Sometimes rest is the best thing for your improvement.
So I used to play everyday. I was a very good player, but got in a little bit of a slump. I recently got a job and even though I do have time to play I have been to tired too get out there too often. Last night after work I decided I wanted to go to a tournament which I hadn't been to in a while. In this tournament I don't think I had even placed before(although I felt like I should have easily several times). Even after not playing for a week I shot pretty much lights out for most of the night.
My first match I got down 4-2 after a couple of easy misses(it is a rated tournament, so I had to go to 4 the other player had to go to 5). But, I beared down started to focus more and went on to win the next 2 in a row.
Then my second match I was down 2 to 1 when the other guy missed an easy nine. (damn wei table isn't working on my comp) He left me with the 9 frozen on the rail about a diamond away from the corner pocket and the cue ball dead straight on. I cut it into the corner(spun the ***** out of it with right spin) and went on to win 4 to 3.
My 3rd match I was getting real tired. In the first couple racks I missed a couple of easy shots on the last couple balls because I lost my focus. I got down 4-1(he had to go to 5) and again I came back to win.
My final match I lost a lot of my focus (It had been a long day)the first couple of games and got down 2-0. Got back to 2-2 but I was just getting lazy and the other guy played well.
I guess my point in all this is that 1. sometimes you really need a break to get better 2. Focus is very often the difference between winning and losing a match and 3. (which I didn't really mention yet) is the mentality you have makes the biggest difference. I think the reason I was in my slump was because I was thinking to much about winning instead of just having fun. Yesterday when I went in I was really just going in to relax. Once I got into the matches I obviously wanted to win. But, more importantly I was thinking about playing well and just thinking about the shot at hand.
Rant over lol. Hope someone can get something out of this.
So I used to play everyday. I was a very good player, but got in a little bit of a slump. I recently got a job and even though I do have time to play I have been to tired too get out there too often. Last night after work I decided I wanted to go to a tournament which I hadn't been to in a while. In this tournament I don't think I had even placed before(although I felt like I should have easily several times). Even after not playing for a week I shot pretty much lights out for most of the night.
My first match I got down 4-2 after a couple of easy misses(it is a rated tournament, so I had to go to 4 the other player had to go to 5). But, I beared down started to focus more and went on to win the next 2 in a row.
Then my second match I was down 2 to 1 when the other guy missed an easy nine. (damn wei table isn't working on my comp) He left me with the 9 frozen on the rail about a diamond away from the corner pocket and the cue ball dead straight on. I cut it into the corner(spun the ***** out of it with right spin) and went on to win 4 to 3.
My 3rd match I was getting real tired. In the first couple racks I missed a couple of easy shots on the last couple balls because I lost my focus. I got down 4-1(he had to go to 5) and again I came back to win.
My final match I lost a lot of my focus (It had been a long day)the first couple of games and got down 2-0. Got back to 2-2 but I was just getting lazy and the other guy played well.
I guess my point in all this is that 1. sometimes you really need a break to get better 2. Focus is very often the difference between winning and losing a match and 3. (which I didn't really mention yet) is the mentality you have makes the biggest difference. I think the reason I was in my slump was because I was thinking to much about winning instead of just having fun. Yesterday when I went in I was really just going in to relax. Once I got into the matches I obviously wanted to win. But, more importantly I was thinking about playing well and just thinking about the shot at hand.
Rant over lol. Hope someone can get something out of this.
