breaking out of A slump

5ballcharlie

5ballcharlie

GHOSTBUSTER
Silver Member
I am going let it out because I feel so much better. Here lately I have been struggling. I have a 9ft brunswick with super tight pockets and it has been causing me to slump lately. About a week ago I was playing the 9 ball ghost and winning on that table. Starting a couple of days ago I could not get out with 5balls on the table. I have been getting very mad and even broke a shaft. Anyways I went back to practice like I always do and it was no better. I was missing balls that I should make and just felt like I was not there mentally. I started playing 10 ball and I kept dogging balls and missing shape. I then sit down for a few minutes and just thought about what I was doing wrong and I did not know. I felt like I was trying and I was not getting anywere. I then made up my mind to get back at the table and just focus hard until I made an error and then concentrate on what is causing that error. Well when I broke it was like mentally it came all together and my mind was truely functioning the way that I knew it could. I proceded to break and run the next 4 racks on the fifth rack I missed a tough ball in the side because I got a little out of line. Why is it that I ran 4 racks when just moments ago I could not run 4 balls? That is the million dollar question.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?
 
5ballcharlie said:
I am going let it out because I feel so much better. Here lately I have been struggling. I have a 9ft brunswick with super tight pockets and it has been causing me to slump lately. About a week ago I was playing the 9 ball ghost and winning on that table. Starting a couple of days ago I could not get out with 5balls on the table. I have been getting very mad and even broke a shaft. Anyways I went back to practice like I always do and it was no better. I was missing balls that I should make and just felt like I was not there mentally. I started playing 10 ball and I kept dogging balls and missing shape. I then sit down for a few minutes and just thought about what I was doing wrong and I did not know. I felt like I was trying and I was not getting anywere. I then made up my mind to get back at the table and just focus hard until I made an error and then concentrate on what is causing that error. Well when I broke it was like mentally it came all together and my mind was truely functioning the way that I knew it could. I proceded to break and run the next 4 racks on the fifth rack I missed a tough ball in the side because I got a little out of line. Why is it that I ran 4 racks when just moments ago I could not run 4 balls? That is the million dollar question.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?
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Sounds like you let a minor slump eat away at your confidence.

I might be wrong here, but it seems to me that it was at the very moment that you realized that you didn't need to change anything as long as you decicated yourself to every shot that your confidence began to return.

Not allowing the inevitable ebbs and flows in your performance over the green felt translate into big swings in confidence is a challenge for a pool lifetime.
 
sjm said:
I might be wrong here, but it seems to me that it was at the very moment that you realized that you didn't need to change anything as long as you decicated yourself to every shot that your confidence began to return.
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I think he ment dedicated :)
 
I agree with SJM. He said it more subtly than I'm about to.

You had a moment of Dedication to the game, and it paid off... in self worth.

Now you have to harness that, and learn how to focus that. Treat it like an epiphany, a moment of inspiration, as you will.

A moment to grow from.
 
5ballcharlie said:
I am going let it out because I feel so much better. Here lately I have been struggling. I have a 9ft brunswick with super tight pockets and it has been causing me to slump lately. About a week ago I was playing the 9 ball ghost and winning on that table. Starting a couple of days ago I could not get out with 5balls on the table. I have been getting very mad and even broke a shaft. Anyways I went back to practice like I always do and it was no better. I was missing balls that I should make and just felt like I was not there mentally. I started playing 10 ball and I kept dogging balls and missing shape. I then sit down for a few minutes and just thought about what I was doing wrong and I did not know. I felt like I was trying and I was not getting anywere. I then made up my mind to get back at the table and just focus hard until I made an error and then concentrate on what is causing that error. Well when I broke it was like mentally it came all together and my mind was truely functioning the way that I knew it could. I proceded to break and run the next 4 racks on the fifth rack I missed a tough ball in the side because I got a little out of line. Why is it that I ran 4 racks when just moments ago I could not run 4 balls? That is the million dollar question.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Click to expand...



Dude that is the SAME thing I get ALL THE TIME as well....its rough I know.

