with actually played better then me but I still did most of the playing. He kind of had problems.
I have to tell you with someone in your corner to keep you going in long or tough matches has a real value. One thing he always would tell even before I started to play was,
"Listen, you know how good this guy has to play to beat you, just play and we will see what happens".
That can be a very true statement even if you end up losing. You at least make the other player have to play their very best to beat you. You can even beat better players with that attitude if you catch them right.
I have beaten better players who didn't know me because I hit them hard and fast and they lost their nerve and pull up because they get scared. That is years ago but I have never been scared of strangers because, I knew how good they had to play to beat me and if they do that is fine with me. One of the things that can beat you is irrational fear.
It is only money, pool is not stock car racing, you can't get killed. Sometimes it takes another person in your corner to make those reality checks for you, eliminate the negative self talk that can take place in your head. I mentioned my wife, with her sitting with me I always felt better.
I forgot to mention, years ago Wade Crane made a audio tape that was exactly that. It was a pep talk to listen to before playing a match. I still have it but haven't listened to it in years. It is actually very good but I have no idea where you would find it today
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When I played in the APA the team captain would always tell me when to lose or win. How many innings I had to drag out the game and etc. to keep from moving up. Ended up that I got kicked off the team because I moved up and the captain didn't like my attitude of not playing by his rules and restrictions.
Is that a PEP talk?
Is that a PEP talk?
When I played in the APA the team captain would always tell me when to lose or win. How many innings I had to drag out the game and etc. to keep from moving up. Ended up that I got kicked off the team because I moved up and the captain didn't like my attitude of not playing by his rules and restrictions.
Is that a PEP talk?
Sounds like a good reason to not play on that league. Winning or losing actually doesn't really matter, even when gambling. You don't play on league for a living, you want to play the sport and perfect your skills. What you describe sounds like a complete waste of time for anyone with any real interest in pool.
Shenanigans
Registered
Never given a pep talk before a match. If I speak to my player before or during the match I always try and keep it positive and simple. If they looked stressed just tell them to take some deep breaths and take their time. Good luck.
Pool is such a mental game that doing too much pep talking (e.g. "you got this!!!!") just makes the player more self conscious, puts more pressure on them, and is not a good idea. I agree with the comment about keeping pep talk simple. If a team mate is struggling I'll just say something like "Hang in there; keep going".
I believe the worst thing you can do is to pipe up after their opponent misses and say something like "There you go, easy out". That just adds pressure. And if a team mate misses, don't react verbally ("what??") or physically (shaking your head, throwing your hands up, etc.)
I believe the worst thing you can do is to pipe up after their opponent misses and say something like "There you go, easy out". That just adds pressure. And if a team mate misses, don't react verbally ("what??") or physically (shaking your head, throwing your hands up, etc.)
I'll put a plug in for AccuStats. Billy Incardona makes a great point during the 1997 US Open finals match. Efren is down 4-0 to Earl. Earl is on fire and Efren is struggling. Earl misses the 2 ball, leaving Efren with his first open shot since the first game. The crowd, wanting a good match, starts cheering loudly as Efren walks up to the table to analyze the long but makable shot.
Listening the cheering, here's the exchange Billy and Grady Matthews have:
Billy: "All this cheering and stuff, I don't think it's good for Reyes. Now he feels like he NEEDS to respond."
Grady: "Well I don't know about that. It's almost like a prize fighter. He's sapped, he can barely hold his arms up. So it's like 'Come on! Billy! Billy! Billy!'"
Billy: "I don't agree with that analogy at all. You're talking about a prize fighter. What skills does he have to have? He just has to go in there and punch... to duke it out."
... at that point Efren badly misses the 2-ball.
Grady: "Now, I'm gonna be honest. Efren hit that ball like a 78 year old woman."
Billy: "That's because of all those cheers and stuff"
Listening the cheering, here's the exchange Billy and Grady Matthews have:
Billy: "All this cheering and stuff, I don't think it's good for Reyes. Now he feels like he NEEDS to respond."
Grady: "Well I don't know about that. It's almost like a prize fighter. He's sapped, he can barely hold his arms up. So it's like 'Come on! Billy! Billy! Billy!'"
Billy: "I don't agree with that analogy at all. You're talking about a prize fighter. What skills does he have to have? He just has to go in there and punch... to duke it out."
... at that point Efren badly misses the 2-ball.
Grady: "Now, I'm gonna be honest. Efren hit that ball like a 78 year old woman."
Billy: "That's because of all those cheers and stuff"
I remember George Mc Gann at the Cotton bowling palace
He was reputed to be a Hit man,in fact he was convicted and sent to the pen ,where I belive he met an untimely death
So when he put his money in j
Jacks pocket and said go play that guy,it was sort of a pep talk
I am sure George felt pretty safe send 'Oak Cliff Shorty" into the fray as ole Jack was giving me the 5,6,7n,8 and the break at this time and I never brought home the cheese
I finally decided to bet on jack in his endeavors and I raised myself from failure to success in gambling
only trouble with Jack was he had no heart as a side better,I once played Popa gGenn some
large dollar game and jack only lasted 2 games muttering that it was hard to bet on a guy whio couldn't run two balls.
the guys told jack I was smart and he suggested I call him if were an IQ test not pool
Come to think of it,I lost after Jack fled the scene,, still it showed lack of heart not to go
off with me
I always felt the only way to be sure you couldn't win was to go broke,now that is heart,right
He was reputed to be a Hit man,in fact he was convicted and sent to the pen ,where I belive he met an untimely death
So when he put his money in j
Jacks pocket and said go play that guy,it was sort of a pep talk
I am sure George felt pretty safe send 'Oak Cliff Shorty" into the fray as ole Jack was giving me the 5,6,7n,8 and the break at this time and I never brought home the cheese
I finally decided to bet on jack in his endeavors and I raised myself from failure to success in gambling
only trouble with Jack was he had no heart as a side better,I once played Popa gGenn some
large dollar game and jack only lasted 2 games muttering that it was hard to bet on a guy whio couldn't run two balls.
the guys told jack I was smart and he suggested I call him if were an IQ test not pool
Come to think of it,I lost after Jack fled the scene,, still it showed lack of heart not to go
off with me
I always felt the only way to be sure you couldn't win was to go broke,now that is heart,right
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different guy
Deano,
You're confusing George McGann with Charlie Boyd another fine fellow in his own
right. George was a Dixie Mafia hit man and also a suspect in the Kennedy
assassination .Charlie got barred from the Cotton Palace for robbing people at
gun point in the restroom which was at the back of the pool area. But being the
enterprising guy he was, he called them from the phone booth across the street
and told the victims to bring him their money.(see Alf Taylors book The Other Side
Of The Road).He did die in the penitentiary. George was killed in a house in
Lubbock Tx. after he shot and killed one of the three men he was with. He was
holding the other two captive. One of them shot and killed George. Knute Rockne
couldn't give a better Pep Talk.
jack
Deano,
You're confusing George McGann with Charlie Boyd another fine fellow in his own
right. George was a Dixie Mafia hit man and also a suspect in the Kennedy
assassination .Charlie got barred from the Cotton Palace for robbing people at
gun point in the restroom which was at the back of the pool area. But being the
enterprising guy he was, he called them from the phone booth across the street
and told the victims to bring him their money.(see Alf Taylors book The Other Side
Of The Road).He did die in the penitentiary. George was killed in a house in
Lubbock Tx. after he shot and killed one of the three men he was with. He was
holding the other two captive. One of them shot and killed George. Knute Rockne
couldn't give a better Pep Talk.
jack