I think I have found a couple of ways to get rid of it, for now ---- play some banks! After playing banks and slamming some good straight backs or cross sides home, I feel a whole lot more confident, and I think to myself, hey if I can make that, I can make a straight-in shot. Also you gotta have TENACITY to make EVERY single ball on the table....and look only of that ball you're gonna hit and really imagine it going down. I think the time I get out of line or miss shots is when I am thinking too much of the next shot, or getting prime position. Also, it helps to be confident of your stroke and trust your shotmaking ability --- if you know that you can run 4 racks, you KNOW can make pretty much any shot on the table!
 
i think you mean defecated
lol


one thing you might wanna try to help with slumps is keep a little notebook and pen in your cue case. Make it a diary and write down stuff thats working for you and stuff that isnt...........it gets you thinking about your game and helps you tweak it. Just dont try and be in this frame of mind when youre playing and it counts, nothing worse than working on ur game when its bad and theres money on the line.
 
raemondo said:
Dude that is the SAME thing I get ALL THE TIME as well....its rough I know.

I think I have found a couple of ways to get rid of it, for now ---- play some banks! After playing banks and slamming some good straight backs or cross sides home, I feel a whole lot more confident, and I think to myself, hey if I can make that, I can make a straight-in shot. Also you gotta have TENACITY to make EVERY single ball on the table....and look only of that ball you're gonna hit and really imagine it going down. I think the time I get out of line or miss shots is when I am thinking too much of the next shot, or getting prime position. Also, it helps to be confident of your stroke and trust your shotmaking ability --- if you know that you can run 4 racks, you KNOW can make pretty much any shot on the table!
Click to expand...

Yea I know how to run racks but when I play bad like miss a few easy outs it kinda disrupts my confidence. My shotmaking ability was what was keeping me from getting out. I was missing alot of balls. I just was not trying hard enough I know that now. Human nature is lazy and after you come with a good shot to run a rack its only natural to let your concentration slip a bit. The problem was I was not even concentrating enough to come with the good shots. The game is weird in that when you get over the ball unless you feel like you are going to make it you are going to miss. The trick is too not be lazy and to stay down until you know that you can make it... I am playing on 3 7/8'' pockets and that makes it very very tough so your concentration must be at max. Although, I have found out the hard way that if you go to play on looser equipment unless you are concentrating on pocketing balls running out on easy equipment can be a hard. I feel alot better now thanks guys

charlie,
 
Slumps just like Acne we all have gotten it sometime or another. I feel like when i go through a slump then the next day or so i'm back in the zone is because i lose my concentration and kill myself on the enjoyment of the game. But my slump days are when i play opponents then when i practice then i am in the zone again because i am conscious about what i am doing. This varies from person to person but we only have a capacity to concentrate for a certain amount of time. So when i am practicing my technique or doing my daily drills i switch them up so i don't find my mind wondering. This is my opinion on Slumps.
 
I've seen players drop into slumps over ONE SHOT! (seen that player in the mirror a few times). They miss one easy shot and it undermines their confidence in their game and the slump sets in. Only way to keep that from happening is to have 100% confidence in your game and ability and don't let one or two missed shots eat away at you. This is a mental game. If you can run one rack you can run two, if you can run two, you can run four, etc, etc, etc. The only difference from rack to rack is confidence in your game... lose that confidence, and everyone does from time to time, and the slump commences. Gain it back and the slump ends.

Later,
Bob
 
5ballcharlie said:
I am going let it out because I feel so much better. Here lately I have been struggling.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?
Click to expand...

I am not saying I have mastered anything. I have been in such a bad way, that I dreaded getting BIH, because I was absolutely confident that I would screw it up. Those times are much fewer and further between though. Here are some things I try to remember.

There are different kinds of slumps. There is the kind where your basics get a little out of sorts and the kind where your confidence gets out of sorts. The answer is to have a preshot routine. If something in your mechanics gets out of line, you can concentrate on the PSR or let it eat away at your confidence. Once you let it get to you, you are slipping into the most damaging slump.

Optimism will carry you through when the confidence is slightly shaken. If you tell yourself, I can do it and my stroke is going to come back to me, more than likely it will.

When you watch pros play, remember their misses. Then in the future when you miss a similar shot, don't kick yourself, but remember we all miss sometimes. It is just a miss, did the shape turn out right? IOW break the shot down into different parts. Grade each component of the shot individually.

If you are not warmed up try a few safety shots, untill a shot comes up that you feel confident with.

Sorry this post rambles somewhat, I'm not much of a writer :o , but I hope someone can gain something, from parts of it.

Tracy
 
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